Walter Payton Used Drugs/Suicidal

Sad Story... I always imagined Payton being a squeaky clean guy.. .I guess we all have our baggage.

Still one of my favorite players, I hope the book doesn't diminish his legacy at all.

Chicago Bears' Walter Payton used drugs, talked suicide, according to book - ESPN Chicago (http://espn.go.com/chicago/nfl/story/_/id/7031006/chicago-bears-walter-payton-used-drugs-talked-suicide-according-book)

18 games! 18 games! 18 games! "Our fans are excited about the prospect of an 18 game season."

Seriously how did the owners with a database full of cases similar to this ever consider putting together an 18 game season? Limiting head shots only does so much, I mean it helps but you'll still get terrible cases like this where guys basically become different people due to head trauma and addiction.

Sad Story... I always imagined Payton being a squeaky clean guy.. .I guess we all have our baggage.

Still one of my favorite players, I hope the book doesn't diminish his legacy at all.

Chicago Bears' Walter Payton used drugs, talked suicide, according to book - ESPN Chicago (http://espn.go.com/chicago/nfl/story/_/id/7031006/chicago-bears-walter-payton-used-drugs-talked-suicide-according-book)

Apparently the book discusses how he used to have multiple girlfriends, and even had to juggle time with a girlfriend and his wife at his HOF induction.

I guess he got Vicodin from multiple dentists by lying about aching teeth. One time the police even visited his house because he was going from pharmacy to pharmacy having prescriptions filled. Pollin and Czaben were talking about the book on the Sports Reporters about an hour ago.

It's too bad because he was such a fantastic player. Hard to fault the guy for the pain medication. He took an absolute pounding during his career.

I'm in the same boat as you- I hope this doesn't tarnish his image.

TMI, I don't want to know any of this stuff. I just want to remember the great player.

I wish I had been around when he was tearing up defenses, but I've seen his highlights and it's a shame this book only focuses on the other side of his legacy. This is just another story that shows the dark side these guys go through during and after their playing days. At least he's in a better place now. And I completely agree Dirtbag, even just pondering the idea of an 18 game season shows how clueless these owners are.

Do we know he became a different person because of head trauma? I'm not trying to be rude. But he could have been a suicidal cheater before the game of football. I'm curious if the book made a correlation?

I dont give a rats ass whats in that book, he was theee best running, blocking, pass catching, and whatever the hell else was asked of him running back i ever saw play. Thats all i have to say on this topic.

One of my all time favs. I don't think this hurts his legacy, at least not for me, if anything it shows the guy was human and had his issues just like everyone else. On the field the guy was an absolute beast.

Folks get so emotionally attached to players yet we don't really know who they are off the playing field.

One of my all time favs. I don't think this hurts his legacy, at least not for me, if anything it shows the guy was human and had his issues just like everyone else. On the field the guy was an absolute beast.

true dat, remember when Jim Brown basically called Franco Harris a pussy for runnin out of bounds? He said he admired Payton though.

plus he was classy all the way, played on sucky teams in the 70s & waited to be a part of a super bowl. Even gave up the spotlight in the backfield to the Fridge (speakin of former players w/problems).

I don't ever remember him promoting himself, his image just happened to be "squeaky clean" by the way he carried himself. More than anything to me, this shows how much the media coverage (which we consume like mad) has changed athletes' public image & privacy.