‘"When you think of a professional athlete, any pro athlete, you think of the good life; millions of dollars, fancy cars, big houses, beautiful women. You think everything is fine. He’s living the good life," Thomas said. "I’ve had problems ever since I retired from football. It’s hard for me to talk about it, but the one thing I could not conquer was … I’m a recovering alcoholic. That is the hardest challenge I have right now. I have control now in that I know when to stop. I can take one drink but if I take two drinks, I’ll be back to where I was two years ago."’