There are many professions where people can be vulnerable to addiction, and sports is certainly one of them. Many players can get addicted to painkillers and other drugs that come with a high-flying lifestyle. Now Brett Favre has come forward to confess that he’s struggled with addiction and has taken three trips to rehab.
As Yahoo Sports reports, Favre took one trip to rehab that the public knows about for Vicodin addiction. 1995 was an MVP year for Favre, but as he says, “That year, when I woke up in the morning, my first thought was, ‘I gotta get more pills.’ I took 14 Vicodin, yes, one time. I was getting an hour or two of sleep many nights. Maybe 30 minutes of quality sleep. I was the MVP on a pain-pill buzz. The crazy thing was, I’m not a night owl. Without pills, I’d fall asleep at 9:30. But with pills, I could get so much done.”
Favre’s wife would find his Vicodin and flush them down the toilet, and finally, he spent 72 days in rehab. But as Favre confirms, “I actually went to rehab three times. I saw the most successful, smart people – doctors, professional people – lose it all, ruin their lives.” Favre didn’t think he had a problem the second time, but his wife and sports agent Bus Cook convinced him to go.
Favre also had a drinking problem. “When I drank, I drank to excess. They said drinking was the gateway drug for me, and they were right, but I wouldn’t admit it.” Favre went back one more time for a 28-day stint, and apparently, that did the trick.
“When I got out, the toughest thing was the first three months,” he said. “Because I had to change my thought process. When I played golf before, I realized the only reason I wanted to play was to drink. After a while, instead of thinking, ‘How many beers can we drink in 18 holes?’ I fell into a pattern of what could I do to get good at golf. I realized with each passing day I really didn’t like drinking.”