NFL

Barret Robbins Takes Positive Steps in Regaining His Life

Posted Jun 13, 2009 3:47PM By Tom Mantzouranis (RSS feed)

Filed Under: Raiders, NFL Police Blotter

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Today, our society is better at understanding and accepting mental disorders. Troubles that were once delegitimized are now seen as serious medical issues and are attended to as carefully as physical ailments; people who were once discredited for being different are now seen in a different light.

Super Bowl - Where Are They Now?

    Then: Barret Robbins, Center, Raiders (Super Bowl XXXVII) | Accomplishments: Robbins anchored Oakland's offensive line during its playoff run, but then went AWOL in the days leading up to the game. Once he returned -- after a reported trip to Tijuana -- the Raiders suspended him and he wound up in the hospital for bipolar disorder treatment.

    David Stluka, Getty Images

    Now: Robbins, seen here after an arrest in 2005, recently checked into a halfway house following rehab and is trying to get his life back on the right track. "When you get to a point where you are sick of jails, institutions, near-death experiences, things of that nature, God allows you to see things in a different light and he has for me," Robbins said.

    J. Pat Carter, AP

    Then: Bruce Smith, Defensive end, Bills (Super Bowl XXV, XXVI, XXVII, XXVIII) | Accomplishments: Smith was part of Buffalo's four Super Bowl teams, and earned a rare safety in Super Bowl XXV with a sack of Jeff Hostetler in the end zone in the Bills narrow loss to the Giants.

    John J. Gaps III, AP

    Now: Smith was left in tears after being selected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The ex-star now lives in Virginia Beach, Va., and works as a large-scale hotel designer.

    Chris O'Meara, AP

    Then: Doug Williams, Quarterback, Redskins (Super Bowl XXII) | Accomplishments: Williams made history in 1988 as the first black quarterback to start and win a Super Bowl. He torched the Broncos defense for 340 yards and four touchdowns in Washington's 42-10 win and earned Super Bowl XXII MVP honors.

    Manny Rubio, WireImage

    Now: Williams, who spent time coaching at Grambling, now works for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers personnel department. He also presented last year's Giants with their Super Bowl trophy following their win over New England in Super Bowl XLII.

    Elsa, Getty Images

    Then: Carl Eller, Defensive End, Vikings (Super Bowls IV, VII, IX, XI) | Accomplishments: Eller appeared in the Super Bowl four times with Minnesota, but wasn't able to get a ring as the Vikings lost every trip to the big game.

    Manny Rubio, NFL / Getty Images

    Now: Eller recently filed a lawsuit against the Minneapolis Police Department, stemming from his arrest last April. At that time, Eller was charged with two felonies and two gross misdemeanors after allegedly driving recklessly and then becoming combative with officers. Eller, who has acknowledged his substance abuse, is claiming that his civil rights were violated in the incident.

    Hennepin County Sheriff's Office / AP

    Then: Timmy Smith, Running Back, Redskins (Super Bowl XXII) | Accomplishments: Smith had a career game on the big stage for the Redskins in 1988, rushing for 204 yards and a pair of touchdowns as Washington won its second Super Bowl title with a thrashing of the Broncos.

    Bob Galbraith, AP

    Now: Smith was released from federal prison last March. He pled guilty in 2006 after attempting to sell cocaine to an undercover police officer in Denver, and served 2 1/2 years behind bars.

    Ed Andrieski, AP


While pro sports still lags behind society as a whole in erasing the old-fashioned stigma surrounding mental health, more and more athletes are bravely speaking out about their conditions, forcing the sporting world to accept them. Last year, Philadelphia Eagles lineman Shawn Andrews got as much positive publicity for being open about his struggles with depression as he had for his play in an entire Pro Bowl career before that. But as little as six years ago, when former NFL center Barret Robbins' mental troubles began to infect his career, things were different.

Now, however, Robbins appears to be on the right path, checking into a halfway house following rehab and claiming that he's "sick and tired of being sick and tired" after watching a bright future in football degrade into a sequence of stays in rehab centers, mental institutions, and prisons.
"When you get to a point where you are sick of jails, institutions, near-death experiences, things of that nature, God allows you to see things in a different light and he has for me," Robbins said to Fox 26.
It all started to go downhill for Robbins in 2003. Coming off a Pro Bowl season in 2002, Robbins helped block the Raiders to an 11-5 season that would eventually find them in the Super Bowl. But in the hours leading up to the game, it was announced that Robbins was missing and had been, actually, for two days. Without a vital part of their offense, the Raiders lost that game, 48-21, a loss Robbins now reflects upon regretfully.
"I felt that if I had played that game, we had a lot better chance to win. I felt we would have been able to win that game. It was an extremely exhausting event and put me down as far as I probably ever had to go at that point in my life."
While the disappearance was puzzling at the time, as Robbins had no prior signs of trouble, the full scope of his struggles soon began to unravel. His disappearance led to a hospital stay -- one of many -- in order to treat depression and bipolar disorder, but he made it back into the starting lineup the following season. Yet in 2004 he tested positive for steroids, and the Raiders released him, ending his career for good.

But troubles continued to follow him. In 2005 he was involved in a brawl with police that ended with three bullets inside the former player. The police were responding to a burglary call after someone spotted Robbins attempting to break into a Miami Beach building. Robbins faced a litany of charges for his role in the brawl after injuring three police officers. It's since been a blur for Robbins, moving from facility to facility to attempt to clean him up and get him healthy.

While it's a struggle that never quite ends, Robbins now sees some light at the end of the tunnel, and hopes others will learn from his experience.
"That would mean a great deal," Robbins said to Fox 26. "I would love for people to be able to look at my life and be able to get something out of it where they didn't have to make the mistakes I made or do some of the things I've done.

"If someone can look at me and say, 'Man, if he can do it, I can do it,' then I would be real happy about that."

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