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'I'm ready to die right now:' Alex Green relives it all
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Alex Green lost football, then he almost lost his life.
The former NFL running back shares his chilling story with Go Long on our latest Happy Hour session. This may be our most compelling yet with Green, the ex-Packer, detailing his descent into a gripping addiction to alcohol, weed and cocaine. In harrowing detail, he relives the night he nearly overdosed.
Thank you to those who joined the Zoom call and brough such excellent questions.
As a reminder, these are always open to our paid subscribers. Is there a former player you’d like to hang out with? Let me know at golongtd@gmail.com.
Green was exceptionally transparent, expanding on everything he initially revealed in January 2022.
Audio and video is above, and available everywhere you access podcasts, including Apple, Spotify and YouTube.
* Ndamukong Suh and Nick Fairley gunning for his torn ACL in those Packers/Lions games. (Who would’ve thunk it?!)
* After tearing up defenses at Hawaii, Green was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the third round. He was surprised himself. Football stories are shared sporadically, including the (now hilarious) night Green and DuJuan Harris watched their employer draft Eddie Lacy and Johnathan Franklin. They knew they were toast right then.
* Jets Football wasn’t real NFL football.
* His fall. Once Green finished with the NFL and CFL, he slipped into a cycle of “depression, anxiety, a lot of fear.” He became somebody else, coping with the anguish by filling his body with drugs. He cut people out of his life. He became a total recluse heading down a very dark path. In his mind, drugs became a “best friend.” Specifically, cocaine.
* Hopelessness eventually set in. Staring at a mountain of cocaine, one night, Green was prepared to overdose and end his life. (“It’s right there. You’re that close.”) With one message — I need help — one conversation saved his life, then changed his life. The fact that this text message reached the right person is a miracle itself. He explains.
* Transforming his life was not possible overnight. Eliminating suicidal “ideations” and discovering meaning in his life has been gradual. He’s still working at it. But Green wants to help everyone he possibly can.
* We take the conversation big picture. Green knows many former players deal with the same emotions. The pain can be both physical and mental when the cheering stops.
Similar conversations/features at Go Long, icymi:
* The Fight for Erik Kramer's life
* What happened to Kevin Kolb?
* The Majik Man's Final Comeback
* Ryan Leaf wants to save NFL players' lives
* The impossible life of LeRoy Butler
Our two-part series on the Chicago Bears & Caleb Williams:
Go Long is your independent home for longform journalism. No ads, no sponsors, no corporate masters. We’re completely powered by you.
Our goal is to both humanize this sport and lift up the curtain.
Subscribers can access all player profiles, all team deep dives and join these Happy Hour sessions.
This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.golongtd.com/subscribe
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