Part 3: “The Ugly”

When it comes to drugs “The Ugly” is usually very bad, but going with the title and flow the ugly is worse than very bad, much worse.
I’ve lost some friends and a nephew to drug overdoses, it definitely wasn’t pretty, it was very ugly. I even overdosed a couple times, but by the grace of God I did not die and I’m here to talk about a few “ugly cases” in sports history that were drug related and ended up on the ugly side.

As per the previous article (Part 2) a few of these athletes were favorites of mine and lots of other fans’ favorites as well I’m sure. I actually caught myself tearing up while I was writing this article. I really am glad I am on the right track again as far as my addiction goes again.

MLB pitcher Roy Halladay, one of the best pitchers in his playing days for years. Halladay won 2 Cy Young awards for top pitcher in his league. Roy Halladay also pitched a No Hitter in the NLDS against the Cincinnati Reds on October 10th, 2010. Roy Halladay apparently struggled with depression and addiction to painkillers. High levels of amphetamines, morphine and other prescription meds were found in Halladay’s system when the autopsy was performed after Roy Halladay was found dead from a plane crash. Halladay and his wife also had a disagreement that morning about going flying, in a brief conversation from his Jeep and in the air in the plane Roy messaged his wife Brandy:
“I’m so sorry,” he said. “I feel like you’re upset with me. I should’ve just gone with you.” “I’m not mad at you,” Brandy replied. “I’m just disappointed that you couldn’t just go with me.”
A tragic loss for the sports world…

RIP ROY HALLADAY November 7, 2017

Ken Caminiti San Diego Padres 3rd baseman, Caminiti was the first star player to admit to using steroids. Ken used steroids during his 1996 NL MVP campaign to recover from a shoulder injury. Steroids and HGH are definitely used for lots of things, healing quicker is definitely a good idea to take them, but not when people abuse them and don’t cycle out and just keep using and using. This was the case for this star player, he knew it made you better. In an interview with Sports Illustrated Ken told Tom Verducci “I felt bigger, faster and stronger while on steroids quickly deflating any myth about juicing not making a player better,” going on to say “the proof is right there on the back of the baseball card.”

Caminiti struggled with substance abuse throughout his career, as he had started drinking alcohol in middle school and smoking marijuana in high school (typical kids stuff) He started using cocaine later on, but his drug of choice by 1990 was crack cocaine. Ken died of a cocaine overdose on October 10, 2004. He was only 41 years old.

Steve Howe, former Dodgers and Yankees pitcher, was suspended a record 7 times for cocaine use. However, Howe won the NL Rookie of the Year in 1980 for the Dodgers. Steve Howe pitched for 12 seasons in the major leagues over 17 years, He ended his career with a 47-41 record and 91 saves in 606 IP. He appeared in 497 games, struck out 328 batters and finished with a career 3.03 ERA. A whole career addicted to drugs, his life ended In 2006 from drugs as well, Steve Howe was found dead when his truck rolled over. Toxicology reports showed he had high levels of methamphetamine in his system, but the exact amount is unknown. Steve Howe was 48 when he died.

Alan Wiggins of the San Diego Padres contracted AIDS from IV Cocaine use during his playing time as a 1B/2B , a very brief career with the Padres and Orioles, Wiggins was the first MLB player known to die of the disease. Wiggins got so sick he was only 75 pounds soaking wet when he died of pneumonia from complications from AIDS Wiggins was only 32 years old.

MLB’s Jose Fernandez was touted as the next big thing in Miami. The Marlins star pitcher was a breath of fresh air and such an ACE you’d thought the Marlins would compete for years under his direction. Fernandez 24, and his two friends Emilio Macias (27) and Eduardo Rivero (27) were found dead after their boat was discovered. Investigators said Jose was behind the wheel of the boat and concluded he was both drunk and had cocaine in his system. There is a lot of tragedy to this story, Fernandez had two friends aboard the boat and they two were killed in the accident, this could have been prevented by saving the partying for shore. The other tragedies here were he was a phenom and was going to be a future Hall of Famer no doubt, lastly Fernandez announced just five days prior to the horrible accident that his girlfriend Maria Arias was pregnant with their child. The shining light of all this was Fernández’s daughter was born in February 2017. Fernandez was one of my favorite pitchers at the time, this one hit hard 😥

These next two athletes were very controversial topics and still are hard for some people to think about as their actions off the field were heinous, but sticking with the topics of drugs and the effects of drugs on the mind and body need to be talked about.

