In front of a packed press conference, Argos president and
CEO Keith Pelley announced the signing of Ricky Williams to a one-year deal,
and thanked the entire Miami Dolphins organization for allowing Williams to
join the CFL.
He also expressed confidence in Williams as a player and as
a person, “We all know Ricky Williams is special on
the field but what I’ve learned in the last couple of days is that Ricky
Williams is more special off the field. Working side by side with the legendary
Mike ‘Pinball’ Clemons, I can categorically foresee how influential these two
men can be to Toronto’s youth. Ricky has made mistakes, but he will be the
first to tell you he has learned from those mistakes. You only have to spend
ten minutes with him to understand. On behalf of the entire Toronto Argonauts
organization, we welcome Ricky to our team.”
Argos head coach Michael Clemons echoed those sentiments
welcoming Williams to the club with great enthusiasm, “When a signing of this
magnitude becomes a topic of discussion, there is always both excitement and
trepidation and it is imperative that we fully investigate both the pros and
cons, not only for our organization but our League as a whole. I’ve personally
given this considerable consideration and unequivocally understand my personal
position. This, however, did not satisfy my concerns for our League and our
fans. That is, until I met Ricky Williams. He is quite literally one of the
kindest and most thoughtful persons I have ever spent time with. He is a
kindred spirit, a man after my own heart, whose articulated desire is to serve
others. Interestingly enough, I haven’t said anything about his physical
talents because it is Ricky Williams the man that is most impressive. Ricky,
welcome to the Double Blue! And to our fans, soon you will be a fan too.”
Freshly shaved and shorn, Williams
looked rejuvenated during the press conference. He spoke enthusiastically about how joining the Argos was a
fresh start, “I’m happy to be here in Toronto having a chance to further my
career on the football field. Even more importantly, I have a chance to serve
the community, my teammates, to serve my owners, my president, to serve my
coach, and to give back on a grand scale.”
Argos fans and club officials
alike hope that some of Williams’ generosity will be in the form of yards
gained from scrimmage, After such
a high-profile courtship, intense scrutiny of performance will certainly
follow. For Williams, however,
that’s been par for the course since New Orleans coach Mike Ditka traded his
entire team’s draft for the right to bring Ricky into the NFL.
Donning a distinctively new number
27, Ricky Williams will practice for the first time as a Toronto Argonaut on
Monday as the team continues two-a-days.