One of these days, somebody in Houston is going to get pulled over by Mario Williams, and that driver is going to ask Williams for a little leniency, for a second chance, and Williams is going to look at that driver and laugh and say, "No, we give up on people quickly around here," and laugh as he dashes off the ticket.
At least that's what I would do if I were Williams, who went to Houston as the No. 1 overall selection in the 2006 NFL Draft and just completed courses to become a certified peace officer in the State of Texas.
He got his training at Lone Star College.
"He is now a licensed peace officer in the state of Texas," Larry Stewart, one of Williams' instructors, told FOX 26 in Houston. "That means he can be a police officer anywhere in the state of Texas."
Williams was an unpopular choice back in 2006, and even though he vastly outplayed both of the other guys Houstonians thought they wanted — Reggie Bush and Vince Young — he was broadly branded as an underachiever in Houston. The Texans let him go to Buffalo via free agency last year and don't seem to have regretted it, although Williams had 10.5 sacks in 2012.
So you can understand where Williams might be a bit of a stickler on the streets of Houston, if he's ever given that opportunity.
Williams didn't frame it that way, though. He said he has long harbored an interest in law enforcement, and wants to prepare himself for life after football.
"To say that I graduated from the Lone Star Law Enforcement Academy, it's an honor," Williams told FOX 26. "It isn't something necessarily that I'm going to act on at this point. I'm still playing football. Football is my first love, but everybody has to have a plan B."
