Football season is once again in high gear with kick off this weekend starting with high school, then college, and of course, the NFL. Athletes lay it on the line every week for their fans. I must admit that I am one of those diehard fans that will take in as many games as possible. There is so much extreme talent on display from the want to be extra ordinary high school players to the healthy paid professional NFL players. Make no mistake about it, the players take a lot of abuse with the physicality of the game.
There is another side to the glitz and glamour of being a great athlete, the pressure of being number one. Football is all about strength. You are strong; the guy next to you is strong; Weakness? There is no weakness in football.
Mike Daniels demolished that this past week. At least on the surface he did. He stepped onto the podium, addressing the Miami Dolphins media, where he is head coach, he spoke about weakness. Not the weakness that comes from playing the game but his own weakness, alcoholism.
There was a time that alcoholism almost destroyed McDaniels’ career.
He was fired in Houston, bottles, discovered in the team facility when he was at Cleveland, the smell of alcohol during meetings in Atlanta.
When he was with the Atlanta Falcons team his coworkers confronted him. McDonald showed how smart he was. He excepted help, he surrendered and found recovery.
January 4, 2016, is the last day he said he had tasted alcohol. He told USA today in an interview that he had no desire to ever drink again. You can best believe the Dolphins did plenty of research to confirm this before hiring him a year and a half ago with his history.
During his three weeks in a treatment facility, he also admitted he was dealing with depression. He separated things he could not control from the things that he could, drinking was something he could control. “I took a deep dive into myself and forced myself to realize it is OK to have problems and work through them.” McDonald said in an interview. “I tell my players it is OK if you have a bad day or something poorly affects you, address it, talk it out. Do not run from your problems. That is how it can get you, holding it in.”
Listening to McDonald’s story and to see him excel as a head coach, might surprise people to learn they are listening to a man who has overcome depression and alcoholism.
Football can bring a lot of glory days, but behind the scenes there are stories that we never know. I guess you can say it takes a strong person to reveal their weakness. This might sound a bit cliché but laying it all out on the line is not just for football.
