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Sports & Suits
Sports & Suits: Where Athletics Meets Ambition
Welcome to the official Sports & Suits playlist, your ultimate destination for conversations that bridge the world of athletics with the drive and discipline of the corporate arena. Each episode features candid interviews and thought-provoking discussions with top athletes, business leaders, and influencers who share how they harness the competitive spirit of sports to excel in their professional lives. Dive into real-life stories of resilience, leadership, and adaptability—traits that power championship teams on the field and high-performing organizations off it.
Tune in to discover the mindset shifts, training regimens, and success strategies used by champions in sports and business alike. Whether you’re an aspiring entrepreneur, a seasoned CEO, or simply a curious listener hungry for fresh perspectives, Sports & Suits delivers insights and inspiration that go beyond the scoreboard. Subscribe, hit play, and join us on this journey—where athletics truly meets ambition.
Sports & Suits
The Anthony Chickillo Legacy: Three Generations of NFL Excellence
What happens when a lifetime of football collisions catches up with your brain? Former NFL linebacker Anthony Chickillo bravely pulls back the curtain on his harrowing mental health journey in this raw, unflinching conversation.
As one of just five players in history to come from a three-generation NFL family, Chickillo's football credentials are impeccable. From his early training at age eight under his father's guidance to his collegiate career at Miami and professional stint with the Pittsburgh Steelers, he lived the dream countless young athletes aspire to. But beneath the highlight reels and career achievements lurked a devastating consequence of America's favorite sport.
Beginning in 2019, Chickillo began experiencing alarming mental health symptoms that would eventually lead to multiple hospitalizations, dangerous encounters with law enforcement, and a desperate search for answers. His description of staying awake for thirty consecutive days, being Baker Acted six times, and having tasers pulled on him by police offers a rare, unfiltered glimpse into the frightening reality of brain injury in contact sports.
What makes this conversation truly remarkable is Chickillo's purpose moving forward. Rather than retreating from his experiences, he's channeling them into creating resources and support systems for other athletes suffering from similar conditions. His passionate advocacy stems from a deep understanding that many former players are suffering in silence with symptoms misdiagnosed as other mental health conditions.
Listen as Anthony shares insights about college football's NIL landscape, talks about his wife's growing tattoo business, and ultimately reveals why his painful journey has given him a mission more meaningful than any tackle or sack he ever made on the field. This episode isn't just about football—it's about survival, resilience, and finding purpose in pain.
Well, fucking A man. Cheers, Cheers, cheers. We got Anthony Chick, chick-a-loo, my man, here. Episode two. Episode two of Sports and Suits man. Thank you so much for coming on, dude. Appreciate you having me, brother. I mean holy shit, we go way back, yeah, we go way back. Long time you were just saying that. You know, know, I think the first time you, I guess, saw me was yeah, I was, you were in middle school.
Speaker 2:I was in middle school and, uh, it was when you played jefferson was playing alonzo. We went up to the game and I remember you threw like an 80 yard bomb and then struck up the band and I was in middle school thinking like this fucking guy, I like this guy, I like this guy.
Speaker 1:Yeah, oh shit man, but yeah, so, uh, you know, kind of just tell, tell the folks kind of your, uh, your background, obviously you're well, not obviously, but he's from tampa um go ahead.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I was born and raised in tampa, florida. Um went to alonzo high school, graduated from Alonzo, played my junior and senior year there, my freshman and sophomore year at Gaither, went on to play football in college at the University of Miami, got drafted in 2015 with the Pittsburgh Steelers, played there for five years and finished up my last year with the Denver Broncos.
Speaker 1:Yeah, man, I mean you mentioned earlier to our previous guest you're one of how many families?
Speaker 2:five families to have three generations. Three, three generations. Did you hear that?
Speaker 1:yeah I mean that is nuts. Yeah, yeah, three generations of nfl football players. I mean that's. I mean obviously there's, there's just not a lot of people.
Speaker 2:That's impressive yeah, yeah, my, my family it's definitely a football family. Um, you know everybody, you know all the boys. My dad came from a family of five, of five boys, and you know they all played football. Um, a couple of them played in college. My dad was the only one to make it out of his brothers to the nfl. Um, my cousin, uh, was on the team with me. My, my dad's brother, uh, wyatt chicken, was on a walk-on with me at wyatt, miami. So when I went to miami I became the school's first third generation player in miami that's so sick.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that really is. That is such a cool ass story, man. Yeah, you just don't ever hear from that. Yeah, you don't ever hear that kind of story. Yeah, let me ask this and I know I asked you know, guys on our other podcasts, did you play any other sports growing?
Speaker 2:up.
Speaker 1:Yeah, played all sports growing up baseball, football, soccer, basketball how much of that do you think helped you develop into?
Speaker 2:yeah, I think it. I think it helps a lot um, I think a lot of skills, um that you you gain in other sports, whether, like it was for me when I decided to stop playing other sports and focus on football. When did you do that? When did I stop?
Speaker 1:Yeah, in my freshman year, freshman year, you were kind of like okay, I got a chance to play some college ball here.
Speaker 2:I stopped putting time into everything. I put all my time into it.
Speaker 1:I feel like that's kind of the timeframe of when guys are like okay, I'm really good at this sport, I'm going to shut all this other shit down. But I mean, I remember in high school I played basketball and the only white guy on the team at Jefferson, by the way as a freshman starter yeah, that's right.
Speaker 2:I can fucking hoop now.
Speaker 1:Yeah, starter, yeah, that's right. Yeah, I can fucking hoop now, uh. But yeah, I mean, I remember, you know, going there for my first freshman and sophomore year. Then you start getting some offers and some other shit and they're like, yeah, you, you don't need to be getting hurt playing another sport. So I was like, all right, I'm gonna shut it down?
Speaker 2:yeah, I. So I went um. I played my freshman year at gaither um, played on like special teams, got limited action on defense. Um I, you know, I, when I look back on it, I wish I would have played like jv football before I moved up to varsity and not played I'm glad you said that.
Speaker 2:I'm glad you said that I I because, um, when I came to high school, I was in a position where I, yeah, I was a good little league player and I was skilled, um, I had, I had technique, that that that was you know for for a guy ingrained in your DNA.
Speaker 2:A guy a guy for that coming in where I could you know. But like physically I that was a big toll, like a huge, the biggest. The biggest toll on my body, like of I can remember from for one year, was going from playing in Poper to my freshman year in high school and like I, I really like I was 160 pounds my freshman year and I was out there like going against the 300 pound line.
Speaker 1:Do you feel like that's a bigger jump from eighth grade is freshman year of high school or senior year to freshman year of college or college to?
Speaker 2:nfl eighth grade. So I look at the jump like this, and my special team coach in pittsburgh, danny Smith, always used to say this this is interesting, like the speed of the game from high school. Like a high school game is a college practice. The game is faster. The game is faster than that. An NFL practice is like a college game, and then the game speed in the NFL is faster than that.
Speaker 2:um, that's, that's how, that's how like I, and it always felt like that yeah, but the biggest jump, for sure, um just overall size from going from from Pop Warner to to going to high school to play as a freshman on varsity. That is harder than any like going from high school senior to freshman college rookie in the NFL. Who'd you play youth league with A lot of? So I started in TBYFL. Yeah, yeah, I started with the Citrus Park Bills.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, the Bills, let's go.
Speaker 2:I went to the Westchase Colts.
Speaker 1:Yeah, Colts.
Speaker 2:And then I went to Pop Warner Cairnwood Hurricanes. I don't even know if the TFFL is a thing anymore. Yeah, I don't think it is. I know Pop Warner is still going. Pop Warner, Powell, Powell is still a thing.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's just what a freaking story. So if you went to Gaither, you must have lived. Where were you living at?
Speaker 2:So let's go to Sickles. So was.
Speaker 1:I.
Speaker 2:Yeah, sickles was terrible.
Speaker 1:Yeah, stop fucking not going in. Yeah, and they got good no offense, no offense. They went to Sickles yeah they got good though. They did.
