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Delay of shame: John Madden breaks silence on drugs in NFL, and others should follow Hall of Famer's lead
BY BOB RAISSMAN
May 24, 2014,
Madden's comments should send a message to all current NFL broadcasters, especially former players who still feel the pain. It does not matter how they find relief, only that they openly discuss it at length in the booth and on studio shows.
No need to speculate on the identity of the football broadcaster who John Madden says gets shot up with Toradol before working a game. Considering the quality of some NFL voices, it is the viewer who should reach for pain-killing drugs before tuning in.
Seriously, though, it’s strange that Madden, the singular greatest analyst in the history of televised sports, would deliver this kind of information, which he did Wednesday on his regular KCBS radio spot. For all those years he was behind an NFL microphone, Madden assiduously avoided discussing the dark side of football.
And that includes teams dispensing dangerous drugs, which eventually turns some players into stone junkies. As coach of the Oakland Raiders, and from being around the game all his life, Madden knew exactly the lengths teams go to keep players on the field.
As a broadcaster, Madden remained on the mountain top until he retired in 2009. For all those years he had the biggest football pulpit on television at his disposal but never preached, never used it to attempt to eradicate the more dangerous elements of the game, including rampant drug use.
Yet this is not about bashing Madden. In fact with his short radio spiel he provided a tipping point. Madden is saying the NFL’s drug culture is so pervasive that even a broadcaster (likely a former player) still needs strong pain relief.
This should send a message to all current NFL broadcasters, especially former players who still feel the pain. It does not matter how they find relief, only that they openly discuss it at length in the booth and on studio shows.
Their selling point is that being fresh off the field, they intimately know what’s happening in the game. Unfortunately, this translates into hours of repetitive talk about strategy. Or evaluating players and coaches. Rarely do these players talk about their own experiences with pain-killing drugs and how they were dispensed.
With the exception of Mike Ditka, many of the analysts skirt the subject or, like Fox’s Terry Bradshaw, cloak it in humor. Something like: “And you wonder why I’m so goofy.” Get it?
Unless current circumstances have moved them, as they did Mark Schlereth, analysts who left the game years ago are not going to get personal and reveal their own experiences with drug use — past or present. If they were inclined to, they would’ve done so long ago.
The new-wave analysts should — guys like Michael Strahan, Ray Lewis, Bart Scott and Tony Gonzalez. If they can relate their own experiences, they will bring fans even closer to the game and maybe even curtail any gratuitous use of pain-killing drugs.
These self-revelations would educate, bring context to what current players go though. And they would humanize players who once played in a league with an ability to dehumanize.
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/f...l-follow-suit-article-1.1804459#ixzz32kIF45x4
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Good thing they dont let them shoot that deadly MJ8(
BY BOB RAISSMAN
May 24, 2014,
Madden's comments should send a message to all current NFL broadcasters, especially former players who still feel the pain. It does not matter how they find relief, only that they openly discuss it at length in the booth and on studio shows.
No need to speculate on the identity of the football broadcaster who John Madden says gets shot up with Toradol before working a game. Considering the quality of some NFL voices, it is the viewer who should reach for pain-killing drugs before tuning in.
Seriously, though, it’s strange that Madden, the singular greatest analyst in the history of televised sports, would deliver this kind of information, which he did Wednesday on his regular KCBS radio spot. For all those years he was behind an NFL microphone, Madden assiduously avoided discussing the dark side of football.
And that includes teams dispensing dangerous drugs, which eventually turns some players into stone junkies. As coach of the Oakland Raiders, and from being around the game all his life, Madden knew exactly the lengths teams go to keep players on the field.
As a broadcaster, Madden remained on the mountain top until he retired in 2009. For all those years he had the biggest football pulpit on television at his disposal but never preached, never used it to attempt to eradicate the more dangerous elements of the game, including rampant drug use.
Yet this is not about bashing Madden. In fact with his short radio spiel he provided a tipping point. Madden is saying the NFL’s drug culture is so pervasive that even a broadcaster (likely a former player) still needs strong pain relief.
This should send a message to all current NFL broadcasters, especially former players who still feel the pain. It does not matter how they find relief, only that they openly discuss it at length in the booth and on studio shows.
Their selling point is that being fresh off the field, they intimately know what’s happening in the game. Unfortunately, this translates into hours of repetitive talk about strategy. Or evaluating players and coaches. Rarely do these players talk about their own experiences with pain-killing drugs and how they were dispensed.
With the exception of Mike Ditka, many of the analysts skirt the subject or, like Fox’s Terry Bradshaw, cloak it in humor. Something like: “And you wonder why I’m so goofy.” Get it?
Unless current circumstances have moved them, as they did Mark Schlereth, analysts who left the game years ago are not going to get personal and reveal their own experiences with drug use — past or present. If they were inclined to, they would’ve done so long ago.
The new-wave analysts should — guys like Michael Strahan, Ray Lewis, Bart Scott and Tony Gonzalez. If they can relate their own experiences, they will bring fans even closer to the game and maybe even curtail any gratuitous use of pain-killing drugs.
These self-revelations would educate, bring context to what current players go though. And they would humanize players who once played in a league with an ability to dehumanize.
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/f...l-follow-suit-article-1.1804459#ixzz32kIF45x4
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lol.. so true. I wonder if the real reason madden does no fly is fear of flying or fear of airport security.
Good thing they dont let them shoot that deadly MJ8(
