Buffalo Bills safety Jordan Poyer hasn’t had a drink of alcohol in a year.
The Bills defensive back wrote on Instagram over the weekend that he quit drinking March 13, 2020, and has officially hit the one year mark. (RELATED: David Hookstead Is The True King In The North When It Comes To College Football)
Poyer wrote in part:
A year ago today (3/13/2020) I decided to quit drinking. Not because of anything special. Like lent or a New Years resolution. But because I was an alcoholic. I’m writing this knowing there are others out there like me that realize they too need help. My first step was realizing I had a drinking problem. Cause I did. I couldn’t drink just to hang. When I drank I had to drink to get F’d up…Can’t lie even writing this, Im embarrassed, it’s shameful, but If I can overcome the struggle of alcohol, so can you. I didn’t want you all to know this about me. I’m writing this because I know others out there struggle as well.
You can read his full comments in the Instagram post below.
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Good for Poyer for giving up alcohol and being so upfront about the issues he’s faced. I can’t imagine how hard it must be to be public with addiction issues.
I’m sure that it’s not easy at all, especially knowing the judgement people will cast.
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Poyer’s struggles with addiction are also a blunt reminder that athletes aren’t really that different from regular people. They go through the same issues a lot of people do.
The main difference is that they have to go through those issues in front of the whole country. They don’t get much privacy. When a star athlete’s life hits rock bottom, it plays out in the news. That kind of pressure can crush people.
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Luckily for Poyer, his family helped him get sober and he’s stayed that way for a year. I’m sure it wasn’t easy, but he deserves major props for pulling it off.