Martellus Bennett about the dark side of football

[DrDawkinstein]

7 minutes ago, Beast said:

 

So, it's only related to football and professional sports is what you are saying?

 

Because, if you aren't, like I said, every day problems that everyone deals with.

 

All of us.

 

Maybe your previous post didnt properly convey what you meant, because it reads like you are dismissing these issues as something everyone has to deal with, and therefore isnt a big deal, and that these guys should "suck it up" like everyone else has to. 🤷‍♂️

 

[H2o]

17 minutes ago, Thurman#1 said:

 

 

What part of that is not likely to be related to CTE?

 

CTE symptoms include vulnerability to addictions and alcoholism, they include extreme irresponsibility with money, terrible problems sleeping, anxiety aggression, impulse control generally, suicidal tendencies and dementia. 

 

There's nothing there that isn't very likely caused by CTE. No way to prove it, of course, but that's what these CTE narratives sound like. Read the one about Mike Webster? Absolutely heart-breaking.

 

Several times there people talk about Seau's descent. He may have been a drug user and had an alcohol problem before but it suddenly got worse as he spiralled. This is all pretty typical, though it happened earlier with Seau then with some. 

All these symptoms are also present in people who just get used to the fortune, fame, and spotlight that comes along with the thrill they get along their journey through athletics or in any other manner. Celebrity, fame, and fortune are all just like a drug. Many people suffer from it, or the lack thereof, when their respective times pass them by. Again, I'm not saying CTE did not play a part, but I am saying it was not the only cause. 

[Fan in San Diego]

Just to throw my $0.05 into this conversation. (Inflation) When I retired from Software Engineering I went thru a period of depression because that was my identity for so long. It took me a few years to feel comfortable in my new profession. Appraisal and Real Estate Investing. My Dad had a similar experience retiring from GM in Buffalo. I think it's normal. I'm sure Football players go thru the same thing.

 

[dave mcbride]

Incidentally, here is some important context behind Bennett's twitter thread: https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2021/01/the-second-career-of-martellus-bennett/617256/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=share

[1st Ammendment NoMas]

3 hours ago, DrDawkinstein said:

And not just that, but lonely, shut out (not allowed in the facility), and no longer "the man". All those years of having folks following you around, telling you how great you are, just disappear. And now no one even wants you around. It's absolutely a difficult transition, and deserves empathy, regardless of how much fame/money they've acquired.

 

I'm sorry to say that, but it's your own personality flaw if you can't handle the change. It's not like you don't know its coming. You understand its part of the business and live with it. I work in film/tv and its the same crap. When you got a hit show everyone is kissing your ass, calling you, offering you the moon and sky; and when you don't have a show, you are the plague. You're a star or you are nothing and Hollywood spits you up and ***** you out, ready to churn in the next one.  Going in you know the risks and rewards and you prepare for them. If you don't, it's your fault. If you don't have thick skin, it's your own fault.  If you base your worth on your job, that's on you. If you surround yourself with people who use you and build you up only to tear you down, that is also on you. 

 

You know who I have empathy for. Hard-working Americans who get screwed over. Single moms who work two jobs to keep their kids fed. Front-line workers, cops, the military, those who risk their lives and their own comfort for the freedom and safety of others.  

 

Sorry, but if you make it to the big stage, you need to use it to make the world better around you and I applaud the players who use their fame and influence to help others. Selfish, me-first athletes who whine and cry down a spiral of their own self-destruction don't deserve to be "the man" anymore.

 

 

 

 

 

[dave mcbride]

4 minutes ago, BillsRdue said:

 

I'm sorry to say that, but it's your own personality flaw if you can't handle the change. It's not like you don't know its coming. You understand its part of the business and live with it. I work in film/tv and its the same crap. When you got a hit show everyone is kissing your ass, calling you, offering you the moon and sky; and when you don't have a show, you are the plague. You're a star or you are nothing and Hollywood spits you up and ***** you out, ready to churn in the next one.  Going in you know the risks and rewards and you prepare for them. If you don't, it's your fault. If you don't have thick skin, it's your own fault.  If you base your worth on your job, that's on you. If you surround yourself with people who use you and build you up only to tear you down, that is also on you. 

