Titans’ Young wasn’t prepared to handle NFL life
By JASON WHITLOCK
The Kansas City Star
On the surface, it sounds impossible to believe. One of the NFL’s brightest and richest young stars told a therapist he had thoughts of suicide and then disappeared in his car with a gun.
Vince Young, the quarterback for the Tennessee Titans, the No. 3 pick in the 2006 draft, the hero of Texas’ national-title victory over USC, doesn’t seem like a candidate for depression.
And if you believe Young and his head coach, Jeff Fisher, Young doesn’t have any emotional issues. What transpired in the wake of Young’s poor performance in Tennessee’s season opener, according to Fisher and Young, has been greatly overblown by the evil and sensational media.
Yes, when Fisher asked the police to find his distraught quarterback on Monday, and Young’s mother later said her baby boy needs a lot of love and support, and the Nashville police reported that Young’s team therapist warned that Young mentioned thoughts of suicide, it was just us in the media who made something out of nothing to sell newspapers and drive ratings.
Jeff Fisher just might be Karl Rove, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the Titans are currently scouring the Great North in search of a lipsticked Miss Alaska to quarterback the Titans the rest of the season. The Titans desperately want a distraction to take the focus off the real issue — Vince Young’s shaky mental state.
Look, I’m no big fan of the “media.” We screw some things up and let our biases dictate coverage from time to time. But we’ve made no mistake when it comes to Vince Young. There’s a big story here, a story much bigger than any individual player.
Young and many professional athletes have not been properly prepared to handle the stress and pressure that accompanies fame, fortune and life under constant scrutiny. Depression is a major issue in professional sports. It’s the reason drugs, alcohol and bizarre behavior are staples of professional sports.
Depression’s No. 1 friend is denial. Fisher, Young and denial are all madly in love and resting uncomfortably in Nashville.
Vince Young should not be ashamed that he might be battling depression. Almost all of us go through it at some point in our lives and/or careers.
Here’s a little personal confession before I get back on point: When I got suspended from The Star for two weeks in 1998 and my peers in the media were laughing at my stupidity, I rarely got out of bed for those two weeks. I was mad and embarrassed and hurt and scared. Being a successful newspaper columnist was the No. 1 priority in my life, and I thought I’d blown it.
Man, was I depressed. But I was also determined when the two weeks were up. Whitlocks don’t die. We multiply. I fell back on all the life lessons my mother and father taught me the previous 29 years.
I hope someone taught Vince Young something the previous 25 years. He reminds me of too many young athletes who have been unintentionally prepared for how to mishandle athletic success.
People have been slow to recognize how much money has changed the games we play in positive and negative ways. The influx of cash has put 22s on everybody’s cars and increased the pressure on players 20-fold.
Vince Young is far from the only superstar and/or mediocre professional athlete who has contemplated suicide. Showing great athletic talent as a kid can be a curse, no different from landing a big role as a child actor. It’s a recipe for self-destruction.
Could you imagine being 16 or 17 and having grown-ups counting on you to make it so that they can make it? Could you imagine the pressure of being a kid and being counted on to be the “man” of your family?
To reach Jason Whitlock, call 816-234-4869 or send e-mail to jwhitlock@kcstar.com. For previous columns, go to KansasCity.com.
