Last week ESPN's prime-time news magazine show E:60 did a story on the alarming, real and sober account of the life of professional wrestler, Scott Hall. The story focused on Hall's struggle to live a normal life after wrestling due to his addiction to both drugs and his wrestling alter ego. Yesterday another famous former professional athlete was in the headlines for all the wrong reasons as TMZ reported that earlier this month free agent wide receiver Terrell Owens had tried to kill himself. According to the report, on October 6th, a 911 tape allegedly has Owen's personal assistant admitting that the NFL star tried to commit suicide by overdosing on prescription painkillers. TMZ had also reported Owens being hospitalized in 2006 due to overdosing on hydrocodone, an incident Owens vehemently denies was a suicide attempt. At this time, Owens and his representatives have declined to comment on TMZ's most recent allegations.
(note: within an hour of posting this piece, Owens' representative Diana Bianchini is now denying that he attempted suicide)
From his less significant incidents such as his flamboyant touchdown celebrations to more alarming events like the previously mentioned 2006 hydrocodone overdose, Owens has never been one to shy away from controversy. Earlier this week Owens held a workout hoping to show NFL teams that he was fully recovered from this past’s April surgery on his torn anterior cruciate ligament. The 37-year-old wide receiver's televised workout generated zero interest from NFL teams as no team sent a scout to watch the workout and none have expressed interest in signing the six-time Pro Bowler. The last time we saw Owens he was with the Bengals catching 72 passes for nine touchdowns and just fewer than 1,000 yards before his knee injury. Just like Hall's struggles, Owens' alleged suicide attempt might be another example of an athlete coping with their personal demons trying to adjust to life as a "retired" (using this term loosely) athlete.
This was arguably one of the hardest summers to be a hockey fan. In particular it was the death of former NHL tough guy Wade Belak that raised eyebrows. It was difficult to understand Belak's death as he seemed to have so many reasons to live. We all thought that we knew Belak as he was so personable in front of the camera that he left everything about himself out there for everybody to see. However, after learning that Belak had his own personal demons that led to his decision to take his own life, it has become apparent that we really do not know what is going on in the minds of professional athletes.
The truth behind Owens' most recent hospitalization should come out in the next few days yet stories like his and Belak's are making it clear to anybody who might have thought otherwise that professional athletes are not immune to the everyday struggles that regular Joes encounter. Even if Owens' assistant mistakenly said that Owens tried to commit suicide, we have a best case scenario of another former athlete with a possible drug problem and the worst case situation of an attempted suicide (possibly Owens' second attempt). Everybody has their own personal demons but I have to wonder if being a professional athlete might make those demons even more difficult to defeat?
When I was a kid I used to have posters of hockey players all over my wall. To me Wayne Gretzky was a real life superhero on the ice. I wonder if athletes let these naive perceptions get the best of them sometimes. Professional athletes are a rare species and it must be a solitary life to be one struggling with personal issues. The perception society has of professional athletes is that they have it all (mostly amounting to only fame and money) so they cannot possibly have any problems. And if these athletes do admit to any having problems then they risk being an outcast, considered weak by their peers and ungrateful by the rest of the society. After professional athletes retire and even if they somehow escape the sport without a drug/alcohol addiction or head trauma, they still have nobody to talk to who could understand what they are going through with the only people left constantly tell them how great their life is, who they believe are unable to comprehend why they could possibly be unhappy.
Terrell Owens is obviously a complex man and this most recent drug overdose is a shocking reminder that even those millionaires who are built like Greek gods can still suffer from the same demons that befalls us regular Joes. This may not have been a suicide attempt but this deja vu moment of Owens having to be hospitalized again from him taking pain killers is disturbing to say the least. Owens obviously wants back into the NFL but this overdose allegation probably ends any chance he had of a comeback as no NFL team will want to be associated with the controversial Owens. How Owens reacts to this upcoming setback is the bigger story that hopefully will have a happy ending.
T.O. is already way past his prime, and WR isn't one of those positions that are traditionally wanting in the league (unlike QBs, and kickers..)
the sad reality is that most players are ill-equipped for post league life.