Meet John Gill. John USED to play for the Indianapolis Colts. You see, John was at training camp, like a good professional football player should be. Apparently two-a-days did not make Gill exhausted enough to stay out of trouble like most players. Nope, John thought it would be a good idea to get ‘chocolate wasted’ on his day off from training camp. He was arrested for public intoxication after Indianapolis police found him drunk in a ditch. Indystar.com reported the arrest and subsequent drop of the charges:
Gill was found passed out in a ditch in the 3600 block of Lafayette Road at about 4 a.m. Sunday, according to a police report. An officer had been sent to check on a man said to be on the ground in front of a car. Gill reportedly had trouble standing, smelled of alcohol and spoke with a slur, the report said.
Colts president, Bill Polian indicated that he expects the NFL to place him in a category that would relieve him of his roster spot and be able to get treatment. “I would anticipate that, but I don’t know. We’ll hear from (the league office) later today.” Polian further commented, “In respect to John Gill, he’s got a problem unfortunately that many Americans are familiar with either in their family or in the workplace, The No. 1 priority for him is to get treatment and we’re in that process right now.”
Gill was added to the roster late last season and the Colts were expecting a break out season from him.
I think that alcoholism is a bigger problem in professional sports than anyone in control is willing to admit. As long as brewing companies are major sponsors of teams, the promotion of alcohol will continue to perpetuate this problem. HGH and steroids are buzz words in professional sports, but alcoholism should be added to list as well. Gill’s situation is an example of how killing your career with drugs needs to be addressed just as much as trying to enhance it with drugs.
Erikka is the resident female voice of BSO. You can follow her on twitter here.