Chilling story by Jackie Mac on Ted Johnson

[PlattsFan]

Worrying about inconsistencies in the story or debating whether Belichick is being treated too harshly are completely beside the point here. I think it's pretty clear that this could have been almost any player and any coach here. Belichick coaches a tough style of play, but Tony Dungy could be in the same situation. Or Mike Shanahan. Or ... anyone.

This is the seedy underbelly of football. And no one escapes blame, imo. The NFL is a corporate behemoth that has glossed over these problems for years. The NFLPA is a joke when it comes to truly representing its players beyond the most basic pay issues (and even then is no MLB players' union). The coaches put a lot of pressure on players. And, too often overlooked, players put a lot of pressure on each other. The peer pressure is intense. Look, even we fans shoulder a small part of the blame by ignoring the many warnings about stuff like this and giving our commercial support to the game without demanding answers and better conditions.

It's not that there are no villains here; they are all villains. They all share part of the blame. You could probably make a convincing case that the NFL has the most power (by far) in the whole relationship, so they shoulder more of the blame, but I don't think it's even that.

Because this is endemic in NCAA football, as well. And at least with the pros, they are men making a lot of money, so they are making a trade-off. College kids, though ... ugh. There are few institutions I have less respect for than major college football.

Football is a brutal sport, and that brutality bleeds over far too much into the treatment of players. Arguing about Belichick (or blaming him) is a complete waste of time. The media will focus on that (because it's easy), the NFL will let them (because it gets them off the hook), and the basic questions about this will probably not get the attention they deserve.

Yeah, Belichick might get thrown under the bus over this ... but it's not Ted Johnson who's doing the throwing. If that happens, Belichick will be a scapegoat for the problems of the whole league, pure and simple.

 

[SVN]

After Junior Seau was injured vs. Chicago, Ted Johnson stated on Mike Felger's radio show that if BB called him, not only was he willing to suit up and play this season for the Patriots, he was eager to do so. He did not sound like a man who regretted his past career or condemned his previous employer. In fact he was begging to turn back the clock.

Only two months later Johnson blames his former coach for his mental, physical and emotional break-down.

thanks for pointing that out ! i was going say that exactly. The timings of these are article and of the samuel discussion wiht jackie mac all coincide with the BB bashing season.

 

[SVN]

The AP also has a story:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070202/ap_on_sp_fo_ne/fbn_patriots_johnson_concussions

Rest assured , the national media is going to have a field day with more BB bashing material

 

[patsfan13]

Here is an article about the effects of concussions on the great John Mackey. For the younger readers J Mackey was a TE, a combination of B Coates and D Graham.

The effects on Mackey were different than for Johnson and Waters. This is an issue than needs more study and new policies for player safty. There are a lot of problems including how players who will lose their livelyhood will react to being told they shouldn't play anymore.

http://www.newsday.com/sports/football/ny-sppow305072807jan30,0,1202683.column

 

[Sean Pa Patriot]

:bricks: I agree its more Bill Belichick bashing for the media to enjoy..

 

[RIP#40]

He had a nice career, he had a chance to have a second career in the media and he blew it by beating his wife. Now with his divorce pending and 1/2 of whatever he has left going out the door, it's time to play the blame game. No personal responsibility, it was the teams and BB's fault. What a chump. I hope he takes this to court, where he can be exposed as the roid taking loser he is. If any of you don't think he was a juicer, your glasses have too much red and blue tint.

 

[Sean Pa Patriot]

I think Ted is not telling the whole story... If he was not ready to play he should have just told Belichick I cant play... That was it, instead he has to hash up a story that was almost 5 yrs ago, and he continued to play and wanted to even come back this past yr.. Its just a story with too many holes...

 

[spacecrime]

since then, it seems that when Players are injured, there is more grousing and griping by us fans to get them back on the field.

Yes, we are being highly hypocritical here (not you, certain forum members). We constantly complain that Chad Jackson needs to get on the field. We call him a bust. All we want to see is him on the field. No one says that BB might be doing the right thing. No, Jackson is called soft. BB is coddling him. You don't think these fan reactions don't get back to a player and influence his thinking?

How many times do we ridicule a player for not getting on the field? "You can't make the club from the tub." "If he doesn't get on the field and show us something, he is history."

