Ted Johnson Interview on Real Sports.. this guy is in trouble..

[DarrylS]

Coming up on Real Sports, apparently Ted is in big trouble his depression seems to be taking over his life. Not sure why is allowing himself to be interviewed, possibly exploited by those who think this will lead to some kind of lawsuit.. however, he seems to be descending into an abyss of very serious depression and all that is associated with it. Not convinced that the concussions caused the depression, may be a contributor.. but the derpession has probably always been there, and now that he is not defined by his work it may have become more pronounced.

http://www.bostonsportsmedia.com/

Former Patriot Ted Johnson will be interviewed as part of HBO's "Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel" on Monday night at 10:00. One of the topics for the show is post-concussion syndrome that is of increasing concern due to the number of former NFL players suffering from debilitating memory loss, confusion, dementia and even suicidal depression.

Though he cleaned himself up for the HBO interview, Johnson, the former Patriots linebacker, had spent the previous 11 days in a darkened apartment.

Johnson says on the show: “I don’t shave. Don’t shower. Don’t brush my teeth. You don’t care.”

 

[patman52]

maybe because he has a message to tell about concussions.

That is what depression does, it takes over your life. The man is suffering from an illness, Please don't take this as too harsh, but your comment sounds like he should be ashamed of himself. People that suffer from depression are told by people all the time to smile and not act glum, minimizing their suffering.

 

[Aqua4Ever04]

Maybe Bellichick should've held him out of those practices.

 

[DarrylS]

maybe because he has a message to tell about concussions.

That is what depression does, it takes over your life. The man is suffering from an illness, Please don't take this as too harsh, but your comment sounds like he should be ashamed of himself. People that suffer from depression are told by people all the time to smile and not act glum, minimizing their suffering.

On the contrary, seems that his illness is taking over his life, his judgement and all associated with it.. he sounds like he is in very serious trouble, and seems as though he is being exploited. Instead of going on HBO, he needs a serious intervention. No judgement of what came first the concussion or depression, the man is in serious need of help.

 

[tedylb]

TJ is in my prayers. May he get the help he needs for a full recovery.

 

[Steamer86]

Maybe Bellichick should've held him out of those practices.

There are actually millions of people who have depression who have never suffered a concussion....I don't think we can say that if TJ never had a concussion, he would not suffer from depression....

 

[italian pat patriot]

all the best and good luck to # 52 Ted Johnson

i really really hope he will recover - he is still a young person with much of his life in front of him

 

[Flying Fungi]

Maybe Bellichick should've held him out of those practices.

I'll bet you $50 that it wouldn't have made a difference.

 

[Tunescribe]

Maybe Bellichick should've held him out of those practices.

Better yet: Maybe Saban should've held the entire Doofins team out of THEIR practices last season. Probably would've done just as well.

 

[DaBruinz]

Maybe Bellichick should've held him out of those practices.

Aqua -
And maybe a loser like yourself should keep his mouth shut on subjects he really knows nothing about.

1) Belichick did nothing any other coach wasn't doing.
2) The league's concussion specialist (who stepped down recently) misled the entire league on the affects of concussions on players. If Belichick was following those procedures, He did nothing wrong at the time. Also, its why Gooddell is having the conference on concussions coming up. To get teams onto the same page in how to PROPERLY handle them. NOT how that quack said to handle them. And yes, that QUACK cost Wayne Chrebet his career.
3) Belichick has admitted that he should have held Johnson out. Yet, you have a player like Johnson who whined about not being dressed even though he missed several practices before the start of that season.
4) Unless you know something about depression (and your comments suggest you don't know anything), its pretty stupid of you to try and link Johnson's illness with the concussions he suffered.

 

[RayClay]

maybe because he has a message to tell about concussions.

That is what depression does, it takes over your life. The man is suffering from an illness, Please don't take this as too harsh, but your comment sounds like he should be ashamed of himself. People that suffer from depression are told by people all the time to smile and not act glum, minimizing their suffering.

I don't see where you got that idea from his comments. I took them to mean he doubts if concussions were the sole cause of his depression and I agree.

His stories of his Patriots experiences compared to the facts are confusing, at best and he has admitted to taking stimulants and not admitted to taking other substances which many suspect he did having two biceps ripped from the bone at different times.

Of course there is often a genetic component in clinical depressions that severe.

You have to wonder if he's being exploited when he is being shoved in front of TV cameras, then back to a darkened room. You'd think if people cared about him, they'd help him get admitted to a hospital for treatment.

