Vices and addictions come in all different shapes and sizes, and they affect all different types of people in seemingly endless ways. They transcend lines of gender, race, social status, and any other sort of category that one may or may not fit into. I do not pretend to be an expert when it comes to this subject, but I do know that there are a whole lot of people fighting personal demons, and even if you may not see it in the way they live their everyday lives, those demons can often times end up being too much to overcome.
I write about sports, and this is the type of subject that usually does not come up unless things end up truly tragic. Sadly, we may be in the midst of one of those moments, but I hope that I am wrong. We have seen star athletes pass away far too early in various ways. Names like Pat Tillman, Junior Seau, Roberto Clemente, Ray Chapman, and Len Bias will always be remembered more for how they were lost and less for how great they all were in their own individual sports.
Only a few weeks ago, the sports world was shocked to learn that, on the eve of the playoffs, C.C. Sabathia announced that he was entering an alcohol rehabilitation center. The news itself was surprising enough, but the timing of it was what made it even more unbelievable. For Sabathia to make such an announcement the day before his team was about to fight to make the postseason demonstrated to me that he must have been in desperate need of help. On the surface, the public was unaware of any kind of problem Sabathia may have had, but for him to make such an announcement at that time means that we had no idea whatsoever the kinds of demons he was trying to battle.
Then, only a few days ago, The University of Southern California fired head coach Steve Sarkisian only one day after putting him on an indefinite leave of absence due to recurring problems with alcohol. Sarkisian had shown signs of his problem here and there, and in retrospect, it is easy to say that his addiction was being wrongly overlooked.
On the surface, it seemed like Sarkisian was leading a storied football program back towards the promised land. After finally seeming to overcome the sanctions levied upon the program thanks to the previous regime, USC had put together a few good recruiting classes, and it seemed as though Sarkisian was guiding the program back to a place that we have become so accustomed to seeing it. Just like Sabathia, it may have seemed as though everything was fine from afar, but after learning more about just exactly what was going on in Sarkisian's personal life, it is easy to see that what he was fighting had become too much to brush aside.
After these two instances, a bombshell dropped on the sports world yesterday, when it was learned that former NBA star Lamar Odom was found face down and unresponsive on the floor of a Nevada brothel, and had to be rushed to the hospital and to this point, is still unable to breathe on his own. According to reports, Odom had spent the past few days at the brothel, and had been using sexual performance drugs, at least one illicit drug (cocaine), and drinking alcohol as well. Being found face down and unresponsive on the floor clearly points to an overdose, and Odom is now fighting for his life in a hospital.
As Odom neared the end of his playing career, we started to see signs of drug and alcohol addiction, and it continued after his playing days ended, as he remained in the national spotlight because of his marriage to a member of the Kardashian family, and his presence on their television show. Odom and his wife eventually divorced, and he began to fade from the national spotlight. Clearly though, his addictions did not fade. In fact, they most likely worsened.
As a player, I remember Odom as a dominant collegiate player at Rhode Island, and I remember him as a key member of championship Los Angeles Lakers teams. He seemed like a nice guy, and I don't recall ever hearing any type of negative feelings towards him. However, this is the gift and the curse of being a star professional athlete. Sometimes, the athletes that we watch and idolize are just exactly who we think they are. Other times, we only see the good, and we never have any kind of clue about what might lie behind the curtain when an athlete steps off the field of play. We saw Len Bias as an unbelievable talent on the court. We saw Junior Seau as a Hall of Fame linebacker, we saw C.C. Sabathia as a proven pitching star, and we saw Lamar Odom as a very good NBA player. However, what recent weeks has taught me is that despite their athletic gifts, these guys are all just regular human beings at heart, and despite how we may idolize them, they are far from immune to the problems that any other person may be subject to.
As I said, I do not pretend to be an expert when it comes to a subject like this. I am just relaying my feelings to anyone out there who may take a few minutes out of their day to read this. I also know that millionaire athletes with addictions are surely not exactly sympathetic figures in the eyes of many people. There are millions of people out there that the public will never know about who are dealing with similar and far worse problems than these guys, but the point is that there are some things that no one is immune to, and recent weeks in the sports world have been a sad example of this fact.
I was deeply saddened when I heard about what happened to Odom, and I really hope that he can make it through this and some day come out on the other end fully recovered. Because no matter how much money you may have or how famous you may or may not be, it is never ok to have to see someone succumb to any kind of serious addiction. This isn't about just one man and just one moment in time. It is about an unseen world of personal demons that far too many people deal with. If even one person out there somewhere can learn from Odom's situation, then it is one less person that has to deal with such a personal burden. I hope that Lamar Odom is able to fight through these extremely saddening and depressing circumstances, and if that does happen, I'm sure it will make him feel better than any sort of acclaim he ever received on the basketball court.
Daily Rangers Update: The Rangers suffered their first loss against Winnipeg last night, losing 4-1 at home. Next up is a trip to Montreal to face the 4-0 Canadiens, in a matchup of teams that will both have expectations of playing deep into the postseason. Young Oscar Lindberg has gotten off to a great start, with four goals in the first four games, and if he can provide a spark like that moving forward, it will be a huge boost for the Rangers.
Daily Giants Update: With the next game coming on Monday night, the Giants will have an extra day of rest this week, and that could prove extremely helpful, as both Rueben Randle and Odell Beckham Jr. were injured last week. Beckham was able to return, but Randle was not. Hopefully an extra day off will be enough to get them both back on the field Monday night because without them, the receiving corps was in total shambles. Here is to a speedy recovery for both!
Daily Diamondbacks Update: Nothing new here from a team standpoint, as the offseason hasn't even really begun with the postseason now in full swing. Until the news starts coming in, I will use this section as a daily recap of the baseball still being played.
The Chicago Cubs (yes, the Chicago Cubs) have officially moved on to the NLCS after defeating the St. Louis Cardinals last night, and the Toronto Blue Jays won a thrilling game just only a few hours ago to advance to the ALCS for the first time since 1993. The Astros are currently up 2-0 in Kansas City in the final game of that series, and the Mets and Dodgers will play a decisive fifth game tomorrow night in Chavez Ravine. This entire season has only proven one thing, and that it to expect the unexpected. I would make predictions, but I would only make myself look bad, so instead I am just going to sit back and enjoy October baseball.
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