WWE Wrestling legend Chris Benoit, as stated in another article wrestling is considered entertainment these days, but you still need athleticism to perform. Benoit murdered his wife Nancy and 7 year old son Daniel in 2007 and after that Benoit’s body was found hanging from his lat pulldown machine. Chris Benoit was only 40 years old, Benoit was addicted to pain killers for years. This weekend rampage of Benoit’s was caused from what was later discovered Benoit’s brain was basically mush, he suffered severe CTE from years of head trauma, his brain was like that of an 85 year old Alzheimer’s patient. Benoit was found to have Xanax, hydrocodone, and an elevated level of steroids in his body post mortem (after the autopsy). Three lives gone way too soon. Yes, Benoit killed two people and himself, but drugs were a huge cause for his actions along with CTE. This was very UGLY for the world of wrestling and devastating for Nancy and Daniel’s other family.

NFL superstar Aaron Hernandez; Hernandez was a star tight end for the University of Florida and later drafted by the New England Patriots. Aaron drank and used Marijuana in high school and at the University of Florida. Typical kids stuff like is said before, Aaron Hernandez struggled with his sexuality throughout his years in Florida and in the NFL. Hernandez smoked a lot of weed and did get into cocaine a little bit too at a bar with his friend one night. On this specific night guys were instigating Aaron at the bar, or so he thought, it was Hernandez being paranoid from the cocaine. Aaron and his friend Sherrod left the bar and followed Daniel de Abreu and Safiro Furtad down the street and Hernandez pulled out his gun and Sherrod was telling him to stop you were only supposed to scare them. Aaron Hernandez unloaded his gun into the BMW driven by the other two men, killing them both. Hernandez was later acquitted on those charges.

Aaron Hernandez also murdered friend Odin Lloyd, Hernandez felt betrayed because Odin revealed some secrets to his girlfriend the sister of Hernandez’s wife. Aaron was suspected almost immediately as he was the last person seen with Lloyd, and he was arrested nine days later. He was charged with first-degree murder, found guilty on all charges in Odin Lloyd’s murder in April 2015 he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Hernandez would only serve two years of his sentence before he took his own life in prison from hanging himself in his cell.

Whether you like Hernandez or not, he suffered so much trauma and mental health issues throughout his life, as well as the drug use and struggling with his sexuality. He couldn’t take it anymore so he ended his suffering. *also later, Hernandez was found to have severe CTE as well from so many violent hits to his head*
Like I said like him or not, very ugly outcome to a great athlete and career.

Lastly I want to mention two more athletes, I’m going to put them together, this isn’t about stats this is about drugs, both these players suffered almost the same fates in life and their careers.

NHL’s Detroit Red Wings enforcer Bob Probert and Minnesota Wild’s enforcer Derek Boogard. Bob Probert’s career was much longer and the only stat worth mentioning at all in both these guys’ case is penalty minutes. Probert amassed 3300 PIM in his career and Boogard’s was well on his way but he died during his playing time. Probert played 16 seasons in the NHL and battled on the ice, but so much more battles were fought off the ice.

Probert was arrested for cocaine possession in 1989, he continued to be the tough guy when he got back from prison and his suspension, but found himself in trouble again in 1994 he was charged with DUI when he smashed his motorcycle into a car, his blood alcohol level was 3 times the legal limit, plus having cocaine in his system. Bob Probert died of a heart attack on July 5, 2010. Probert was 45 years old. Probert’s brain was also donated for research, it had been found out he had chronic CTE from such violent fights and hits to the head.

Derek Boogard nicknamed the Boogeyman was a very scary guy on the ice. Boogard suffered countless injuries, most of them being in the minors before making the NHL. He found the Wild were not keeping track of who was prescribing what, Boogard took it upon himself to obtain 8 different prescriptions for various pain killers, such as Vicodin, Percocet, and OxyContin, he immediately developed a severe addiction to painkillers. Boogard died from an overdose of OxyContin in 2011 he was only 28 years old. His brain also donated to research and yes severe trauma to the head resulting in having developed CTE.

I hope you enjoyed this article as much as the others, this was definitely UGLY

Photo Credit; USA Today, The Detroit News, Los Angeles Times, NBC Sports, X.com, MLB.com

Feel free to follow me on X @HENDO19750 or message me anytime on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/HENDO.1975

***Are you interested in sports betting? If so make sure to use our promo code below where you can get your deposit matched (up to $1000), use promo code Sportz***

***Have you tried Dubby?? Are you looking for a Pre-Workout??
our promo code : WeLikeSportz for 10% off!