Speaker 2:They did, they got better yeah.
Speaker 1:And now they're not that good anymore.
Speaker 2:Yeah, the team to beat now is, but plant has fallen off like right from how they used to be yeah okay, yeah, yeah and armwood is still.
Speaker 1:Armwood is still armwood. Yeah, uh, but you know you got lakeland who's yeah, who's laking? But that's yeah. What about jefferson? My boy's there now. Yeah, yeah, I think, uh, I think you know everything that I hear it they got a chance, though, like, have they been competitive the last couple? Of years they were no. Last year was the first year they were competitive.
Speaker 2:But you guys used to have animals, man at Jefferson, you guys had so much talent, yeah.
Speaker 1:It was unbelievable, it was, it really was. That's why I didn't, you know, when you think about, you know, the jump from high school to college, athletics, big time college, not, not bullshit, that my university, mind me, south carolina, yeah, that jump, you know it was significant, but it wasn't as eye-opening as it would be if, like, if I was at you know sickles and I go to, yeah, a school like that. It's like these are grown-ass men here.
Speaker 2:yeah, this is yeah, yeah, I think from a physical standpoint though, because, because, like me, I I came into high school 160 pounds and I left to go to um at 260 pounds. I gained 100 pounds in high school, so I played my senior year in high school at like 235 240 pounds. So when I went to college, um, I was ready to. I was ready to play and that was why I played as a freshman and started as a freshman when I came in and that's hard as shit to do.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean, that is nuts. Yeah, who was y'all's coach? Was it Coker? No, al Golden.
Speaker 2:Al Golden. Okay, al Golden was. Randy Shannon recruited me to go to Miami. That's right, coker was shit. Was he's older than?
Speaker 1:I was. I don't know what.
Speaker 2:The poker was before shannon yeah, yeah, oh yeah. Or coker was way earlier, yeah, yeah, larry coker and then randy shannon yeah, yep, yep, um, yeah. So when I went to like going, like going to from miami, like when I did my pro day steve at Miami, coach Tomlin like came to my pro day and he says, like I do my pro day, and he tells me after I, when I went to Miami, as a true freshman, I played DN, like, and then they, I started, they wanted me to play like a four technique, so I started gaining weight, gaining weight, gaining weight. So I was losing weight. And then when Coach Tomlin came to my pro day, he told me at my pro day he said I'm going to draft you as an outside linebacker. I don't know what round I'm going to draft you, but I'm going to draft you as an outside linebacker.
Speaker 1:From an outside linebacker, from a four technique.
Speaker 2:From a four technique. That's what I played my last two years at Miami.
Speaker 1:I oh shit, yeah like head up Please explain to the folks here, because I don't think a lot of people know what a frog stance is.
Speaker 2:I mean I hope they can imagine what it is. Yeah, a frog stance is like when your feet are even right, you're in an even stance, you're squatting, basically You're squatting down, you're not putting no weight on your hand and you're basically mirroring the tackle, just ready to forget. If it's a guard, it's a two technique. If it's a center, it's a zero technique. So if you're playing one of those techniques, you're just basically blocking the blockers and you're mirroring and trying not to let them get to the second level, to get to the linebackers you ever know what a frog technique was?
Speaker 1:yeah, I know, you've seen it. I've. Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's, that's freaking nuts so he says'm going to draft you from a four technique frog technique to an outside linebacker yeah, yeah. So is there a weight change?
Speaker 2:My senior year at Miami, so my freshman year at Miami. Steve, I go to freshman camp, I'm wearing like 260, right, I get strep throat like the third day of camp and I lose like 20 pounds like in two days. So like during camp, my freshman year in camp. So my whole freshman year I was trying to like gain my weight back that I lost. So my freshman year at Miami I was playing like 235, 240. But I was able to do it because of the techniques I was playing like a wide five, you know like a seven so more of a speed
Speaker 2:so I was able to get by with that. But again, like that toll, steve, that I told you about that I felt as a freshman. I felt that toll as a freshman in Miami going against guys like Steve. I remember my sophomore year in Miami. Man, we're playing Notre Dame and their left tackle is this dude named Zach Martin and like we're going like Zach Martin, like I play that game, steve, and I'm thinking in my head after I'm going against Zach Martin, I'm thinking like man, like is this how all the guys in the NFL are about to come off the ball like rolling like this? Are they going to have this type of like hand strength every time they?
Speaker 1:You see a gorilla.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and then Zach Martin turns out to be. You know, he comes. He's the best guard of all time, arguably the best right guard of all time. Right, but like in my beginning years, at miami man, that that there's a difference when a guy's a senior and he has going straight and he's going against a young guy it's a 17 year old, 18 year old, it's a big difference.
Speaker 1:It's a big difference. 100, yeah, 100 man, that's holy shit. I mean, I, I remember, I remember man, just I didn't get to get hit, though, so I'm sitting back there, yeah, but I remember looking, I'm like Jesus Christ, I'm in fucking Tarzan land right now. Yeah, yeah, just some big-sounding bitches, yeah, and you know, then you start playing and it's like man our line was huge at Miami I mean our tackles was Sancho Henderson.
Speaker 2:He was the number one overall player in the country in 2010. He was 6'9, you know, 360, played like a 385. But zag martin, man, he's like he. You know he was 6'4, he's 6'4, 300, but he's got he's got the. He's got a death grip like when he touched, when he grabs you, you're not gonna move.
Speaker 2:You're not moving and and he was I just couldn't figure out how he was able to generate so much power and that's so much short space, because you go against all guys, against your whole life, in a three-point stance. You're coming off the ball and he was just taking those two, three steps, steve and just rolling, just smashing my, smashing my head.
Speaker 1:Every play you know what I mean? Oh shit, jesus. Well, let me ask you this man, so did your? How much of a impact or a role did your dad have? Like, is it more technique-based at your position? Like, did your dad teach you a bunch of you know kind of cool stuff? I mean, I don't know. Do you kind of get what I'm saying?
Speaker 2:Yeah, for sure, for sure. It was an advantage having my dad, as, like he was able to teach things and explain things where I can understand, like if I did this right, you, you can save time like to, and, and you can make everything happen faster.
Speaker 1:You didn't have a. You didn't have a position coach when you were in high school, did you like? I'm assuming your dad was? I mean? Yeah, was that there was that, was that going?
Speaker 2:on well, like, like. What do you mean? Like working out?
Speaker 1:all season. Yeah, like he was.
Speaker 2:He was that guy for me.
Speaker 1:Okay, yeah, so, so I was regimented like right now you know we'll jump into this in a minute, but, like right now, you're doing the defensive line. Combine training with with coop. Yeah, was there any of that when you were in high school?
Speaker 2:is yes, yeah. So so I started training steve for football like full committed, like my first year of football, uh was with the citrus park bills when I turned seven years old, the year I turned seven years old, and then eight years old, every summer, off season, like I was regimented, working out, running, doing drills. Eight years old, eight years old, that's when I started training, you know, and that was with your.
Speaker 2:That was my dad, yeah I, he, I would run, I would, I would jog, he would. You know he had his course that he would train on, like in our neighborhood where I would jog his old course. He had the line set up on the streets. You know, I would go out there, do 10, 10s, 10, 20s, 10, 40s, hit some 5, 10, 5s.
Speaker 2:He would set up cones at eight years old yeah, that's when I I was regimented and and I I remember going into my second football season I felt the difference of training, like I felt my first football season where I went into that like I, I wasn't doing that and I trained that whole second season and I I remember going into it like feeling like all right, I have an advantage over everybody because they weren't doing the same thing, that I was doing 100 in the off season and when I think, when you let me ask you this when you, when you feel like that because I remember I can think of it distinctly I was like I know for sure that these motherfuckers in the county, in hillsborough county, are not doing the work that I'm doing right now.
