We have all seen the rise and fall of Tyrann “Honey Badger” Mathieu. However the young football player is now ready to put his past, and his old nickname, behind him and move forward in the direction of redemption.
A lot of people question if Mathieu and his sobriety is legit, or just a temporary fix to get him into the NFL. After admitting his first rehab stint was just for the hype,
it didn’t ease the questions of concerns from NFL scouts who woke Mathieu up at 4AM Sunday morning to drug test him and later asked a series of questions regarding how explosive he could be on the field.
When asked what his addiction to marijuana cost him, Mathieu responded with “millions.” Marijuana cost him millions not due to the amount he was spending, but it severally hinder his chances of being a first-round draft pick.
“I hold myself accountable for everything I’ve done,” he said on Sunday. “This past year has been tough, but at the end of the day, I want them to know I’m a football player. I’m not totally asking them to trust me right now. But what I am asking is for them to give me the opportunity to play the game again. I’ve had a lot of time to reflect on it, especially without football. It’s really given me a different outlook on life.”
I thought [the] bottom was when I got kicked out of school,” Mathieu said. “When I got arrested in October [for marijuana possession], that was a different bottom. So, I decided to go to rehab. I just wasn’t going to it for publicity or because my school told me to go. I actually wanted to get my problem corrected.”
“My best friend right now is honesty,” Mathieu said. “I want to be as open as possible because I’m trying to rebuild my trust. I know what it’s like not to have football. I know what it’s like to not be the center of attention. I know what it’s like to be humiliated. To go back down that road? Not a chance in the world.”
The jury is not out on the young cornerback, but his road to recovery is not over yet. Although he is saying all the right things and surrounding himself with positive people, there will still be a ton of people who question how sincere he is considering his past. Hopefully now that the fog has faded and his mind is in a clearer state he can see the light at the end of the tunnel.
