PFT trolling Channing Crowder on Ricky Williams pot use?

Ricky Williams smoked pot.  I know, startling revelation, isn't it?  I mean, who knew the player who was suspended for marijuana use, and retired from football in the middle of his career because of the drug testing program, smoked pot?  Maybe ProFootballTalk was surprised about this or something.

Yesterday, PFT ran a story headlined "Crowder: Ricky Williams smoked weed before games." When you read the story, it alleges that Williams smoked the night before games, in an effort to control his social anxiety disorder.  The exact quote, which PFT pulled from Crowder's Wednesday broadcast on WQAM radio in Miami was:

"Remember that Buffalo game, the 200-yard game?" Crowder said. "Smoked the night before. Talk to Ricky. He was doing it, that's what he did. Ricky has social anxiety and he smoked weed. Ricky's marijuana didn't affect the team until he got caught smoking. . . . Him smoking weed, sitting at his house smoking weed, didn't affect anybody but Ricky. He got high and then he sobered up and then he went to practice the next day."

Ignore the fact that the headline implies that William was sitting in the locker room getting high as introductions were being conducted, Crowder took more exception to the fact that, in his words, PFT was trolling his radio show.  On Twitter, Crowder wrote:

@ProFootballTalk is trollin my radio show. Its funny. I was a SR in HS when Rick ran for 200. How would i know what he did b4 the game?

— Channing Crowder (@OfficialCrowder) September 5, 2013

Having not heard what Crowder did say Wednesday (there was no podcast listed on the WQAM website), I have to assume that Crowder did say the words PFT attributed to him.  But, Crowder is correct that, in 2002, he would have been in high school, still a year away from joining the Florida Gators, let alone being Williams' teammate with the Dolphins for that game.

Most likely, Crowder was hypothesizing a situation that PFT took as a true and factual statement.  Either Crowder did not explain it clearly, or PFT took it out of context, ignoring the fact that Crowder was not a member of the Dolphins at that point.  Whatever the case, the fact that a retired player saying a different retired player, who was suspended for marijuana, smoked weed really should not have the traction is appears to have gotten.

PFT does raise a good point at the end of the article.  It reiterates that, players take one drug test a season.  Typically, that test comes at the start of the offseason programs.  Starting April 20 (yes, the drug testing starts on 4/20), players may be tested one time, so long as they are not in the substance abuse program already, over the course of the entire year.

That also could add to the alleged drug use from Aaron Hernandez, who, according to a Rolling Stone magazine report, would smoke PCP and marijuana throughout the season.