Remember when everyone clutched their pearls after Ricky Williams mimed smoking a joint on the sidelines of a Miami Dolphins game? It aged about as well as the “a college scholarship is more than enough compensation for student athletes” argument. Not only would America be richer had it taken Errick Miron’s endorsement of weed seriously in 2004, there would be a lot less non-violent offenders still in prison, and fewer pro athletes addicted to opioid painkillers.
We can debate the health risks of smoking weed all we want, but the less incentives for making money off privatized prisons the better. And it’s way better alternative to deal with the aches and pains of pro football, especially concussions.
That also goes for forced interactions with unlicensed drug dealers. I’m too old to be soliciting 20 bags from white guys with dreads, or pretending to be friends with people because they know somebody who knows somebody who makes monthly trips to Colorado.
While clearly I’ve been working remotely from Florida for too long (why weed isn’t legal here I have no idea), it’s clear that Miron was onto something.
Now, if you’re wondering “Who is Errick Miron?” It’s Ricky Williams. He changed his name a year and a half ago to reflect his birth name (Errick) and to create more “intimacy and trust” with his wife, Linnea Miron, by adopting her last name.
Speaking on the ever-progressive Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz, Miron detailed why he opted to pivot from a moniker that he used during his rise to fame as a Heisman Trophy winner and NFL running back to one that’s not a self-absorbed publicity stunt like Enes Freedom or Chad Ocho Cinco.
“I’ve found that that’s been really powerful in creating ease, intimacy and trust in my relationship,” Miron said.
“I think it’s cool. It’s somewhere where we can both win.”
Errick didn’t even tweet about it, or announce the change publicly. He only acknowledged the title switch after an interviewer noticed that his name on Zoom didn’t read “Ricky Williams.” (Side note: If a person legally changes their name, don’t repeatedly refer to them by their previous title multiple times throughout a story. Yes, I think Enes Freedom is a moronic moniker, too, but if his dumb ass wants to go by that name, it’s only fair to grant his wish — and no one said you can’t call him Freedom facetiously.)
The obvious take on this is some sort of macho “I would never adopt my wife’s last name — or even hyphenate it” line of thinking. Society dictates that wives take the husband’s last name for the sake of bloodlines or legacies or some shit as if the future of the crown is dependent on delivering a son. Forgive me if I’m not exactly sold on Gary Podlaski’s need to preserve his family lineage of high quality plumbing for low prices.
Miron also isn’t concerned about his business suffering because he’s no longer Ricky Williams.
“To me, this makes the story of Ricky Williams more interesting,” he said.
The other benefit, aside from the couple that Miron outlined, is now Linnea no longer has to be known as “Ricky Williams’ wife” as is often the case for spouses of high-profile people. I’m not saying that she won’t be referred to as Errick Miron’s wife, I’m just saying that when people utter “Errick Miron” hopefully they’ll be reminded that Linnea is his wife because Miron is her last name.
Also during his chat with Le Batard and Stugotz, Errick said he had been mulling this decision for a while.
“Something I’ve been thinking about and talking about, and I finally went through the steps. It was quick and easy, and it felt really meaningful,” Miron said.
(His inspiration came after learning a lot about his marriage through a relationship-astrology class with Linnea, and on the list of things Errick Miron would do, a relationship-astrology class is right below him offering astrology readings on his website and right above his herbal wellness business.)
I don’t think a husband taking his wife’s last name will catch on in the same fashion as legalized marijuana, but who knows. He’s been ahead of the curve before.
And for those of you asking if I would do that if/when I get married, I deserve everything — good and, most notably, bad — that comes with my name.