We call guys like Caldwell injury-prone and fragile, and they have not had many injuries.

We canonize players like Rodney who are willing to play earlier than expected. "He's a warrior." "He grits it out." "He's tough."

And then when word gets out that a player suffered damage by playing when he shouldn't, we get all moral and high and mighty and say how terrible it is.

If we really feel for Ted Johnson and his cummulative injuries, we won't be saying about the next guy who gets hurt, "He needs to get on the field and show us something."

Remember TJ before you blast or mock or ridicule a player for not playing because he is injured.

End of rant. Sorry.

 

[spacecrime]

After Junior Seau was injured vs. Chicago, Ted Johnson stated on Mike Felger's radio show that if BB called him, not only was he willing to suit up and play this season for the Patriots, he was eager to do so. He did not sound like a man who regretted his past career or condemned his previous employer. In fact he was begging to turn back the clock.

Only two months later Johnson blames his former coach for his mental, physical and emotional break-down.

Yes and no. This behavior is irrational to be sure, contrdicting himself.

But think: the man is depressed and taking drugs. He is sure to have ups and downs, with mood swings and thoguhts all over the map. It isn't like someone who is of sound mind contradicting himself. This is a guy who is suffering emotional problems.

You have to expect weird contradictions from a man whose mind is in turmoil.

Every time he says something, he believes what he is saying. It is his truth at the time. We need to look at the cause of his irrationality, and only then understand what is going on.

The problem is, of course, that we cannot. We do not have the information (medically private) and we really don't know what happened because the prime witness's mind is so distressed.

What we do know is that players playing injured is a problem. Someone said the main fault lies with teh NFLPA, and it is hard to disagree. They are the ones who should be looking after players welfare. They are so totally focused on money when they should be noticing players lives are turning to crap, mentally and physically, when they leave the game.

There needs to be a better system, that is for sure. But it will take a mindset change, and it will take a lot of TJ's before that happens. Look at Hoge. Look at the entire Steeler offensive line of 20 years ago. Did anyone survive intact?

This will blow over, and the NFL and players will get back to business as usual.

But for the players, it will continue to be tragic.

Not really off-topic, what do you all think when you see Ali trying to walk and talk?

 

[MoLewisrocks]

Welcome to the NFL, a league built around the concept that there is a lot of money to be made by lining 22 men up opposite each other and watching them beat each others brains in. I believe this was what BB was alluding to when he coined the phrase it is what it is. You have to be slightly unbalanced to want to participate in the endeavor, yet there is no end to the supply of willing participants many of whom will do most anything for the opportunity to set foot on an NFL field. And then there is the media who will deride them when they disappoint, glorify them when they jack each other up, and blame those who employ them when something goes terribly wrong.

I feel for Ted and his family, but I feel more for those who never ascend to the level he did yet still pay the same price down the road.

Ted was in the league for 10 years, and as I recall he was compensated at a level that for much of that time outstripped his performance. Many Pat's fans believed Ted was a disappointingly marginal player at best following his early injury plagued seasons, he lost his starting job early in the Belichick years which was probably a tough nut to swallow for a guy who previously had been a highly touted and entitled core player. I think there were lots of factors at work almost from the time Parcells drafted Ted that culminated in a situation where a players relationship with the present staff became dangerously disingenuous and possibly compounded what transpired over the course of that relationship. BB needed a functional run stuffing LB. Ted wanted to be that player. Oddly he played some of his best and most physical football in 2003 and 2004 - go figure.

I think there is a lot more to the story than Ted presently chooses to or perhaps more significantly is even capable of delving into. He seems to struggle with personal responsibility, and his struggles are just broadening and deepening in retirement. He needs to stop looking for someone or something to blame his struggles on and come to terms with the fact that he made some terribly unfortunate choices along the road, particularly over the last few seasons of his career, that are adversely impacting his quality of life post career.

And most importantly he needs to get some more effective help. Perhaps this public cry for help (which is what I think this is because sometimes it's easier to put stuff out there couched in broader terms) will result in that. I'm sure Bob Kraft is prepared to do whatever it takes, and the real dilemma will be getting Ted to cooperate on his own behalf.