Speaker 1:Yeah, they're just not. Yeah, I know I've worked hard for this. I'm gonna prove it to them. Yeah, it was that kind of your same oh yeah, oh yeah, man. I you know, I used to but eight years old dude I mean kids aren't even wiping their own acid. Eight years old man, I'm watching the rocky.
Speaker 2:I'm watching the rocky movies, man, and I'm thinking that I'm rocky and my dad's mickey. You know what I mean. That's how I was looking at it as a kid. So like we were, you know, it was at a young age that we were in the backyard like working a rip technique, working a swim move, like working different stuff, like figuring out how to beat linemen in a fast way. Up until this is like up until I got to the NFL, my dad, me and him, were doing full one-on-ones while I was in high school, that's so sick yeah, like where he's the offensive lineman and like he just bull rushing the shit out of him.
Speaker 2:No, like I couldn't do that to him, but he's trying to cut me, you know. He's trying to pancake me. You know that makes you better. Yeah, like it did. And uh, I'm really grateful that I had a dad like that yeah, and I mean there's, that's something he said, man, there's.
Speaker 1:Yeah, not a lot of dads do that and you know, I'm sure memphis is gonna watch this. But I, when he told me he's like you know, I want to start playing football, I was like all right, okay, what? Okay, what position are you going to play? I want to play receiver. Okay, played receiver for years. Like all right, this sucks, I don't get the ball, guys can't throw it. He said I'm going to play quarterback. I said, okay, just telling you, right now I'm going to be harder on you than I am everybody else and there was times where he's like you're so tough on me.
Speaker 2:I was like man get the fuck over it. Like it's go time, man, if you want to do this shit.
Speaker 1:It takes that kind of.
Speaker 2:In the end, and like you said with your son, there's times where, like he's saying that you're tough on him. I've been like that with my dad, but in the end, like right now, as I'm sitting here, I'm grateful.
Speaker 1:And that's 100%. So in the end, because they want the best for you, man. Your dad wanted the best for you. He always did.
Speaker 2:He always wanted the best for me and in the end, like the son always sees, that I believe 100%. Yeah, could not agree with you more, but in the end, like the son always sees, that I believe 100%.
Speaker 1:Yeah, could not agree with you more. Yeah, they always will, because you know, as they get older, they start realizing like damn my dad was kind of right.
Speaker 2:You realize that man, that's the only dude that really gave a shit about me. He's the only one that really wanted me to do good. He was the only one that cared.
Speaker 1:He was the only one that cared that about, like how well I did on the game, or how well how practice went, he, he just, they just want the best for you. We might have a different way of saying things, but at the end of the day it's the same. It's the same message man, we want the best for the kids. And uh, I don't want to go too much into that, but I want to. I want to ask you have you seen much of a difference? Because I know quarterback training drastically different now. Have you seen much of the technique? And you know defensive line linebacker training, the form, the technique. Has it changed drastically over? You know, since you got done playing, because you're doing it now.
Speaker 2:No, the techniques are the same, but I would say, like drill, like there's new drills where, like, you can do certain drills that can help simulate game-like situations.
Speaker 2:That's one thing. When guys are doing drills some guys just do drills How's that going to correlate to football An actual game? How's that drill going to translate into whatever you're working on in that drill? How's it going to make something that you want to do on the football field better? When guys do drills, when trainers do drills, they need to ask themselves that, because some of those drills you see some crazy drills now where there's just like what's the point of doing the drill? If there's no point of doing the drill, don't do it 100%, yeah 100%.
Speaker 1:Your boy is one of them. You, the drill, don't do it. 100, yeah, 100, your boy is one of them. You know I'm talking about who cj. Oh, what does he got? What does he got? No, I'm just cj, I'm just busting your balls, dude. No, me and me and cj and chip and the stable guys. Man, okay, I chirp those guys all the time. Okay, yeah, I know they chirp me and you know, you know it's all. Yeah, it's all fun and games and I don't give a shit about any of that. But, dude, that is, that's a hell of a fucking intro right there. Yeah, hell of an intro we're going to. Hey, we'll wrap this thing up. I know it's a little early because I, because I want to get into his next little segment. All right, well, we are back, ladies and gentlemen, we are back, but, yeah, man, so we kind of went through. You know your childhood and you know going to getting drafted in the NFL. Talk about the NFL experience. Tell us how it's scripted?
Speaker 2:Yeah, so I don't think the games are scripted. I think everybody is trying.
Speaker 1:Conspiracy theory.
Speaker 2:I think everybody is trying as hard as they can. Out there it might be, there might be with the referees, but as far as like players are concerned, I don't, I don't think so.
Speaker 1:And I think that's a good point. Man, and you know we're, you guys are moving at fucking light speed. You, you can't you make the wrong angle at a certain time. I mean, I just there's, there's certain times in games we've talked about this on their podcast there's certain times where I think it is like there's no way this fucking guy threw that pick. Yeah, there's no way. He's too good. Yeah.
Speaker 2:There's other times like man, these guys I forgot these guys are moving, yeah, so fast and there's so much other shit going on and the biggest difference too like with the nfl, I would say, from nfl to college, is, like, when a mistake happens, like in college, you know the if it's, if it's in the first half, you know we'll fix it at halftime. Like in nfl, we got to fix it next play right. If something like is there, there's something, if something's wrong out there, it's going to be exposed the next play. So like that's that for sure. That, like the, the ability to perform in those pressure situations, it separates, like the guys that do it on sunday and saturday no doubt, no doubt about it.
Speaker 1:Well, let's go back. I want to transition real quick. Nil, I want to hear, I want to hear what you have to say about nil, because I know my opinion. I think we have similar opinions. Yeah, I'd like to hear what you have to say.
Speaker 2:I think it's really. I think it's a really great thing for, like, the kids that are coming out that are able to experience like and have money and take care of their families. I wish we had it Like. I wish we had it. I wish we had it when we were playing. I think we would have done well, we would have done well, it would have been a good thing for us.
Speaker 2:I will say, though, it's caused distractions for sure, like within college football, 100%, I think huge distractions it has to be managed in a better way than it is right now, but I think the guys, I know your alma mater is one of the top five or six programs that are spending as much money. Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:I saw we were just talking about earlier Texas $40 million football roster yeah, I mean what the fuck? Texas $40 million football roster yeah, I mean what the fuck.
Speaker 2:It's like the wild wild west is what I hear it's like with the high school kids. And if you're in college, steve, how do you not?
Speaker 1:You can't turn it down.
Speaker 2:If I'm the kid from Ohio State, Jeremiah Smith, why not say to Ohio State listen, I'm going to the portal and the worst case scenario is they're going to give him that much more money somewhere else, right? No, no at ohio state like they're going to say no, no, no, don't leave, we'll give you this. Like that's the power that these kids have and they know that, so um well, what do you think about?
Speaker 1:you know quinn ewers and you know he had uh from university of texas the quarterback. He decided to enter the nfl when, when he had NIL prospectus or whatever. It was between $6 and $8 million to come back for one year. He should have came back.
Speaker 2:I mean you go in the seventh round. Any guy that fell in the draft like look what Cam Ward did, cam Ward was going to be drafted. You know not what he was drafting. It goes number one overall, goes to Miami, makes $5 million, gots the UM Network part of his life, his whole life Guys, especially a quarterback Steve. If you have that option to do that where you're not going to, don't go to the NFL.
Speaker 1:If you're leaving more money on the table by leaving, which is just baffling.
Speaker 2:Yeah, don't go to the NFL to be a backup, when you can play in college and better yourself and maybe, you know, get that extra money and then and maybe go better in the draft.
Speaker 1:So you were pre-NIL. Did you see guys get paid? I mean shit. You went to Miami, of course you did yeah.
Speaker 2:So when I got to Miami it was the start of the Nevin Shapiro stuff, so I didn't get to. I wish I was going to be loving all that stuff if I was part of it, but that was like the beginning of the end for that at Miami.