 

[DarrylS]

His stories of his Patriots experiences compared to the facts are confusing, at best and he has admitted to taking stimulants and not admitted to taking other substances which many suspect he did having two biceps ripped from the bone at different times.

Of course there is often a genetic component in clinical depressions that severe.

You have to wonder if he's being exploited when he is being shoved in front of TV cameras, then back to a darkened room. You'd think if people cared about him, they'd help him get admitted to a hospital for treatment.

I agree completely, if there was as much an effort at getting him some help as there was getting him to tell his story, things might be different for Ted. Not sure a person who is as depressed as he is will make a good poster child for concussions.. the depression has probably always been there and coupled with retirement may be more pronounced. When I retired a friend warned me, and said" a woman defines herself primarily by her relationships, a man primarily defines himself in terms of his employment", I found that to be very true. Ted is no longer a football player, he has some medical issues and this can make the depression even worse.. looks as though the world is spiraling out of control for him.

 

[belichickaholic]

I'm glad he's telling his story. I have a teenage son who has begged me to allow him to play football, but after reading about TJ's story, there's no way. I appreciate TJ's message. But I don't see the need to point a finger directly at Belichick. Truly a sad story though. Prayers for Ted Johnson.

 

[VrabelMayeWin]

I feel bad for the guy - really - but he needs to cut the crap. The "forced practices" were in 2002 and he played something like 3 more years after that. Or did Belichick not allow him to retire ?

 

[patriotspride]

Maybe Bellichick should've held him out of those practices.

maybe you should pay your lost bet

 

[patriotsdynasty12189]

maybe you should pay your lost bet

Yeah he really should. I really hope Ted Johnson gets over this.

 

[MoLewisrocks]

I agree completely, if there was as much an effort at getting him some help as there was getting him to tell his story, things might be different for Ted. Not sure a person who is as depressed as he is will make a good poster child for concussions.. the depression has probably always been there and coupled with retirement may be more pronounced. When I retired a friend warned me, and said" a woman defines herself primarily by her relationships, a man primarily defines himself in terms of his employment", I found that to be very true. Ted is no longer a football player, he has some medical issues and this can make the depression even worse.. looks as though the world is spiraling out of control for him.

I wouldn't be so sure the effort isn't there. Part of the depression is an unwillingness to get or accept help. Ted should be in intensive therapy and on any one or a combination of anti-depressants. But if he prefers to sit in a darkened room until someone asks him to "tell his story" (which is just another excuse to vent his woe-is-me version of who did this to me) then there isn't much you can do. There is another old adage to be mindful of in cases like this - God helps those who help themselves... Ted likely has better insurance and access to treatment than most of us and lots of friends with deep pockets who care and would (and likely have) tried to support him in any effort to get his situation under control. It could be that his own neurologist is his worst enemy - telling some people it is what it is and it's someone elses fault to boot (including even genetics or in this case concussions) can become the crutch that allows them to just curl up in a ball and wallow in self pity.

I have a friend who is dealing with something equally, if not exponentially more debilitating - early onset (57) alzheimers. Diagnosed almost 3 years ago, and just 6 months after she took a silver bullit retirement (because she thought maybe the stress of her job was draining her) with plans to supplement her income by consulting in her field (risk management specialist with an MBA completed in her 40's). But after the shock wore off and the tears subsided she got herself into a clinical trial at a major Boston hospital that guarantees her cuting edge investigational medication and treatment from some of the top specialists in the field and she has gotten on with living the rest of her life as best she can. She was a career girl who never married, so her core support system was limited to a few close friends/relatives. And her beloved (but by then aging) terrier she'd shown to championships in his youth - even showing him herself at Westminster. She had the sense to add a puppy to her support group to insure she wouldn't be alone and would have a reason to get up and keep going - hopefully for several more years. Although because they all have other issues to deal with in their own lives, her core support group is already starting to press her to consider assisted living...

I bet she'd trade places with Ted, who may or may not face a similar fate down the road - but he's not there yet and may never be if he chooses to fight for his quality of life rather than just turtling.

 

[zoostation]

Maybe Bellichick should've held him out of those practices.

Ignore this doo-bag. You'd be trolling this site too if your team hadn't won since the 70's.

 

[patriotspride]

Ignore this doo-bag. You'd be trolling this site too if your team hadn't won since the 70's.

thats a good point lol.but he needs to pay the bet he lost .what everyone should do is refuse to respond to any post of his regarding football and demand he pay his lost bet .

 

[zippo59]

Johnson says on the show: “I don’t shave. Don’t shower. Don’t brush my teeth. You don’t care.”

I, just like millions of others suffer from depression as well and can definitely relate to this.