Pro athletes subject to many pitfalls

I want to start out by saying how happy everyone is to have Rob back. As many of you read in Sunday’s edition, Rob has made his return to the big leagues, but he still needs to spend some time riding the bench before he’s back in the starting lineup.
Although Rob’s witty sense of humor has been greatly missed by his loyal readers, a few more weeks of rest will have him back throwing curve balls and off-speed pitches along with his one-liners better than ever.
Last week, as many of you already know, former major league baseball player Otis Nixon was in town as a guest speaker at the Bridgestone/ Firestone plant.
Nixon in his heyday was a star outfielder and one of the best base stealers the game has ever seen.
From time-to-time I have had the opportunity to rub elbows with a few famous athletes and spend a few minutes talking to them. Some are just as you imagine, humble human beings who are generous with their time.
Others, on the other hand, are arrogant, disrespectful and have no tolerance for others. They view their star status as making them better than everyone else and have very little time for their fans. They have forgotten it was the fans who helped them become the stars they are.
I found Nixon to be one of the more generous celebrities I have ever had the opportunity to meet. I spent a few minutes talking to him before and after his speech to the leadership teams at Bridgestone and he was more than happy to answer a few questions and we even exchanged phone numbers to keep in touch.
I was sure that Nixon’s humble attitude had been contributed to his years of drug addiction, but the more time I spent talking to him, the more I realized he has always been a humble person.
After explaining all the ups and downs he experienced mainly due to his drug addiction as a professional baseball player, it got me to thinking on the drive back to the office.
So many professional athletes become addicted to drugs and I have to believe money might be the No.1 reason.
For the most part these athletes don’t become drug users until after they have made a name for themselves. Before they become stars, they have to be in the best condition of their lives in order to make it to the professional level.
They put in years of hard work and conditioning in order to be strong enough and fast enough to compete for a starting position. They can’t reach that level with drugs in their system so for the most part they stay clean and healthy.
But after signing that big contract for millions of dollars something happens. Call it greed or living the Hollywood life but all of a sudden money is no object and they get caught up in the fast-lane.
Most people have some type of additive personality and that’s exactly what happened to Nixon. He got so caught up in living the Hollywood lifestyle that he almost lost everything, including his life.
So who is to blame? Is it the owners who are willing to shell out million dollar contracts to 18- and 19-year-old kids who aren’t mature enough to handle all the pressure that goes along with making millions of dollars? I guess we’re all a little bit guilty. But the one thing I do know from talking to Nixon is that it’s a big problem.
Nixon is still a popular figure around the Atlanta area and is now taking advantage of his second chance on life. Nixon has a program called On-Track Ministries and is reaching out to those in need of help. It’s great to see some good come from one bad decision he made many years ago.