Speaker 1:So I didn't get to experience that. No, I mean and I don't give a shit to say it now, because I think it's pretty common knowledge dude, like I saw people getting money handshakes all the time. Oh yeah, oh yeah, all the time. Yeah, that's how. That's, that's how you build a team. Yeah, you know, there was nil way before. Nil was an actual thing, and now you got these guys that are just out in the open about it, that are getting paid. Yeah, four or five million dollars, eight million, $10 million for the kid at Michigan. It's like what the fuck are we doing?
Speaker 2:Yeah, well, like, and a lot of guys like especially recruits, now today with social media, that are coming out like when you choose a school, like look into, like what network of people that you're choosing into? Because when you go to that school, those people when you're choosing into, because when you go to that school, those people when you're done playing, are going to be people that you do things with along the line after football, after you're done playing. So what Michigan has right now, it's dangerous. Right, because they have Dave Portnoy who is very vocal about, like wanting Michigan football to be good. He's partnering with Larry Ellison, one of the top five. They can do anything.
Speaker 1:But it's not just Michigan, dude, it's Texas, it's Oregon, Phil Knight said because he's about to die. He's like I will spend as much money as I need to to see the Oregon Ducks win a national title. It's like, dude, you're going to die then man they're not going to.
Speaker 2:But like imagine Phil Knight going into the number one recruits in the country or the top five recruits and say, listen, it could be powerful.
Speaker 1:It could be really powerful. Do you think you play harder if you make that much money, or do you think you don't give a shit?
Speaker 2:no, it's not that you play like you don't give a shit. No, no, it's not that you play harder, but like there's certain guys, like my boy, DeMar Dotson I was talking with him the other day play right, tackle on the books for a long time. He has a son. He just turned 16, Steve. He's 6'9", 295, and he's in Mississippi. He's got scholarship offers for basketball 6'9", 16 years old 6'9" scholarship offers for for for for uh six nine 16, just turned 16.
Speaker 2:Like you know, what I mean Like I was asking him like tomorrow, like you know, is is like he should be getting NIL things Like he like. If you get him, like you know, it's it those type of opportunities, when you have that type of pedigree, along with the physical gifts, if you go and talk to enough of those kids, something good is going to happen if you get them out there on the field. But I mean, there's also a lot of bad advice though. Yeah, but look at Ohio State. Ohio State like it is not a coincidence that last year they had the highest paid team and they won the national championship.
Speaker 1:It's not a coincidence, yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:But I think so you think that equates to you know, we talked about it earlier. Is it culture, is it coaching or is it kind?
Speaker 2:of getting guys there. Steve, imagine if the NFL was the Wild Wild West and one team was like Ohio State could just get all the guys I mean isn't that what baseball does?
Speaker 1:Isn't that the Yankees?
Speaker 2:Yeah, but like imagine if football could do that. Yeah.
Speaker 1:But what's the difference If baseball could do it and the Yankees still don't win? You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 2:I would say that if you could like, get like, because, like, baseball is so skilled and football is skilled too, but there's a physical aspect to it. So if you get a whole bunch of Zach Martin type of guys on all the same O-line, you only can have one Zach Martin on a team. Cowboys had Tyron Smith, zach Martin, you know what I mean. They had the center. Sometimes you get three, but what if you had five O-linemen like that? What if you had three of the best tight?
Speaker 1:the best. But do those guys give as much of a shit as a guy that feels like he's getting slighted because he's not making as much money? You see what I'm saying, yeah, yeah, like, okay, I'm making 10 million dollars a year. I don't give a fuck, I'm getting paid either way. Yeah, now you got. You know another guy that's getting paid a thousand dollars a week or whatever it. That guy's probably going to fight a little bit harder. Yeah, I would think Again.
Speaker 2:I don't know. I think it varies between people. Look at Jeremiah Smith from Ohio State. He's from South Florida. Yeah, what did Ohio State offer him, and why didn't Miami match the offer or make it better to keep him at home so we could have him on our team? You know what I mean those offer, or make it better to keep him at home so we could have him?
Speaker 1:on our team. You know what I mean, like those are the kind of questions that I have, and I I mean do you, I don't, do you know.
Speaker 2:No, I don't, I don't, you have no idea. Do, do, I do? I know what jeremiah smith's making. Compare what he would have made in miami?
Speaker 1:I don't know. I wish, I know, I think that's, I think that's a serious question. That is a very valid question like what does ohio state have that I would? You couldn't pay me enough money to live in ohio, yeah, as opposed to fucking south florida, miami yeah, well, I, I would like to know, like, like, what was those conversations like and like? And who's negotiating, yeah why were.
Speaker 2:If like, why weren't we giving him to stay home in south florida, like the mold was written for miami way back in the day, like just just block off?
Speaker 1:miami.
Speaker 2:Miami wrote the fucking mold. Yeah, block, block from tampa down and recruit all the best players from that area. Yeah, and we'll win national championships. That's what miami used to do, and and we'll pay them yes, and, and you know, we, we stop, we stop, we stop getting the guys, yeah that is a.
Speaker 1:That's it's's. It's a weird. It's a weird conversation to have, man, but it's it's. Do you foresee the, the NIL, ever coming to an head, or do you think it's so far gone?
Speaker 2:I think there's going to be a lot more control that comes with it over the years there's going to have to be yeah, but I like this.
Speaker 1:But how do you do it though?
Speaker 2:Steve, this next year guys. So schools have a salary now.
Speaker 1:Yeah, revenue share $20 million that they can pay the play.
Speaker 2:So I don't know, it's going to get a little crazier. I think this year.
Speaker 1:I'll tell you what man. I watched the thing. Somebody sent me the thing with Clay Travis and he was like so you got the University of Texas, who's getting a $20 million revenue share, but getting a 20 million dollar revenue share, but they're also going to put another 20 million dollars into it from a collective. Yeah, so they have a 40 million dollar. That's revenue share.
Speaker 1:Now you're going to have some politician who's corrupt as fuck, as they are anyways that are. You know, that's a whole separate subject. But now they're going to say hey, you kids don't, you don't deserve that much money. We're going to put a salary cap. You're're gonna take a severe pay cut. Yeah. When you tell somebody they're gonna make a pay cut, yeah. And clay travis says and I you know I don't agree with a lot of shit that clay travis says, but he says some valid shit sometimes yeah, he said, if you tell a kid, a college kid, that's making easy math a million dollars, just say you're gonna be making 250 grand. Now that's a significant pay cut. That kid's going to be fucking pissed.
Speaker 1:I know, Family's going to be pissed. A lot of people are going to be pissed.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I know, at Miami, like I don't think there's a starter that is out there, less than 250,000 at Miami, and I think that even NIL people, I mean even walk-ons have NIL deals at Miami. So like, yeah, it's like if you're on a university football team, it's a good time.
Speaker 1:We would have done well, man. Yeah, I was born too early, but you know what? I think it was for the best. I think if I would have been in this environment and I'm not afraid to admit it, I think if you were to pay me, okay, for instance, Lenore Sellers, quarterback of South Carolina, getting paid $2.7 million in Columbia, South Carolina, it's insane. You're a billionaire in that city. Oh yeah, you give me $2.7 million in Columbia. I'm not living for another year yeah.
Speaker 1:I will be in a ditch yeah, face down, living for another year. Yeah, I will be in a ditch yeah, face down, just yeah I'd be dead.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, I don't think that I don't. I'm not afraid to admit that it's a certain responsibility, and I also fucking 18 years old steve, it's also an advantage.
Speaker 1:19 years old, you couldn't tell me shit.
Speaker 2:It's an advantage for the nfl like, what? Like evaluating these guys because they see, they see how they're dealing with having the money, yeah, before they give it to them. I agree, yeah, so that's a part of, I know, the draft process. Now is the guys that are successful, that are doing well, that have the NIL deals, that are making money how are they handling that? They look into all that. How are they handling that, like they? They look into all that. You know they look. A lot of guys don't realize that, that that nfl clubs have have certain people just hired to look at your social media. That's their job. That's their their job. Yeah, like and and and the soul, the social media era we're in now, where everybody has, you know, podcasts it's all about me, and you can't say certain like, like.