 

You know who I have empathy for. Hard-working Americans who get screwed over. Single moms who work two jobs to keep their kids fed. Front-line workers, cops, the military, those who risk their lives and their own comfort for the freedom and safety of others.  

 

Sorry, but if you make it to the big stage, you need to use it to make the world better around you and I applaud the players who use their fame and influence to help others. Selfish, me-first athletes who whine and cry down a spiral of their own self-destruction don't deserve to be "the man" anymore.

 

 

 

 

 

Except this isn't what happened to Bennett if you read the piece above. He's talking about a more general phenomenon.

[Beast]

50 minutes ago, DrDawkinstein said:

 

Maybe your previous post didnt properly convey what you meant, because it reads like you are dismissing these issues as something everyone has to deal with, and therefore isnt a big deal, and that these guys should "suck it up" like everyone else has to. 🤷‍♂️

 

 

I'm saying what he has to deal with, or is dealing with, isn't exclusive to being a professional athlete.

[DrDawkinstein]

21 minutes ago, Beast said:

 

I'm saying what he has to deal with, or is dealing with, isn't exclusive to being a professional athlete.

 

Gotcha. Thanks for the insight.

[billsfan89]

I forgot which player Max Kellerman was talking to but I remember an NFL who was recently retired from the 90's/00's said that Any Given Sunday was the most accurate portrayal of professional football in media. It is a brutal sport that grinds up a lot of lives. As much as I hate the "softening" of the league I do prefer these guys having shorter careers and more protections. I like how players are much more aware and informed about the risks of playing. I don't like to see a lot of these older players destroyed in their 50's and 60's.

[Spiderweb]

5 hours ago, DrDawkinstein said:

 

It wasnt all CTE. CTE often becomes the convenient excuse/scapegoat because we have such a warped view of mental illness and emotional struggle in this country. These guys would rather blame it on a brain injury than admit they have issues that are not so physical and far more abstract, nuanced, and therefore trickier to treat.

 

So sayeth you. Calling CTE a convenient excuse is just plain ignorant of what it can do to a person. 

[blacklabel]

Some of what he's saying is interesting. The only job he's ever had is football so he doesn't have any frame of reference for what it's like in other industries or whatever. Everyone makes friends at work that seem like your best pal Monday thru Friday but then one of you moves on to a new job and you just don't stay that connected. Comes with age as well. When I was younger it was easy to make friends at work and people were always hanging outside of work. Nowadays if I get asked to some non-work function with work people I always pass because I'd rather just go home. 

 

Many industries like football seem glamorous due to how much money they make but every industry has its dirty, seedy underbelly. Especially those northern elves that evidently control a monopoly on the holiday toy industry. Sketchy folks. Small hands. Smell like cabbage. 

[babulator]

It's called life, and it's difficult even in the best of times. Anyone with any self awareness will question the decisions they've made over their lives at some point.

 

It's not that anything he's saying is untrue, it's that he seems soo surprised by it, or rather that we should be surprised by these things. I mean, no your co-workers are not your family despite what successes and hardships you've had to endure together. People that have to invest soo much time into their professions often feel lonely or unsatisfied after their careers end. There are countless hard and dangerous jobs pout there that pay a fraction of the pay, give me a break. Maybe he's familiar with the armed forces, or with fire or policemen; linemen, oil or gas industry workers, heavy construction etc. etc. etc.

 

He sounds like a child with zero perspective. He probably thinks he's a hero for typing this up from the comfort of his mansion.

 

💩

[Nextmanup]

I don't find anything that he wrote particularly controversial or unsusual.

 

The one thing I would disagree with is his assertion that most of the time, retired football players will look back on their career and say it was NOT worth it.

 

Every time I have EVER heard a retired NFL player speak about that, he says he would do it all over again in a minute.

 

 

7 hours ago, Richard Noggin said:

"Most of them (coaches) are egotistical small dick heroes."

 

lol

Seems about right to me.  With some exceptions, of course.

