Ricky Williams hoped to use his voice for a change in the Texas law RVR Photos-Imagn Images

Texas Gov vetoes THC bill after Longhorns great Ricky Williams intervention

Originally posted on CFB-HQ on SI | By James Parks | Last updated Jun 23, 2025 11:35 AM ET

Texas Longhorns football great Ricky Williams called for Governor Greg Abbott to veto a bill banning THC and it appears he got his wish.

Abbott scrapped the proposed legislation on Sunday night, according to media reports.

The governor said that the proposal, had it gone through, would have been tied up in courts for years and that it “criminalizes what Congress expressly legalized and puts federal and state law on a collision course.”

The decision was heralded by supporters as basically saving the hemp and THC industry in the state of Texas.

“Prohibition doesn’t protect people -- it puts them in danger,” Williams said on social media.

He urged Gov. Abbott to veto the bill “before it strips veterans, patients, and small businesses of legal access to hemp products. Texas can’t fumble this.”

“I’m not here so much as an athlete, but as someone who knows firsthand how beneficial this plan can be,” Williams said.

“Helped me manage injuries, deal with pain, and especially deal with the most intense emotional ups and downs of my life. And now it’s helping veterans manage PTSD, helping people with chronic pain, and offering Texans a safer alternative to opioids.”

Williams said that the proposed bill “threatens to take all of that away,” by banning hemp products that are already legal on the national level and hurt the farming industry.

“I’m calling on my friend, Greg Abbott, to please veto this bill and stand with the veterans, the farmers, and the families who know that there’s a better way forward.”

It appears the governor of Texas agreed with the Longhorns great, and the proposed measure will not go forward in the Lone Star State.

Williams played for Texas from 1995 to 1998, departing as the Longhorns’ all-time rushing record holder with 6,279 yards while scoring 72 touchdowns.

He earned Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year and All-American honors twice, and in 1998 won college football’s most prestigious individual honor, the Heisman Trophy.

(Texas Tribune)