Speaker 2:the nfl is a business and business and you have to treat it as such and it is a privilege like to be there in certain situations. You know, if you don't treat it as like a business interview, you know.
Speaker 1:Sometimes you just got to be legendary. Yeah, how'd that end up? Yeah, yeah, how'd that interview go up?
Speaker 2:Yeah, so like it's stuff like that where guys have to look at that, what the fuck are you thinking they? Have to look at that and learn from it. They have to look at it and learn from it that it doesn't matter who you are, it doesn't matter what you do If you look at that process. You know, if you look at the draft process as a joke or you can say whatever you want to these people, you can't.
Speaker 1:No.
Speaker 2:Everything that you're saying they believe you.
Speaker 1:They're controlling you. They believe you. What you're telling them, what you're saying or what you're not saying. They are believing you.
Speaker 2:Yeah, because when you're trying to make the NFL going through the draft process, Tell us that process real quick, yeah. When you're going through that process, if you're not looking at it as a job interview for the biggest opportunity that you've been working for and approach it as that, then you're looking at it the wrong way. They evaluate everything. They find out everything about you. They find out all.
Speaker 1:They're putting how much money into you. Why would you not?
Speaker 2:They do their homework and and they have a lot of people that that that are trying to find different things about you. So, like anything, like anything you say on social media, like they see it. So, like, always respect your brand, always, you know, show yourself, uh, in a way that you would want them to see you on your social media because they're watching it yeah, yeah, and you know it's, it's, it's kind of crazy, but I have to tell these kids that I'm training.
Speaker 1:like you guys can post all whatever the hell you want on snapchat, but just so you know, when you post something on Snapchat, another person can have a phone and take a picture on your screen so it doesn't just go away.
Speaker 2:Yes. Yeah, like people are still, yeah, like if they know something's about to come. There's people that stand around and take pictures.
Speaker 1:Oh, so-and-so is about to send me a snap. All right, grab your phones and see what he's doing. Exactly, and it's you, you know, doing something fucking stupid Exactly. You know doing something fucking stupid exactly and you, you read about, you see about it all the time. Yeah, so I mean that social media aspect is a whole different animal.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, and you have to. It's, it's something you have to take an account for. Like it, you can't like let it like slide. And because because, like I've seen, it cost guys, I've seen it absolutely I've seen it. I've seen it where they blow their opportunity because they're they're. They're posting stupid shit and they lose their job because of it yeah, absolutely, I mean shit.
Speaker 1:I'm, you know, did a camp last year at the university of delaware with, uh, my buddy, and he's like, yeah, you know, we made a graphic for you and this and that, yeah, with you, rich Cannon, joe Flacco, like it's going to be sick, and I was like, all right, well, send it to me and I'll, you know, just I'll reshare it. He's like, ah, yeah, man, uh, you know, I was like you know what? Fuck it, that's fine, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:It is what it is, yeah, but again we're talking about like me and you. We are who we are. We've done our thing.
Speaker 2:Now we've got the next generation of kids that we're trying to, you know, kind of instill some sort of intelligence. Yeah, yeah, for sure, for sure, like if guys don't have that you know person where they can ask questions to, especially in Hillsborough County and Tampa. I'm local man, reach out to me. Yeah, ask me any questions, any of the high school kids. If you want anything, man, just if you're going through any sort of recruitment process. I'm local and I would love to help any of the high school youth here.
Speaker 1:No, absolutely, and we're going to wait. We're going to wait until this next segment and dive into kind of the because we both went through the fucking ringer.
Speaker 2:Yeah, let me show you some stuff, Steve.
Speaker 1:Sure, we both went through. We both went through the fucking ringer. Yeah, let me show you some stuff.
Speaker 2:So yeah, it don't matter. So, like some of the, we can put it on the.
Speaker 1:TV. Yeah, you want to put it on the TV. No, I can't.
Speaker 2:I can't but like. This is like like that was when I was in the hop. You know, like there's like different things, all right. So are we cutting this out then that like people and like when it started? You know, I was in, it was in that spring.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, dude, but you know what? I think that kind of no, I think you keep that rolling. Actually, it's still rolling. Yeah, dude, I think that's. That's that. It's a, it's a wake-up call, so to speak.
Speaker 2:Yeah yeah, yeah, um, do you want to like wait till the next segment to get into?
Speaker 1:or because I see it, we got five minutes, I mean, okay, just roll let's fucking go, man.
Speaker 2:Um, yeah, steve. So like, uh, my last, my last year in pittsburgh, um, in 2019, the spring of 2019, I started, um, you know, experiencing like different feelings. I never like felt before. Like, like you know, I started having like an incredible amount of energy, started wearing sunglasses indoors, started started to act in a certain way that, like people that know me, that people that love me, my family they know wasn't, you know wasn't who- I am.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and that really led to a path of you know. I was arrested in 2019, that fall, after the spring, where I started, you know, displaying different behavior, acting a different way. From 2021 to 2023, I went to eight different facilities, you know, to try to get help.
Speaker 1:I went, I was Baker, acted six times, you know, um let me ask this real quick how hard is it for you to talk about it now as opposed to what's 2025. So, like two years ago, um, it's a lot easier now.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's much it's much easier to talk about it now, because when it's happening to you and when you're in that way and and and you're down real bad, yeah, you don't want it. It's tough like to make sense of anything and sometimes it can be tough to even do anything, like you know, even get up. You know like get up just leave the house.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you don't. You don't want to see nobody, you want to talk to all that um, all that can, can, can happen.
Speaker 2:So, um, yeah, there was a time I and I felt like, uh, in space jam, you know, when they take the, the guys, I felt like that. But I felt like that on an everyday basis, like because how I am as a person, where, where they took like your soul, yeah, where like, where, like I'm a big personality and you know I have a good time with my friends and you know we laugh and we tell stories and I was that that was like taken away from me, like I couldn't do that no more. Like it was like you know, my friends that saw, my family, that saw it. I was just like a fraction of like myself and you know, for a while there, um, my family and I and everybody around me was really like afraid that I wasn't going to be come back, like come out of it, because that's what happens to guys, and and and and, either they don't come back, for the worst happens and they kill themselves, right, um, it was. It was bad for me for a while, steve, but um, what do you?
Speaker 1:what was? It was concussion protocol, was it yeah?
Speaker 2:um. So I'm glad you asked that, um, kind of like the conclusion of, like my saga, like with all of it, because it started in 2019, but like the thing that gave me and my family peace, because, because I told you, I went to so many different facilities, I was Baker, acted uh, different times and and like there was crazy things happened to me in there, you know, steve, like this place called Shands hospital I was, I was there for 11 days, um, but every day for three days or for 11 days, three people will come in my room, you know, and they would hold, they would restrain me and then, and then two nurses would come and they would stab my legs with with like a tranquilizers, because they were, you know, because I was having so much energy, um, and it was not a good place.
Speaker 1:Um, sounds like fucking hell.
Speaker 2:Yeah, when I, when I went out to a place in California, um, a woman called the cops on me, uh, in a, in, in in a group session and and, um, yeah, she called and she, she, she ended up getting fired for it, um, but, but I went on a 15 hour run, like when I left, uh, the facility, and that was the first time I was Baker acted in Santa Monica California. Um, and, and that was the first time I was Baker acted in Santa Monica California.
Speaker 2:And that was back in 2021. And yeah, the energy that I have that comes with it it's. Is that why you smoke weed? It's incredible, so I started smoking weed. That's a valid question, right.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's a very valid question yes, it does.
Speaker 2:That is why I smoke, because it does help with what. But the amount of prescription drugs that I was on and those are the worst things you could do.
Speaker 2:Yeah, because they were diagnosing me with all wrong diagnosis man and what they were telling me I was, and the medicine wasn't working. You know what I mean? And, um, what ultimately gave me peace was when this last time in 2000 and 2023, where I was in that way, charged up um the university of miami dr Jillian Hotz, dr Kester Ned, dr Lee Capp and Vinny Scavo when the university got involved in 2023, on top of what my support team here that's when, like all right, what's going on? You know what I mean. I stayed. I was awake for 30 days in 2023.
