Page 4 - Florida Sentinel 12-21-18

Feature
Former Top Round NFL Pick Keith McCants Releases Book About The ‘Darkside Of The Game’
BY KENYA WOODARD Sentinel Feature Writer
Throughout his profes- sional football career, Keith McCants played in pain.
When he joined the NFL in 1990 as a linebacker for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, McCants brought with him years of injuries from tackling in high school and at the University of Ala- bama.
Shots of morphine and cortisone initially helped McCants battle the aches. But when they no longer worked, he had to turn to something more powerful: painkillers.
“I was taking 183 pills a week,” he said.
By the time he retired in 1995, the pain had intensi- fied. No longer making the
lucrative salary he once had, McCants resorted to using “street drugs,” had a dependency on alcohol, and was addicted to sex.
It was a combination that would lead to trouble, including suicide attempts and dozens of arrests with the most recent one hap- pening this summer in St. Petersburg.
McCants, an Alabama native, details his triumphs and downfalls in his re- cently released book, “My Darkside of the NFL.”
A star prep player and No. 4 pick in the 1990 draft, McCants seemingly had a bright career ahead of him. He ended his time with the Buccaneers in 1993 with 12 sacks.
But the pain was always in the background and so was a more seedy side of the game, like when Mc-
Keith McCants was a defensive player with the Bucs.
KEITH MCCANTS
Cants said he accepted bounties to injure players of the opposite team.
“I became a hit man for the NFL,” he said.
After retirement, Mc- Cants said he drifted into a sea of drug abuse and sex addiction. The turning point came after an arrest and an attempted suicide while in jail.
“I asked God to give me a sign,” he said. “A guy came up to me and asked for a hug. I said who are you? He said ‘I’m the one
who took you down.’ That’s when I surrendered.”
McCants, who resides in Florida, said he’s faced his demons with the help of rehab.
“I have a solid founda- tion and I’m not ashamed of (my past) anymore,” he said. “I’m going around the country to tell other people and inspire them.”
McCants said he’s em- barking on a promotional tour that will include a stop in the Tampa Bay area. While the tour and the book have been therapeutic for him, McCants said he knows it’s part of a bigger purpose like helping aspir- ing players.
“I want them to be ex- tremely careful,” he said.
Another reason is to be among the voices of former
players who are suffering from CTE, or chronic trau- matic encephalopathy, a neurodegenerative disorder that’s a result of multiple head injuries.
McCants said while he’s encouraged that the NFL is doing more to ad- dress the problem, it’s not enough. The league needs to do more to compensate players affected by CTE, he said.
“They left me for dead,” he said. “I’m not the only one.”
And while some things within the league and the game have changed since McCants’ playing days, one thing remains the same: the pain.
“I’m 50-years-old in a 90-year-old body,” he said. “I’m in pain every day.”
PAGE 4-A FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY FRIDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2018