 

[Seymour93]

Yes, we are being highly hypocritical here (not you, certain forum members). We constantly complain that Chad Jackson needs to get on the field. We call him a bust. All we want to see is him on the field. No one says that BB might be doing the right thing. No, Jackson is called soft. BB is coddling him. You don't think these fan reactions don't get back to a player and influence his thinking?

How many times do we ridicule a player for not getting on the field? "You can't make the club from the tub." "If he doesn't get on the field and show us something, he is history."

We call guys like Caldwell injury-prone and fragile, and they have not had many injuries.

We canonize players like Rodney who are willing to play earlier than expected. "He's a warrior." "He grits it out." "He's tough."

And then when word gets out that a player suffered damage by playing when he shouldn't, we get all moral and high and mighty and say how terrible it is.

If we really feel for Ted Johnson and his cummulative injuries, we won't be saying about the next guy who gets hurt, "He needs to get on the field and show us something."

Remember TJ before you blast or mock or ridicule a player for not playing because he is injured.

End of rant. Sorry.

Who's deserving to be called out? A proven player like TJ or someone who hasn't done squat in his pro career? We can't let this story limit our expectations. Here's a LB who's been in the trenches for about a decade, of course repercussions are bound to be experienced. Now we have Player X who has a ridiculous contract and a constant hammy, but he mostly carries a clipboard instead of hiting guys in their mouths. I'm not going to give others a pass because some guys earned their respect and faced problems afterwards because of it.

 

[RayClay]

I'm very sorry for Ted. I hope he gets help.

I really suspect he was doing things that weren't beneficial for his health before BB was coach, but it's irrelevant now, (Not one but 2 freak injuries involving biceps tearing off the bone?).


Obviously, the sensationalist writers in this town are going after BB like vultures on carrion.

But you have to wonder how much of this article is instigated by someone so depressed he can hardly get out of bed and is considering shock treatment and How much by MacMullan, who seems lately to be morphing into the female version of Borges.

 

[cubedoggy]

Welcome to the NFL, a league built around the concept that there is a lot of money to be made by lining 22 men up opposite each other and watching them beat each others brains in. I believe this was what BB was alluding to when he coined the phrase it is what it is. You have to be slightly unbalanced to want to participate in the endeavor, yet there is no end to the supply of willing participants many of whom will do most anything for the opportunity to set foot on an NFL field. And then there is the media who will deride them when they disappoint, glorify them when they jack each other up, and blame those who employ them when something goes terribly wrong.

I feel for Ted and his family, but I feel more for those who never ascend to the level he did yet still pay the same price down the road.

Ted was in the league for 10 years, and as I recall he was compensated at a level that for much of that time outstripped his performance. Many Pat's fans believed Ted was a disappointingly marginal player at best following his early injury plagued seasons, he lost his starting job early in the Belichick years which was probably a tough nut to swallow for a guy who previously had been a highly touted and entitled core player. I think there were lots of factors at work almost from the time Parcells drafted Ted that culminated in a situation where a players relationship with the present staff became dangerously disingenuous and possibly compounded what transpired over the course of that relationship. BB needed a functional run stuffing LB. Ted wanted to be that player. Oddly he played some of his best and most physical football in 2003 and 2004 - go figure.

I think there is a lot more to the story than Ted presently chooses to or perhaps more significantly is even capable of delving into. He seems to struggle with personal responsibility, and his struggles are just broadening and deepening in retirement. He needs to stop looking for someone or something to blame his struggles on and come to terms with the fact that he made some terribly unfortunate choices along the road, particularly over the last few seasons of his career, that are adversely impacting his quality of life post career.

And most importantly he needs to get some more effective help. Perhaps this public cry for help (which is what I think this is because sometimes it's easier to put stuff out there couched in broader terms) will result in that. I'm sure Bob Kraft is prepared to do whatever it takes, and the real dilemma will be getting Ted to cooperate on his own behalf.

Wow. A truly astute, well-reasoned post. There is, as always, more to the story.

 

[patchick]

Wow.

"‘‘Robert has always cared for him,’’ said a team official. ‘‘But Ted Johnson is a very sick young man. We’ve been aware of the emotional issues he’s had for years. You can’t blame all of his behavior on concussions.’’

For God's sake, given what Johnson's been through, throwing him under the bus like this is just uncalled for. I hope whoever said this gets reamed a new one.