Speaker 1:That is.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I had, and it wasn't like I was tired, I had an incredible amount of energy like that. You couldn't believe I went on. I ended up going on another run that started in my wife's neighborhood. She has a house in Kendall in like a neighborhood where I was tased by two cops. You know what I mean. I pulled a taser out of my, out of my chest, and when you pull the taser out, a lot more cops and firefighters are going to come.
Speaker 2:Sure, and yeah, they, they overdosed me on ketamine. I was on a breathing machine for three days. My family had to sit through and watch that. Where you know, um, and that was kind of the straw where we had to get answers and we did that and and um, concussive disorder is something that a lot of people need to be aware of and what it is, because not just NFL players suffer from this. It's all combat sports, whether it be NFL, NHL, fighting, MMA, military personnel. It can have a lot of the same things that look like things like bipolar disorder, schizophrenia. There's different labels, that guys are getting labeled and they're not. That it's a system that really needs um correcting education it needs to be talked about.
Speaker 2:It needs, uh, there needs to be awareness brought to it because, um, there's no, nobody should. Should have to go through as long as I did to, to have to, to have to get help and um dude, I'll be honest with you, man, I'm fucking, I'm pumped as shit.
Speaker 1:Yeah, man, I'm pumped as shit. You came on here and you know are telling your story. Um, you want to take a quick little break? Yeah, I got to piss like a racehorse, yeah, yeah, and reload my kryptonite yeah, we'll be back in a minute well, yeah, alright, well tonight. Yeah, we'll be back in a minute.
Speaker 2:Well, yeah, all right, well, we are back.
Speaker 1:We're back. He's got a celsius. He's, he's ready to ready to rock and roll. Oh man, all right. So what you're doing now, you know we'll transition into that. Actually, let's go back and let's go back of I don't know two years, two, three years. Um met your wife, kind of go through that whole whole situation and I mean I see you guys posting each other all the time and she's kick-ass, she's, she's got a hell of a following, huh yeah, my, my wife is incredible.
Speaker 2:She, um, she's a world, okay, she's a. She's a world-renowned tattoo artist, artist as well as a painter. So we actually met. She's been on a couple of different TV shows and her last one that she was on I was down in Miami for like a linebackers trip with, like my teammates and my agent told me about like there's like an event he told us to go to and we went to the event and that's where I met my wife at her at her show premiere in Miami, and then we we met again. I, you know, I had to slide in, the slide in the DMs, you know, years later.
Speaker 1:I did the same thing.
Speaker 2:I asked her if she remembered me and she, she did so that's how we're here the same thing, I asked her she remembered me and she she did.
Speaker 1:So that's how we're here. Oh, I love it. I love it. Yeah, I mean I uh I slid into my wife's dms and she gives me shit about all the time because, yeah, she's like what other girls you'd say I'm like what are you shut up? Yeah, so so I uh that's right, masha, I'm talking.
Speaker 2:I slid in the dms. You know, I actually moved back down to Miami for a little bit All of 2023, I was down in Miami and part of 2020, we just got back here in 2024. So my wife's opening a tattoo shop. I saw that, yeah, bush Boulevard Till the End Tattoos Tampa. She has Till the End Tattoos Miami. Yeah, she's awesome man, she's unbelievable.
Speaker 1:That is awesome. I left a little bit of room. We got there, you go. I don't know, probably two or three more birthdays in there. So, masha, get ready to rock and roll. There you go. Oh shit, but yeah, man, all right. So you found your wife. You know, kind of go through. You know what you're doing now with you know your training with Coop. You know, I see the. I haven't been invited.
Speaker 2:well, actually, never mind, I have been invited to your house A lot of times I have been, so that's all me, yeah. So I got the gym. I invested into my gym that I grew up going to here in Tampa Cooper. You invested with Coop Cooper Sports Performance.
Speaker 1:Oh shit.
Speaker 2:Nice yeah, so I'm invested in my gym. I've been training with Coop since 14 years old Coop's awesome yeah, so I know I can really vouch for what he did for me, not only as like a friend and emotional support, but from a physical standpoint of where he took me like from a speed and strength every.
Speaker 1:Well, definitely, definitely as a as a physical speed strength. You know conditioning, but then you know he's the guy that you could call.
Speaker 2:Yeah, he's like a life coach. Yeah, he'll, he's a life. He may not like it, yeah, but he'll he'll talk to you. Yeah, he will and he'll tell you how he feels like he'll give you anonymous opinions. So I always support, I always appreciate that, you know coming and you're doing, you're doing his d-line, yeah, so I, I train um outside, outside linebackers and d linemen uh, we do.
Speaker 1:The combine, guys, and out of his, out of his house, yeah, it's a.
Speaker 2:It's a sick setup. Yeah, I do it in the back. Sometimes I train the guys in the back and then I'll go up to the gym and then you know, we go to some different fields around Tampa as well. Ever Skyway, we go to Skyway. Fuck Skyway. Yeah, we go to Skyway. Absolutely fuck Skyway.
Speaker 1:Yeah, the whole situation fuck you skyway.
Speaker 2:If you guys hear me, they um hells, bro parks and recs man, fuck y'all they, they make it like you know they should let guy, like it's a public field, turf field, like let it be that you know what I mean that's a whole.
Speaker 2:I'm talking about getting charged up especially especially a lot of guys like that grew up like playing on those fields like go back out there like and it's good, like, it's good for like, if the up like playing on those fields, like go back out there, like, and it's good, like, it's good for like if the, the kids that are playing on it now, if they see the guys that are out there training, it's, it's a good thing, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, but it's a really good thing when the you know, I'm out there, the police, the police officers came up with this was. This happened two months ago.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and they were like ah.
Speaker 1:Steven dude, like your dad manages our account. Like, what are you doing? Yeah, yeah, I was like, uh, I don't know, ask these motherfuckers. Yeah, but that's a whole whole different can of worms. Um, so, all right. So you got that going on and then you know, you know, if you want to promote the yeah, that house is sick. The video sent me.
Speaker 2:Those were sick. Yeah, my passion now, steve, for sure, after experiencing what I experienced through the mental side of this starting in 2019, you know, I'm very close to like making a big announcement to everybody here in Tampa, and not only in Tampa, but all of my NFL brothers across the country that need it yeah, that need it in combat, combat sports, military personnel. I want, I'm working on something where I'm going to start something here, starting in Tampa, starting in Florida, a place where people can go if they're experiencing those type of symptoms, experiencing those type of things, and all the same, people that helped me get better along the way are in full support and behind me on this. I'm really excited. I'm really, really excited about it.
Speaker 2:Steve, I haven't been passionate about something like this, doing something like this, since I was like a little kid, you know, wanting to play in the NFL, wanting to play at Miami, to play at Miami. It's for sure, my, I feel like what is my purpose is to be a guy that can tell my story and bring awareness to the situation that a lot of guys go through this, and I know that I'm not alone, because I've spoken to a lot of guys.
Speaker 1:No doubt.
Speaker 2:And I see the stories and everybody has their own story. There are different struggles that they go through, but I want to be able to be part of the change in this and I have a lot of people that are behind me that want to do the same thing.
Speaker 1:Well, as I text you man, I'd love to get involved in it. Yeah, somehow. Or another man, I, because I think that's needed. When you have, when you have you know guys in white coats and glasses and you know white hair, I don't, I don't think you necessarily believe them. Yeah, when you have a guy that looks the fucking part, that played the part that actually was involved in the shit, went through the shit, you have somebody that that looks the fucking part, that played the part that actually was involved in the shit, went through the shit. You have somebody that's that direct, telling you kind of the struggles and kind of opening it up. Man, I think people respect and listen a lot more. Yeah and um.
