Bears Blitz

Walter Payton: New Book Uncovers Troubling Details About One of NFL’s Best Ever

Published by Eric Bowman on September 28, 2011
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears

Walter Payton is without a doubt one of the best running backs to ever play in the NFL, but a new book set to hit stores soon reveals disturbing details about the late Chicago Bears Hall of Famer.

The book is written by Jeff Pearlman and is appropriately titled Sweetness: The Enigmatic Life of Walter Payton.

Pearlman worked on the book for over two years and interview hundreds of people. An excerpt of the book can be found here, thanks to Sports Illustrated.

Payton once held the NFL record for most career rushing yards, touchdowns, carries, yards from scrimmage, all-purpose yards, as well as several other categories.

However, this book delves more into the off-field life of the nine-time Pro Bowl running back, along with his childhood, playing days at Jackson State and life after the NFL.

A Super Bowl champion in 1986, Payton was addicted to the painkiller Darvon, which is only somewhat of a surprise, due to the nature of the game and prevalence of painkiller use in the league..

What is a big shocker is that Payton and other teammates used to take hits of nitrogen oxide during practices. Per Sports Illustrated:

“Back when Payton drove his own RV to Bears training camp, he used to load the rear of the vehicle with tanks of nitrous oxide, commonly known as laughing gas. At nights and during breaks in the action, players sneaked into Payton’s trailer, loaded the nitrous oxide into balloons, then carried them around while taking hits. The goofy laughter could be heard throughout the training facility.

“Now retired, Payton turned to nitrous oxide more than ever. Large tanks occupied a corner of his garage, and he held a gas-filled balloon throughout portions of the day, taking joyous hits when the impulse struck.”

He had thoughts of suicide when he no longer played the game, and he struggled to stay faithful to his wife, as the book states his affairs were becoming well known throughout Chicago.

His longtime girlfriend attempted to get a front row seat at his Hall of Fame Induction, which you can imagined caused a lot of problems.

However, this book isn’t all about the negatives of Payton’s life. It does point out how great of a man he was.

“He was addicted to laughter,” says Kimm Tucker, the former executive director of Walter Payton’s foundation. “When he was happy, all he wanted to do was laugh and laugh. He had many flaws. But Walter had a genuine desire to make people happy.”

Nobody is perfect, and while Payton had life struggles he always did his best to make others feel better. The book shares that while on a plane, Payton invited a sick child up to first class to tell him that he will pull through no matter what. The boy was brought to tears and Payton told him, “You’re a hero. Just know that—you’re a hero.”

Whether or not you’re a Bears fan, it’s clear this book is going to be a great read. Pearlman has experience writing biographies, and having taken so much time to write this you know it’s going to be good.

Pearlman points out that Payton was, “insanely curious,” and that is what drew Pearlman to write this book. He also stated that he hopes he doesn’t receive hate for bringing all these troubling details to light:

“It hurts me that this will hurt his kids. It really does…That said, I set out to write a definitive biography — period. When people would ask, ‘Well, is this going to be positive?’ I’d say, ‘Not positive, not negative — definitive.”

And because of that, you know this is something worth having. As fans, we love to cheer on our favorite teams and players, but to get the chance to find out who they truly are is something really special.