I have to respectfully disagree here. We have no idea what this quote refers to. We have no idea what Ted Johnson was like before the 2002 concussion, or where he would be today without it.

This isn't about Bill Belichick, and the media shouldn't be portraying it that way. This is about the stark results of taking a huge physical beating over and over again for a living. The profile of Tiki Barber in the New Yorker was to me every bit as revealing on this topic. Players risk their long-term wellbeing for the thrill, money and glory of professional football.

Even those who don't suffer serious medical effects often have trouble adjusting to after-football life. You're talking about a group of men with personalities that drove them to excel at a viciously competitive and violent sport. For many, life with the guys in the locker room is the only life they've known. The transition from idolized hero to unemployed dad at home can be shattering.

Ted Johnson is facing all of those issues to the utmost degree. There appears to be no doubt that he is suffering badly from the effects of multiple concussions, and from subsequent abuse of drugs that exacerbated the effects of the brain injuries. It is absolutely a chilling story, and my heart goes out to him. But Johnson--or at least the article--focuses on the single incident in 2002 out of what he himself estimates as 30 lifetime concussions. Why? What was different about that one episode? Apparently, just that it was the one time out of 30 that he didn't want to go back on the field. That's an emotional, not medical, connection to his ongoing problems. The fact of "what Johnson's been through" doesn't mean that the Patriots football team should accept the attachement of blame to the 2002 training incident and not point out the complex nature of the problem.

 

[vyrago]

He had a nice career, he had a chance to have a second career in the media and >>>he blew it by beating his wife.<<<

Didn't he quit the channel4 sports job before the domestic dispute? Was it ever clear why he quit that job? Perhaps this story explains it.

 

[PlattsFan]

IThe fact of "what Johnson's been through" doesn't mean that the Patriots football team should accept the attachement of blame to the 2002 training incident and not point out the complex nature of the problem.

Completely agree. As we shouldn't be piling on Johnson for his share of the blame ... the man is a total wreck, and it's just not important to the discussion whether he did some things to put himself at risk.

ALL football players ride the edge of what their bodies can do, and almost all of them go over the edge of what's prudent. Whether it's performance enhancing drugs (a bigger problem than the NFL likes to pretend) or "playing hurt" or the fun-sounding euphemism "getting dinged," the NFL has a huge and extremely complex problem regarding the risks to players in a very violent game with a highly-developed macho ethos. Ted Johnson is an extreme case, but he's not alone, and so many former players battle serious health issues for the rest of their lives\.

I will say, though, that Gene Upshaw and the NFLPA make me sick. Those corrupt (that's the only explanation I have) SOBs have set up a union system that completely cuts loose former players while they go through what may be the most difficult post-event life this side of service members.

 

[patsacolachick]

I have a question maybe a little OT, but everyone keeps talking about how the union cuts players loose, but don't they all begin earning their nfl pension as soon as they retire?? From what I remember of the OJ case that pension was pretty good, I have no idea if it is the same for all players or based on what that player earned, but I think they also have medical insurance through their pension. Does anyone know what kind of benefits the players get after they retire?

 

[vyrago]

This article from Espn Mag. by Peter Keating titled "Dr. Yes," has a lot of useful (and infuriating) information on the cavalier way in which NFL teams treat players who have had concussions. It mostly focuses on the Jets and a doctor who should not be treating anyone, but it's applicable to any NFL team.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2636795

 

[dhamz]

I have a question maybe a little OT, but everyone keeps talking about how the union cuts players loose, but don't they all begin earning their nfl pension as soon as they retire?? From what I remember of the OJ case that pension was pretty good, I have no idea if it is the same for all players or based on what that player earned, but I think they also have medical insurance through their pension. Does anyone know what kind of benefits the players get after they retire?

http://www.boston.com/sports/footba...their_penchant_is_to_forget_those_on_pension/

This should answer your question.

 

[patsacolachick]

http://www.boston.com/sports/footba...their_penchant_is_to_forget_those_on_pension/

This should answer your question.

No, no it really didn't. I know that OJ gets several thousand a month from his pension, I mean that was so well documented after his civil trial. Why the disparity between him and the guys getting a couple hundred dollars??? OJ played in the what, 60's and 70's? It's not like he is a recent player, he has been retired a looooong time and still gets a pretty penny from his pension. What is the formula that is used for these guys????