Brett Favre shocked a lot of people with an admission earlier this week. The NFL MVP and Hall of Fame legend went to rehab not once, but three times during his football career.
Many fans and fellow players saw Favre as someone to look up to. He was a premier quarterback who appeared to have the world at his feet. But apparently, this NFL player leaned heavily on prescription painkillers to get him through. Now he’s telling his story to help others.
This admission comes at a time when the NFL likely needs it the least. Many fans are abandoning the league as it tolerates and accepts player protests during the National Anthem. The added information regarding concussions likely isn’t helping. Now, Favre’s admission might raise even more eyebrows.
The retired quarterback felt the addictive effects of the opioid prescription enough that he checked himself into rehab three times. He initially began taking the medication to deal with the pain of injuries, but he quickly got hooked. He told Sports Illustrated that he once took a handful of pain pills before his then-fiancée flushed his stash down the commode.
“I took 14 Vicodin, yes, one time. I was getting an hour or two of sleep many nights. Maybe 30 minutes of quality sleep. I was the MVP on a pain-pill buzz,” Favre told the magazine. “The crazy thing was, I’m not a night owl. Without pills I’d fall asleep at 9:30. But with pills, I could get so much done, I just figured, ‘This is awesome.’ Little did I know [fiancée and now wife] Deanna would be finding some of my pills and when she did, she’d flush them down the toilet.”
He did his stint in rehab prior to becoming an NFL MVP. “I actually went to rehab three times. I saw the most successful, smart people — doctors, professional people — lose it all, ruin their lives. A year or two before you saw me, I went to a place in Rayville, La., just outside Monroe. It was pills then too. Deanna and [agent] Bus [Cook] talked me into it. I didn’t think I had a problem, but they talked me into it. I went for 28 days,” Favre admitted.
In 1996, the quarterback with the storied career entered a Kansas City rehab facility for 72 days. He returned two years later for help with alcoholism. The pain was so great that Favre had trouble giving up the dulling effects that pain pills and booze brought him.
Hall of Fame QB Brett Favre says he went to rehab 3 times during his career to fight addictions. h/t @SI_PeterKing https://t.co/xwmfjFtI90 pic.twitter.com/TZPsuSNcgB
— AP NFL (@AP_NFL) May 22, 2018
Favre has opened up about a host of health issues since leaving the NFL. He believes he had thousands of concussions which have greatly impacted his short-term memory. Brett Favre and his wife have two daughters but he says that if he had a son, he would not encourage him to play football.
Favre’s addiction issues are in the past. While it is something that he likely will always struggle with, he is focusing on good deeds. Along with his wife Deanna, he runs Favre 4 Hope which helps people and children with disabilities or who are battling cancer. This man cares a great deal about his community. He has had health struggles because of his football career, but he wants to focus on making the world a better place.
With the opioid crisis gripping many parts of the nation, Favre’s story is an important one. Access to painkillers can lead to addiction that can later cause someone to turn to heroin. We must find better ways of managing pain. It was very brave for Brett Favre to make this admission.
Share this if you are praying for Brett Favre and hope the NFL cleans up its act soon!
Source: Fox News