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The passion for pleasure has broken the careers of many athletes. Professional sports seem to be incompatible with drugs, but at the same time, it brings in a lot of money, which athletes have at their disposal. Modern life is full of temptations – some restrain themselves, but there are people who succumb to their weakness.
Athletes have weaknesses as well, so it is not surprising that there are drug addicts among them, which, unfortunately, has aggravated their sports careers, prevented them from reaching certain heights, and dirtied their names. In some cases, they would go get treatment at a mens rehab and continue their successful careers. However, some stories do not have a happy ending. Male addiction indeed is a common problem in big sports.
The cocaine scandal of one of the best skiers of today, Petter Northug, in August 2020, certainly became one of the main sporting events of the summer. The Norwegian admitted that he had big problems with alcohol and especially with drugs. However, he is not alone. These substances have broken many sports destinies of great champions.
“Cocaine and powerful nightmares are my passion”
All athletes have different reasons why they are addicted to drugs. Petter Northug psychologically did not cope with life after sports. He used to love parties and after the end of his professional career there was too much time, so he went crazy. As a result, the police stopped him for speeding – the champion was rushing on the road at a speed of 170 km / h. Northug’s condition aroused suspicion, his house was searched by police, and as a result, they found cocaine in his house. The Norwegian athlete admitted guilt, deeply repented, and explained to everyone what had happened.
Petter said he had a very serious problem with the use of psychoactive substances: alcohol, cocaine, and pills. It had to do with his passion for loud parties, which he has been to a lot. He did not take this problem seriously, didn’t even think of getting treatment at a rehab for men, denied everything, and hid it from the people around him. Eventually, everything has led to very serious consequences.
“Wonderful sensations from coke”
The brightest and most famous lover of drugs and, in particular, cocaine is the Argentine football genius Diego Armando Maradona. Unlike Northug, Diego began indulging in drugs long before the end of his career. What is even more amazing is the fact how professionally he played, already having addiction problems. At the same time, it’s scary to imagine what he could have achieved if it weren’t for cocaine.
“At first I felt emotionally shocked: everything around me became very bright, cheerful, entertaining. There was a wonderful sensation from coke, but it is a pity that they did not last long. And then I felt the need to start it again and again and did not know how to get out of this state,” said Diego frankly.
Unfortunately, Maradona did not get a men’s rehabilitation and did not manage to cope with this. Even at the World Cup in Russia in one of the matches, the Argentine was clearly in an inadequate condition. On the other hand, the criteria for a good life are different for everyone. Diego seems to enjoy it and is not very worried about the moral and ethical side.
“A white line and 10 glasses of brandy”
Football players generally have a long-standing relationship with cocaine. There are so many of them who broke their careers because of this: Adrian Mutu, Roman Eremenko, Paul Gascoigne, and others. The most talented players are usually discussed the most. Mutu was Romania’s main hope, played for Chelsea, and was to become a world-class star. Eremenko was the best player of CSKA and, perhaps, of the entire Russian championship.
Finally, Gascoigne was considered England’s greatest talent in a long time. He was a real star at the 1990 World Cup, scoring crazy goals in England, but he loved parties too much. According to Paul, the recipe for a good game is a line of cocaine and 10 glasses of brandy. He had to pay dearly for such a way of life. Gascoigne was not taken to the European Championship, thrown out of the Chinese league, and now he is bankrupt and trying to recover from alcoholism in a men-only rehabilitation center.
There are more examples. One of the best central strikers in Russia and the NHL, Yevgeny Kuznetsov, was recently caught on coke. The National Hockey League has conducted various investigations, which have shown terrible facts – almost half of the main hockey players have used cocaine at least once in their lives.
Officially, the league has not confirmed anything, but the NHL exists separately from WADA and formally there is no serious punishment for cocaine overseas. Kuznetsov received a brief disqualification and has long continued to play for the Washington Capitals.
The horrors of Mike Tyson’s life
The absolute world boxing champion of 1987-1990 first tried cocaine when he was 11 years old. He first drank alcohol even earlier. Sometimes, he would smoke marijuana more often than British drink tea — it was the impact of an unfavorable environment. In his youth, Mike still took care of himself and led a normal life. Otherwise, he would not have become the Iron Mike that is loved by millions of people around the world.
However in 2007, the problems came back, and Tyson was jailed for drug possession and driving while intoxicated. His daughter died tragically a few years later. Many were convinced that after that Mike would finally fail. However, the opposite happened. The great boxer realized that he should take more care of his family, became a vegan, and is determined to even return to the ring.
Phelps’ ease
Unfortunately, Mike, who pulled himself together, is rather an exception to the rule. Not everyone can return to a normal life when it comes to strong drugs. His boxing colleague Tyson Fury became so addicted to cocaine that he nearly committed suicide.
NBA star Lamar Odom was found at home unconscious. The player fell into a coma, his heart stopped, but fortunately, the doctors managed to save him. Lamar also had major drug problems.
Against this background, the marijuana problems of 23-time Olympic swimming champion Michael Phelps look very innocent. Although when the paparazzi photographed him in the pool with a marijuana bong, there was a lot of noise. Phelps was forced to write a touching speech in which he confessed everything and was very sorry. As a result, everything was limited to a demonstrative disqualification for three months. The American athlete did not miss any major competitions during this time. However, he was no longer seen in the use of substances.
