Ben Cousins has openly discussed his troubles with drug addiction, however the Brownlow medallist corrected himself when declaring he ‘had’ a drug addiction, as opposed to still having one.
Cousins has been banned from playing in the AFL in 2008, after several unsavoury drug-related incidents.
“I am someone that’s lost my livelihood, or the thing that I’ve enjoyed doing most, and probably more so than that, hurt a lot of the people that are close to me, you know family and friends,” Cousins said at a Sydney press conference, promoting friend Anthony Mundine’s February 27 ‘KO to Drugs’ fight against Nader Hamden.
“I’m not ashamed, or embarrassed, to say I have a drug, or had, a drug problem. For a lot of people they don’t choose to do it, in a lot of ways it choose them.
“At the end of the day, I ran the gauntlet. But at the same time, there’s a lack of public awareness for a majority of people who find themselves in my situation, where I deep down don’t think I really had a choice, in terms of the very things that make me a great footballer, are some of the things that led me to fall into sort of those trap.
“From a medical point of view, drug addiction is an illness. It isn’t easy for people who haven’t experienced it to get their head around,” Cousins said.
Cousins will make his boxing debut on the undercard of Mundine’s February 27 fight, against an opponent yet to be determined.
Think West Coast winning the 2008 AFL flag at $12.00 is good value? Bet now with Lasseters
Share This Post!
These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.
No comments yet.