04/19/24
September 28, 2011
Book: Walter Payton Abused Painkillers, Laughing Gas: A new biography by former Sports Illustrated senior writer Jeff Pearlman claims that NFL Hall of Fame running back Walter Payton abused painkillers and laughing gas. Pearlman quotes Payton's agent Bud Holmes saying, "I'd see him walk out of the locker room with jars of painkillers, and he'd eat them like they were a snack. ... Walter was pounding his body with medication. I wish I knew how bad it was, but at the time I really didn't." The book claims he kept tanks of laughing gas (nitrous oxide) in an RV during training camp and shared it with players. Pearlman said that after writing a book about Roger Clemens, he chose Payton as a subject because he wanted to write a book about "someone decent; about someone caring." He said, "Walter Payton was insanely curious, and his interest in other people -- regular fans, folks on the street -- extended beyond the scope of nearly any athlete I've ever come across (Sean Casey the possible exception)."
So...Payton was all Burning Man all the time?
posted by NoMich at 01:48 PM on September 28, 2011
Is it that surprising that a top RB would be addicted to the stuff that kept him able to show up every week and do what he did so well?
posted by kokaku at 01:52 PM on September 28, 2011
Listen, if you've got another way to keep your teammates laughing when your jokes aren't funny Jeff Pearlman, I'm all ears.
posted by dfleming at 02:28 PM on September 28, 2011
Obviously, if you are writing a biography, then you should tell the whole truth. However, is not using real names is telling the truth? I don't like the idea that people will dish on someone else, so long as no one knows who the source was. It does have a place when we are talking about major stories of national interest that will never be told otherwise. When it is a biography, it just seems like gossip.
posted by bperk at 02:31 PM on September 28, 2011
Nitrous in his RV?? Walter was a race car owner/driver. He loved speedway. Nitrous may have been used by team mates from his RV but I chose to belive it was there for his passion of race cars and that is why he had it, for his car
posted by postalmayhem at 04:46 PM on September 28, 2011
It is sad, but it seems like none of the greats are what they appeared. It seems most athletes have the "image " they portray, but once you start to dig, they all have RV's full of baggage(or nitrous). Sad to hear about a man who was once held up as the standard.