According to a brand new book, Chicago Bears star Walter Payton abused painkillers in retirement and have become suicidal.
In "Sweetness: The Enigmatic lifetime of Walter Payton," author Jeff Pearlman says the Hall of Fame running back used a cocktail of Tylenol and Vicodin in retirement, kept tanks of nitrous oxide in his garage and even obtained Ritalin from an exponent whose son was prescribed pills. Pearlman writes that Payton drew the suspicion of pharmacists and a warning from the police once visiting many drugstores to possess a dentist's prescription for morphine stuffed.
Payton's longtime agent, Bud Holmes, is quoted as saying "Walter was pounding his body with medication."
The book goes on sale Oct. 4. An excerpt seems during this week's Sports Illustrated.
Holmes and Payton's government assistant, Ginny Quirk, recall receiving suicidal calls in any respect hours throughout the mid-1990s, and Pearlman reports Walter Payton was living with the exception of his wife Connie and having extramarital affairs once retirement. That created a clumsy scenario at his 1993 Hall of Fame induction, with Connie and his mistress attending.
Quirk is quoted as saying it had been her job to stay them apart.
"The introduction into the professional soccer Hall of Fame is meant to be the best moment in his life," Quirk says. "And indeed, it had been in all probability the worst.. Four full days, and Lita and Connie were like 2 ships passing within the night. If Connie was scheduled to return late, i would check that Lita was there early. If Connie was there early, Lita would be there late. i am unable to describe the horror of that trip."
Payton spent all thirteen seasons with the Bears and retired because the NFL's all-time leading rusher once the 1987 season. He died from a rare liver disease and bile duct cancer in 1999.
In a statement, the Bears said Payton's "competitive spirit lives with us nowadays."
"When we have a tendency to take the sphere every Sunday, we have a tendency to represent the good players like Walter Payton who helped build the wealthy tradition of our organization," the organization said. "Nothing can modification our feelings for a person we've the deepest respect for and miss having around Halas Hall to the current day."
In "Sweetness: The Enigmatic lifetime of Walter Payton," author Jeff Pearlman says the Hall of Fame running back used a cocktail of Tylenol and Vicodin in retirement, kept tanks of nitrous oxide in his garage and even obtained Ritalin from an exponent whose son was prescribed pills. Pearlman writes that Payton drew the suspicion of pharmacists and a warning from the police once visiting many drugstores to possess a dentist's prescription for morphine stuffed.
Payton's longtime agent, Bud Holmes, is quoted as saying "Walter was pounding his body with medication."
The book goes on sale Oct. 4. An excerpt seems during this week's Sports Illustrated.
Holmes and Payton's government assistant, Ginny Quirk, recall receiving suicidal calls in any respect hours throughout the mid-1990s, and Pearlman reports Walter Payton was living with the exception of his wife Connie and having extramarital affairs once retirement. That created a clumsy scenario at his 1993 Hall of Fame induction, with Connie and his mistress attending.
Quirk is quoted as saying it had been her job to stay them apart.
"The introduction into the professional soccer Hall of Fame is meant to be the best moment in his life," Quirk says. "And indeed, it had been in all probability the worst.. Four full days, and Lita and Connie were like 2 ships passing within the night. If Connie was scheduled to return late, i would check that Lita was there early. If Connie was there early, Lita would be there late. i am unable to describe the horror of that trip."
Payton spent all thirteen seasons with the Bears and retired because the NFL's all-time leading rusher once the 1987 season. He died from a rare liver disease and bile duct cancer in 1999.
In a statement, the Bears said Payton's "competitive spirit lives with us nowadays."
"When we have a tendency to take the sphere every Sunday, we have a tendency to represent the good players like Walter Payton who helped build the wealthy tradition of our organization," the organization said. "Nothing can modification our feelings for a person we've the deepest respect for and miss having around Halas Hall to the current day."