Speaker 1:When it's not easy, dude and we've talked about it off air. We've talked about it over the past years. Man, it is not fucking easy to open up about.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and I will say, like it takes, like certain type of people, like I was, I know, because, where I was mentally, like I talked with so many different therapists, so many different doctors, and, like you know, nothing was working right, and like the people that I have that I'm doing this with, these are the people that worked. You know what I mean. All the places I went, uh, all the different experiences I had, um, uh, I, I, I've, I've made sure to reach out to those people and tell them about what I want to do, what I'm doing, and, um, to have them support me and and some of the support, that of the support that I've been getting, like you know, getting on the phone with different people sharing what happened with me, hearing what happened with them, their different experience, because, you know, just because guys don't get baker acted like I did or get tased.
Speaker 1:You know that they don't they're not going that they're not going through the same thing.
Speaker 2:It just wasn't as public it just wasn't as public, and uh, I'm very so, I'm very aware of that. Um, so I don't take it lightly no, and it's dude.
Speaker 1:I I appreciate I can't. I can't express to you and express to Sean for helping this and doing all this thing. Man, I can express to you how important this is and this is a big I mean dude. You're the second person I called about doing something like this. This is fucking big time. I think people need to hear your story. I think people need to know that you're genuine about helping people and I think that's a lost art in this kind of fucked up world.
Speaker 2:We got going on yeah, yeah, and the team of people like that were able to reach me. Michael Gonzalez he's a local here, tampa guy the show Intervention. He's one of the one of the one of the main interventionists on the show intervention Um, his, his ability to communicate with me and when I was in that way of thinking, where I was in such a different reality and my reality was different than everybody's, he had a way of explaining to me like to, to, to get me back. You know what I mean. And there's just different people that I have involved, whether it be the neuro people that that helped me, um, and some incredible data. You know what I mean. Steve, like, uh, rebecca Basin, the, the, the neuro person that's going to be involved with us that when I stayed awake for 30 days in October, she came to my house here in Tampa and recorded the brain data of what my brain looked like after 30 days of me awake.
Speaker 2:So like there's some crazy data, what like I mean, they, they, that's how they torture people.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and Guantanamo Bay and well, like my family, I can't really imagine how, like, how my family felt watching it right, because I was staying up every day, like, and I was watching them sleep at night, when I was, when they were sleeping, I was like up, you know, moving things around the house, I was, I was organizing things, I was, I was cleaning, I was and I would and um for them like to watch me because man, like, Did you take? A nap. I'm just curious. No, so straight up awake 30 days, 30 days.
Speaker 2:I stayed I'm sorry to interrupt 30 days straight month of October man 2023. I didn't sleep one day and I was. It was incredible when I so, when I got I don't know if you ever saw, steve, the thing on TMZ I did.
Speaker 1:When I got tased in the hospital right, I did, I think.
Speaker 2:That visit to the hospital was set up for the University of Miami for me to go to Hialeah. I was with my family. I was with my mom and my dad and my wife. All they wanted to do was take my blood and see what was in my blood, for me to be able to be awake. For 30 days I was unable to have that meeting before I got tased and taken down. I was unable to have that meeting because I was tased by the cops, because somebody called the cops, because me and my dad started fighting in the guest waiting room. They came, yeah, and I just gotten tased the the day before in the neighborhood or like when I was on, yeah, so I didn't have a shirt on. My dad took my shirt off and they they got me good on my back, man, and that was like why they got. They were able to get me down. Like if I had my shirt on I probably would have ate that shit and kept on moving, but then I could have got shot so thank god God that they tased me.
Speaker 1:Thank God, yeah, that's no shit. It's a big selling bitch man, yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:If the taters don't work, they're moving more lethal.
Speaker 2:And I have a lot of gratitude for the people in my wife's neighborhood that watched that night when I was on that run, because, steve, I'm going on this run right and like my wife's on the phone. My mom and dad are on the phone and they're calling everybody. They're calling Michael. They're calling everybody and he's like all right, he's activated, he's out. I'm walking through my neighborhood in Miami, top of my lungs, screaming Roger Goodell, where the fuck are you at Like? Where the fuck are you at like? Yeah, oh yeah, like I'm. I'm like like because, because it was a two year time period, from where, in 2019, 2021 yeah 2023.
Speaker 2:So I'm I'm saying all this different things and I'm thinking in my head when I'm on this run, by the time that I get back to the house steve, like, where my wife and my family was that that, like, everything that I'm telling them that I wanted to happen was going to happen. That's in my head, me screaming like who? Like, because we know like what it is, steve, like, the only thing I did my whole life was play football. Right, the only thing I did my whole life was play football.
Speaker 2:Right, that's all. The only thing I did my whole life was play football. You know what I mean. I played from age seven until I retired. Yeah, you know what I mean. So it's head trauma, it's concussive syndrome, it's frontal lobe damage. You know what I mean. Like we know what it is, and I knew what it was in 2020, when I called everybody in the NFL offices and I told them something really bad is happening to me. I need you guys to do something, dude. I mean.
Speaker 1:You see it all the fucking time, man and people, they just sweep it under the fucking rug. Junior Seau yeah Fucking. Shot himself in the fucking heart to preserve his brain. What happened to that brain?
Speaker 2:so certain, certain like used to you bring up junior sale like junior sale, that watching that documentary. I remember when that came out and I was.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it was like it was like in my young part it was like he was kind of like the start of the, I was thinking in my head like when I watched, when I watched that, I, I watched, and I was thinking like man, is this shit, is this shit happening to me? Like I'm watching, like some shit that's happened with junior, like, is this, is this, is this what's happening to me?
Speaker 1:and then, like you know so, fuck yeah, fucking a that's that's a scary fucking, that's a very scary proposition and I think what you're doing and what you, what you have visioned yeah is going to be a. Honestly, it's not not over exaggerated, it's literally going to be a lifesaver.
Speaker 2:Steve the the amount of times that I've now been tased, had tasers pulled me, had guns pulled on me by police officers. The fact that I am not dead, it's, it's, it's incredible. I'll tell you that, steve. The time, all right, so this was in 2021. I'm here in Tampa. This is after when I come. This is fall 2021. I'm here in Tampa. This is after when I come. This is fall of 2021. Steve, I call. I called 911 on myself at my house in Tampa. Right, I called 911 on myself. The cops all come. The cops all come to my house. They all have my mom. They got their guns drawn, all their tasers drawn on me in my driveway and the state I was in because I had to deal with a lawsuit with my next-door neighbor during all of this, steve, a civil lawsuit with my neighbor A civil lawsuit with my neighbor.
Speaker 2:That started during all this. So my neighbor has a cop that is sitting outside of my house that she has like watching me, right. So I call the cops and they all come to my house. That she has like watching me, right? So I call the cops and they all come to my house. I got these like big buckets of like balls, like like footballs, basketballs, and I just pour the, I pull, I pour like I'm in, like I'm on, I'm in a different state now, steve, so follow me here. Yeah, but I pull, I pour the balls like all out, like on the ground, like. But in my way I was trying to show them like I don't know why you guys are like on me like this. Yeah, yeah, like. But in my way I was trying to show them like I don't know why you guys are like on me like this. Yeah, yeah, like I don't like I'm there.
Speaker 1:I was like this is, this is what's in here. This is footballs and basketballs, and soccers.
Speaker 2:I don't know why you guys got your guns and tasers and keep on and watching me. God, like, like that was, that was like you know what I mean? Uh, I was dealing with that, yeah. So there's just a lot of things, man, where I don't. I don't want guys to go through that type of shit.
Speaker 1:And you know what man Like you are lucky to be alive.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah, because, because, as you're a big song bitch man Like and the rage, there's a be accounted into this steve where, um, I, it's just like I was, I would, I would.
Speaker 1:It can be scary like people that were around it were afraid, like people that love me were afraid, and you're a fucking nfl defensive end. Yeah, yeah, like yeah, and but that you're tired that's what, that's what scares me and that's what.
Speaker 2:That's what. That's what I'm afraid for in the future, because, like man, I if I saw, like a guy in the nfl, or is it like a ptsd type scenario?
