JR Ewing Posted July 2, 2015 Share Posted July 2, 2015 Thought I'd share an excellent article written by Rich Clune: The nurses at the clinic were laughing. That’s how bad it was. It was just a few weeks after I had played in my first NHL playoff series with the Los Angeles Kings. I was 23 years old, being paid hundreds of thousands of dollars a year to live my dream, and I was such a mess that I was either going to wind up dead or kill somebody else. I didn’t even call the intake center. I got on a flight from LA to Boston, where my brother was going to college. He picked me up at the airport. I just said, “Okay. I’m ready.” My brother drove me 10 hours to Toronto on the spot, right to the doorstep of the rehab clinic, the very same one that I had checked into two years prior. Back then, I had stayed for four days before saying, out loud, “This is insane, I’m out of here.” When I got to the reception desk, everyone remembered me. I had made quite an impression. They were actually laughing. I guess they thought I couldn’t be serious. And that’s when I broke down for the first time and said, “I am an alcoholic. I am a drug addict. For sure. Help me.” The rest of the article:http://www.theplayerstribune.com/rich-clune-hockey-nhl/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottM Posted July 2, 2015 Share Posted July 2, 2015 I think it's good to read articles like that, because otherwise, it's easy to lose sight of the fact that those guys aren't just performers, they're human beings. They have strengths and weaknesses just like any of us do. They're not superhuman just because they're good at a sport, and we shouldn't expect them to be. They're not villains when they have problems that get out of control. They're humans succumbing to weaknesses just like any one of us can do if we're not careful. Props to Clune for sharing his story. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JR Ewing Posted July 2, 2015 Author Share Posted July 2, 2015 I think it's good to read articles like that, because otherwise, it's easy to lose sight of the fact that those guys aren't just performers, they're human beings. They have strengths and weaknesses just like any of us do. They're not superhuman just because they're good at a sport, and we shouldn't expect them to be. They're not villains when they have problems that get out of control. They're humans succumbing to weaknesses just like any one of us can do if we're not careful. Props to Clune for sharing his story. I agree completely. Fans are often prone to worshiping players when they don't deserve it, and reviling them just often when it isn't warranted. They have the same frailties as the rest of us, but we have the luxury of our failures not being consumed by the public. I think it was great of Clune to write this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EDI-Flyer Posted July 2, 2015 Share Posted July 2, 2015 Very powerful article... Takes a lot of courage to face up to a situation like that and deal with it head on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yave1964 Posted July 2, 2015 Share Posted July 2, 2015 The Goons are usually the most human of the NHL players as we find out sometimes tragically when it is too late as in the case of @JR Ewing mentioning Clune, and sadly men like Boogard, Probert, Rypien Belak and more. What makes them fan favorites ends up killing them. Patrick Wey who was a meh prospect just had his career tragically come to an end at the age of 24 after a horrible fight with Clune of all people gave him a massive concussion right after returning from concussion issues. He hung them up right before the draft. It was only Wey's second ever fight as a pro, it was Clunes 166th. As a younger player I loved Probie and Kocur and Gallant and before that bunch of pugilists I loved Polonich and Hexy and Watson and the fighters. They stick out in the memory, a guy like Joe Patterson who scored 10 goals a year with 20 penalty minutes kind of blends in and gets forgotten, but a guy like Watson who scored one and had 300 PIMs stood out. I have been frustrated over the past two decades as fighting has become less and less throughout the game and among the Wings in particular. Oh, occasionally we have a half a season of a Brad May or some such, but the Wings are consistently the team with the least fights year in year out. I have envied teams that have a goon or two. I still do. I admit that i cringe now when I see a particularly brutal fight but I still love them, but I think of the human element and it gives me pause. Part of me thinks, they know the risk, it goes with the job and part of me hates myself for feeling this way. Anyway, Clune is a real man for admitting his problems. I wish him well and wonder how much of it comes from the job. No I don't, damnit we KNOW it comes from the job. I root for him and others who perform the job that he does to fight their demons to a standstill or outright defeat them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terp Posted July 3, 2015 Share Posted July 3, 2015 @yave1964Well put yave. Have you ever thought of becoming a Flyers fan? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yave1964 Posted July 3, 2015 Share Posted July 3, 2015 @yave1964Well put yave. Have you ever thought of becoming a Flyers fan?@yave1964Well put yave. Have you ever thought of becoming a Flyers fan?no, because while I may be a sadist and enjoy others fighting, I am not massocistic enough to be a Flyer fan, lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terp Posted July 3, 2015 Share Posted July 3, 2015 no, because while I may be a sadist and enjoy others fighting, I am not massocistic enough to be a Flyer fan, lol.Yes and of course with Rinaldo gone there's no reason to watch anymore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cetacea Posted July 3, 2015 Share Posted July 3, 2015 I like this article very much. What a brave thing to do, considering that there may be people who will judge him badly now. In my option it is necessary to but this out, so the fans realize that hockey player (or all athletes for that matter) are only human beings and have to live with an enormous amount of pressure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyercanuck Posted July 3, 2015 Share Posted July 3, 2015 no, because while I may be a sadist and enjoy others fighting, I am not massocistic enough to be a Flyer fan, lol. May I? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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