Washington Redskins quarterback Mark Rypien will long be remembered for his time in the limelight, winning MVP honors in Super Bowl XXVI.
This week, he finally opened up about the darkest days of his life
"My story is impactful because people see me in a different light. I want them to see me in an accurate light. I’ve been down the darkest path. I’ve made some horrible, horrible mistakes. But I’ve given myself a chance to progress forward."
Among those horrible mistakes: Rypien let swirling, unchecked anxiety and depression drive him to isolation, to the point where he considered suicide multiple times and failed on one attempt.
Like so many in his generation of football players, Rypien has dealt with the after-effects of his time on the gridiron. Traumatic brain injuries have led to what he referred to as "wait a minute" moments: terrifying moments of major personality swings that have led to therapy and medication. Otherwise, they easily could have led to financial ruin, crises at home and time in prison.
Finally in a stable frame of mind, Rypien wants to share his story with others. His erratic behavior and mental instability could be caused by CTE, a protein buildup in the brain of some football players and extreme sports athletes who have dealt with early-onset dementia. Unfortunately, the only way to confirm that diagnosis is in a post-death autopsy, something that he is in no rush to receive.
"I might get worse,” Rypien admits. “I’ve got strategies to get me through the next day, the next year, 10 years. But I don’t know."
He says that the feeling of helplessness comes from a yearning for respect in a post-football world. His message is for those people.
"There are ways to get help," he said. "There’s great work going on in our community. But we need to team up and do more."