Speaker 2:okay, if, if, if a guy like what, if I heard like a nfl player was like shot and killed by cops you know what I mean and he was like battling, like this, like, or like they found out that he had cte or like any of that, that, that that to me is like the biggest nightmare, like I could hear about right now. It's like because, like, I know what it is like, what it can look like, yeah, yeah, I mean shit.
Speaker 1:You just saw what was it. Adrian Peterson just got arrested for DUI and the kid from LSU.
Speaker 2:Look at the kid from LSU man Like, yeah, like there's LSU man Like yeah, Like there's a lot of different scenarios man, where guys, where situations become too much, it becomes too much for them to handle, on top of with the trauma.
Speaker 1:Because it is a lot to handle, man. It is a lot to fucking handle, it's a lot to handle regularly.
Speaker 2:But when you're dealing with trauma, which is your brain, when you're dealing with a brain that's not operated a hundred percent, it's like that's what guys are and that's what people, that's what people have to realize that that that has to more awareness has to be brought to it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I know I and I cannot fucking say that enough. People need to. People need to understand that. But that's holy shit man, I'm kind of at a loss for words, a little bit dude. Yeah, like that is a unbelievable story.
Speaker 2:I thought I had some fucked up shit going on, oh yeah man like man, everybody goes through it, steve everybody and I know I know, like you know, your struggles look different than mine, my struggles look different than yours, but but, but if, if a guy man, if a guy that played this game, that committed to this game at a young age, and even regular people, like people, you know, people that go through through stuff, when you get in those down, when you get in those bad places, you can come out of it and I know what that voice is like when it gets in your head that's telling you to do bad things to yourself, that you don't need to be here. You can overcome all that and it's possible, and you've got to have the right support system around you and you know and the right person in your ear, man.
Speaker 1:And I think that's why I'd love to get involved with you. Man, I know I told you this.
Speaker 2:What can you tell yourself to overcome it? Because it's mainly self-talk. Right, it's a self-talk about it. It's a huge self-talk. Yeah, it's a huge-talk about it, but like huge self-talk, it's it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's, it's well, let me, let me let me ask you this, not to interrupt you, but we're football players. We don't like being told how to do shit by someone else other than, I guess, the coach. Yeah, so newtons like oh man, you should, you should. You know. Hey, steven, stop drinking so much beer. Fuck you, fucking pussy. I'm gonna drink all the beer I want. I don't want to be told what to do. I don't think you want to be told what to do yeah unless it's your actual, you know, employer, boss, whatever.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you see what I'm saying. Yeah, does that make any sense?
Speaker 2:yeah, um they're like you, in order like to come back, like from this. It takes a ton of like self reflection. It takes like alright, like for me, I know why like I wasn't like what got me here right, like I ran into people as fast as I could. You know, for as long as I ran into people as fast as I could, since I was a little kid, right, and there was a certain toll that my brain took um from that right, there's a lot of like self-realization that you have to have, um, but with the proper support team, like Michael Gonzalez, my family, cat, you know my, my mom, my dad, my sisters, my brother-in-law, my nieces they wouldn't let me quit Like they wouldn't let me quit on myself when you know, they had so much belief in me when I didn't believe in myself.
Speaker 2:And now I'm in a position here where I can speak with so much confidence and speak, and speak with so much conviction because people believe in me and and, and and they believe in what happened to me and that wasn't a mistake. It was, there was a purpose for it and God, god, had had something to do with it. My, my, my biggest fear now would be to, to, to, to, not to not tell my story and not utilize my story for for guys um that could possibly be going through it to, to know that they can come out of it, because it's happening too often where I'm reading every single month, every single week, where people are taking themselves that play football former players because they just feel like they're in a place that they can't come out of.
Speaker 1:Well, I can promise you, this message is going to get out, this whole message is going to get out. Man, I think it's necessary. I think you're 100% right. Yeah, fuck, dude. All right, let's go on to a happier subject, I guess. Good God. So now what? What is Anthony Ciccolo doing now, and how can we follow you, how can we interact with you?
Speaker 2:Yeah. Don't mind the clock, we'll, we'll, we'll run it. Yeah, um, yeah. So right now I'm I'm working really really hard on the new project, um, really excited about that, Um, but other than that, um, yeah, yeah, just keep training people with the gym, you know, keep working on myself, man, because, just because you know, you get out of a bad spot and when you're in a position where, like Mike Tyson said this, when you're in a position where you're favored by God, you're favored by the devil.
Speaker 2:So like it's easy to fall one way or the other, and so I'm conscious of that, I'm very conscious of that, where I want to stay on the right path, keep doing the right things. Conscious of that, where I want to stay on the right path, keep doing, keep doing the right things. That got me into the position where I am right now, where I can be an advocate for people and help people and um and and I'm gonna do that, for I'm gonna do that for not only myself but, uh, for my family and and the people that are involved with this well, I mean speaking of your family.
Speaker 1:I just real quick man just brag on your wife, tell her or tell everybody, like kind of yeah, yeah. All the whole operation man.
Speaker 2:Yeah, my wife just just has been so incredible with me being so understanding, with me understanding where she did. You know, she doesn't come from a sports background where she she quickly learned about what everything is from a medical standpoint. She's opening up her tattoo shop on Bush Boulevard. She's doing paintings as well, so she's selling different size artwork. We're here in Tampa, man, we're, we're local, we're, we're, we're around Um, and you know, we, we just want to be a two two good examples in the community.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and that's, that's a huge thing to say, man, just in the community. You're, you're explaining your story and did people need to hear your story? You're explaining your story and, dude, people need to hear your story because there's too many stories of, in my opinion, of you know, I'm not throwing shade at all, but like a Tom Brady, like you know, it's all pictures, or you know, ponytails and rainbows, whatever the fuck the saying is rainbows and ponytails, whatever it is. Who gives a shit? My point is is that it's not always gravy man. Like there's a lot of nasty shit. Oh, yeah, that happens between the lines. Yeah, from eight years old to retiring from the nfl after six years, dude, there's, there's a lot of shit that fucking happens. Yeah, yeah, it is. Uh, and there's not enough stories about that. Yeah, just what I wanted to get across, yeah.
Speaker 2:And I would say it's changed now for Little League, like as far as, like, people are more aware of like head stuff, like they wear the head caps.
Speaker 2:But, steve, you know, when we were little like I would have like headaches and get you know hit, you would get stuff and you would just know it's part of football yeah, walk it off, walk it on it, so so so those type of things that are occurring, I I I think it's really important for parents like to be aware, like any of those symptoms if your child has them, because, because and I think there is a certain age that's appropriate for people to start playing, doing combat sports, I don't think it should be be as young as age as it has been yeah, I think I think it'd be a good idea to maybe get on a circuit and kind of start telling these youth organizations all right, I think eighth grade, maybe you guys stick with flag for sure.
Speaker 2:Yeah, maybe, maybe 10 years old, 100 100, maybe touch 100, 100 in the end, the skills that are associated like with football, that from a physical standpoint, that come with wearing pads and stuff, they can learn it in college, they can learn it in high school, like they can learn it, start learning. But the unnecessary damage. Because, like Steve, when we were playing Little League we weren't just playing Like, we were playing both ways Right, like you know what I mean. Like running back, I was running back linebacker, right. Yeah, safety, yeah. So. So, like you know, for from age seven all the way up until age 15, that's eight years of football before I'm getting high school football right. So, like and and and there's certain awareness that has to be brought with that as well.
Speaker 1:Yeah, Well, I'll tell you what man. This is step one of bearing awareness. Yeah, you know again, dude, I appreciate you so much man. No, honestly, this is. This is fucking incredible. Uh like comment subscribe, uh, subscribe. Whatever the hell you social media some bitches do Follow us. Sporting Stories, anthony Ciccolo I mean, this was a hell of a dude. Episode 2? Are you shitting me? Let's go. That was awesome. We'll see you guys soon.