Ricky Williams returned to Austin on Saturday for Texas football’s home game against Kansas State. The Longhorn Network had JOKES and, of course, they were about marijuana.
Although Williams won a Heisman Trophy, was drafted No. 5 overall, and played 11 years in the NFL, he may best be known for his cannabis usage. He loves weed.
So much so that Williams was suspended five different times for violating the league’s substance-abuse policy. In total, the former Saints, Dolphins and Ravens running back missed two full seasons due to his repeated suspensions.
Now 46, Williams has turned his passion for marijuana into a career. He owns a cannabis lifestyle brand called ‘Highsman‘ — a witty play on Heisman — and is a very vocal advocate for legalization.
Needless to say, Williams and weed go hand-in-hand. This is where the Longhorn Network, owned in part by the university and ESPN, saw its opportunity.
Williams was in attendance at Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium to be honored on the 25th anniversary of his Heisman. Fireworks went off as Texas ran out of the tunnel onto the field.
The pyrotechnics created smoke, but the Longhorn Network joked that the smoke was actually Williams’ fault because he was burning it down on the sideline.
Even if it might have been low-hanging fruit, the post on X was pretty hilarious. Whomever runs the account either thought of the joke beforehand and couldn’t wait to fire it off, or was really thinking on his or her feet.
Either way, the post received more than 400 retweets and 2,000 likes. Very rarely does a professional brand nail it like the Longhorn Network did on Saturday.
Ricky Williams was smoking weed. Get it? Pretty funny stuff from the social media team in Austin. Well done— give him or her a raise!