AUSTIN, Texas (KXAN) — Former first round NFL draft pick Ricky Williams isn’t Ricky Williams anymore.
The 1998 Heisman Trophy winner for the Texas Longhorns decided to legally change his name to Errick Miron. He explained the change during an interview on “The Dan Le Batard Show with StuGotz,” saying that he did it about a year-and-a-half ago after he got married to his wife, Linnea Miron.
Technically, his first name has always been Errick, but he always went by Ricky. Errick is the first name on his birth certificate. He talked about the change to match his wife’s last name after the show hosts saw the name displayed on the Zoom call they were talking on.
“It was quick and easy, and it felt really meaningful,” he said. “In every relationship, you want to have some kind of balance, but in the traditional model, it becomes difficult when the male makes all the money.”
He said he was led to take his wife’s last name because of what he learned while creating an astrological relationship smartphone app. He took an astrology class with Linnea and said relationship imbalances showed up in their charts.
“I learned so much about our dynamic,” he said. “My wife is an attorney, so she can handle herself, but I’m the famous one. She’s been used to being the hotshot around her friends, but she comes around me, and people forget she exists. I started thinking of ways to create more balance in our relationship, and one of the things that popped into my head was taking her last name.”
He said watching episodes of the TV show “Bewitched,” which aired from 1964-1972, helped him identify imbalances as well by providing examples of how the characters, Samantha and Darrin, interacted.
When Le Batard asked if Linnea was “moved by the gesture,” Errick replied, “Yeah, it’s a win for both of us. I think it’s cool.”
He also mentioned that he’s not totally sure who his dad’s father is, which is where the last name Williams came into his family.
“It’s like one of those family secrets,” he said. “Williams was my grandmother’s husband’s name, and he wasn’t my dad’s father, so Williams isn’t really my last name. I find more meaning in this last name than Williams.”
Miron also sells cannabis under the Ricky Williams name and brand, and when asked if he thought that would hurt his brand, Miron countered by saying he thinks it makes the brand more interesting.
“If I talk to my business partners, they’d probably say yes, but for me, I’d say the opposite,” he said. “To me, this makes the story of Ricky Williams more interesting.”
While he was Ricky Williams, he was the first player ever to win the Doak Walker Award — given to college football’s most outstanding running back — twice, and he left college with 21 NCAA records and 46 Texas program records. He played 11 seasons in the NFL with the New Orleans Saints, Miami Dolphins and Baltimore Ravens.
While suspended for a year for violating the NFL’s drug use policy for the fourth time, Williams played a season with the Toronto Argonauts in the Canadian Football League.
The field inside DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium was dedicated to both Williams and Earl Campbell last season and renamed Campbell-Williams Field.