 

 

[Hapless Bills Fan]

5 hours ago, dave mcbride said:

Incidentally, here is some important context behind Bennett's twitter thread: https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2021/01/the-second-career-of-martellus-bennett/617256/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=share

 

Wow, Thank you for sharing that!  That's really really cool.  Sounds like he's Found his Bliss

[Saint Doug]

@Not at the table Karlos

@BillsShredder83

@Billl

 

Sorry, the data is the data. Current and former NFL players have about half the suicide rate compared to general population. 
 

https://www.postandcourier.com/sports/how-common-is-suicide-among-retired-nfl-players/article_49e5108a-809c-59d7-97ef-2df445d18d97.html

 

Here’s the link to the scientific study cited in this article:

 

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0363546516645093?casa_token=TFAK1-kQN6gAAAAA%3AKyqIEGz5esiSVWJhOKPBDpibifj8qR2wYHApeNlNowWpYfLenP7MTdC5NjTsXnLQ_NzUg-XfAU8ssQ

Edited February 4, 2021 by Saint Doug

[dave mcbride]

1 hour ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

 

Wow, Thank you for sharing that!  That's really really cool.  Sounds like he's Found his Bliss

My wife Leah actually works with a couple of the companies mentioned in the piece (Fine & Raw Chocolate and OddFellows Ice Cream). She flagged it for me. Props to her.

[purple haze]

Professional athletics is not the same as a nine-to-five job.  Unless you’re a CEO it’s not the same.  The amount of money involved.  The level of adulation.  And all that comes with it is extremely heightened.  Thurman Thomas went through a drinking problem after he retired.    Many former pro’s talk about the difficulty of adjusting.  Why folks taking a things so personally?  It’s okay to love the sport and acknowledge the flaws of the game/people.

[John from Riverside]

What he says about coaches is absolutely correct.   I do have a story here.

 

Right before my son's senior year of high school the HC of the football team (my son had been playing football for many years by this time....had made varsity his freshman year......was really involved in it.....offseason training programs.....skill camps......all star team games, etc etc etc.

 

He invites me for a beer and wants to discuss what he is trying to do as far as getting a scholarship for my son to college.......wanted to make sure I knew exactly which games scouts were going to be out......make sure he doesnt get anybody pregnant....stay out of trouble.......basically just follow behind him and do the good parent thing.

 

My son tears his ACL in a passing scrimmiage right before the first game of his senior season......bam.....scholarship gone.   It wasnt the only reason why but the HS team ended up having a HORRIBLE season that year......lots of injuries......hardly won a game.

 

At the end of that season.......that HC.....committed suicide.  Leaving behind a wife and 3 children that loved him

 

 

[Gugny]

 There is no dark side of football, really. Matter of fact, it's all dark. The only thing that makes it look light is the sun.

[Big Turk]

8 hours ago, BillsRdue said:

 

I'm sorry to say that, but it's your own personality flaw if you can't handle the change. It's not like you don't know its coming. You understand its part of the business and live with it. I work in film/tv and its the same crap. When you got a hit show everyone is kissing your ass, calling you, offering you the moon and sky; and when you don't have a show, you are the plague. You're a star or you are nothing and Hollywood spits you up and ***** you out, ready to churn in the next one.  Going in you know the risks and rewards and you prepare for them. If you don't, it's your fault. If you don't have thick skin, it's your own fault.  If you base your worth on your job, that's on you. If you surround yourself with people who use you and build you up only to tear you down, that is also on you. 

 

You know who I have empathy for. Hard-working Americans who get screwed over. Single moms who work two jobs to keep their kids fed. Front-line workers, cops, the military, those who risk their lives and their own comfort for the freedom and safety of others.  

 

Sorry, but if you make it to the big stage, you need to use it to make the world better around you and I applaud the players who use their fame and influence to help others. Selfish, me-first athletes who whine and cry down a spiral of their own self-destruction don't deserve to be "the man" anymore.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I mean but couldn't you also say that about single moms working two jobs?  Or cops? The military? They made the choice to go into the field they are in.  They could have chose something different.  The person working 2 jobs could have chosen a better paying field to go into so they only had to work 1 job.  I mean, literally you could use the same argument for anything