They called him Sweetness, but Chicago Bears great Walter Payton had a dark side, according to a biography to be released Oct. 4. An excerpt of "Sweetness: The Enigmatic Life of Walter Payton," by Jeff Pearlman will appear in the Oct. 3 issue of Sports Illustrated and describes the Hall of Famer as suicidal, abusing pain medication and dealing with a crumbling family situation. Payton, who retired as the then-all-time leading rusher in NFL history after the 1987 season, was depressed and suicidal in the mid-1990s. Pearlman cites a letter to a friend in which Payton said he imagined himself killing those around him and then turning a gun on himself. "Walter would call me all the time saying he was about to kill himself, he was tired," Payton's longtime agent Bud Holmes said, according to SI.com. "He was angry. Nobody loved him. He wanted to be dead." Read more: http://espn.go.com/chicago/nfl/stor...yton-used-drugs-talked-suicide-according-book
I don't usually mourn the passing of even a great athlete, but I cried the day Walter Payton died. I still get choked up thinking of the bitter irony that his body that was so superb during his playing days gave out on him at the very young age of 45. I don't believe anything written in that story about him, other than his dignity during his last days. They did call him Sweetness for a reason. And those people who called him that were around him . Mike Ditka once called Walter Payton the best football player he ever saw. Not best running back, best football player. The distinction is important. Payton was the Bears backup QB and punter, returned kicks, threw a number of touchdown passes, caught passes, and was a hell of a blocker. Oh yeah, he could run with the ball pretty good, too. http://www.nbcchicago.com/blogs/gri...ka-Would-Spit-on-Payton-Author-130817828.html
