Manley: After the Ball

SmootSmack · 07-20-2004, 04:33 PM

Interesting article in Psychology Today about athletes after they retire and leave the spotlight. I especially thought you guys would be interested in the part on Dexter Manley:

“Too often, retired athletes just can’t cope with being retired athletes,” says sports psychologist John Chang, assistant professor at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio. “Especially when their egos get in the way.”

Dexter Manley might be Exhibit A. From 1981 through 1989, one would have been hard-pressed to find a more dominant, more terrifying NFL defensive end than Dexter Manley, a.k.a. “The Secretary of Defense.” In his nine seasons with the Washington Redskins, the six-foot-three, 260-pound Manley played in three Super Bowls, winning two. His 971/2 sacks are a franchise record and rank in the top 20 on the all-time league list. “Oh, Dexter was a monster,” says former teammate Charles Mann, who started across from Manley on the defensive line. “He was as physically gifted a football player as I’ve seen.”

Yet from the time he was a young boy growing up in the Houston projects, Manley was setting himself up—and being set up—for failure. He was accepted to Oklahoma State on an athletic scholarship even though he could neither read nor write. After four years as a star, Manley entered the National Football League and the life of a big shot in a big town. He played hard and partied 100 times harder. “He was always trying to be this Hollywood superstar,” says Mann. “He’d pull up in these $12,000 suits and crocodile shoes, and I’d be wearing a cheap suit. He’d make fun, and I’d always tell him the same thing. ‘Dexter, it’s not the clothes, it’s the man.’”

Manley found himself in the psychological end zone of superstardom that sports the clothes but strips the man. Wherever he went in Washington, Manley was guaranteed a free meal, a free car, a free movie, a free show, free drugs. Addicted to the perks that come with athletic success, he developed an unhealthy dose of narcissistic entitlement: the goodies no longer were appreciated but expected. “The muscle you use to pull out your wallet goes unexercised,” says Mann. “It’s a trap, and it stunts your ability to cope with the real world.”

Mann’s wisdom rolled off Dexter Manley’s expensive sleeves. Manley began abusing cocaine in the mid-1980s and in 1991 was permanently banned from the NFL. With a growing drug habit, Manley signed with the Ottawa Rough Riders, of the Canadian Football League, where he spent two unremarkable seasons. He was officially done playing after ’93, but he carried around his expired NFL Players Association card as ID. He stayed in Marriott hotels because, back in the day, it was the chain the Redskins used. And when asked his profession, he continued to say, “football player.”

“I’m still living that dream,” he told The New York Times in 1995, shortly after his Mercedes was repossessed. “Football gave me personality. Once it was over, I had nothing to live for.” Manley has been in and out of treatment for the past decade and in 2002 was sentenced to two years in prison for cocaine possession.

“Dexter could never accept the fact that football was over,” says Mann, who retired in 1997 and now owns a credit-card processing company. “I used to tell him that nothing lasts forever, that he needed to remember humility. But some guys don’t want to hear that. Especially stars.”

http://www.psychologytoday.com/htdoc...719-000002.asp

RedskinRat · 07-20-2004, 05:16 PM

Nice find, were you reading that in your therapists office?

SmootSmack · 07-20-2004, 05:53 PM

LOL! Yeah Rat, that Dr. Melfi is great!

RedskinRat · 07-20-2004, 06:17 PM

Mine makes me wear a ball gag. Still at least she's female (Now the post op surgery is over).

Redskins8588 · 07-20-2004, 06:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RedskinRat

Mine makes me wear a ball gag. Still at least she's female (Now the post op surgery is over).

A little to much info!!!

RedskinRat · 07-20-2004, 07:24 PM

I was kidding, it's really my chiro.

SmootSmack · 07-20-2004, 08:32 PM

Jeez. I try to post a serious article about Dexter Manley and Rat turns it into Last Warpath Comic Standing

funny stuff though Rat

Sammy Baugh Fan · 07-20-2004, 08:40 PM

I love Dexter Manley.
Sure he has "demons" but the guy has a real Redskins heart.

I'd love to meet the guy someday.

peace

SKINSnCANES · 07-20-2004, 10:56 PM

so what is it about cocaine that makes linebackers great. Manley, lt...etc. Imagine if lavar started doing cocaine. Sadly ive had this conversation many times before. No one really wants him to get into drugs, and hopefully he isnt. But its always been a hypothetical of mine and my friend who is a huge giants/lt fan about how many more peopel would be laying flat on their backs if lavar was on something.

BrudLee · 07-20-2004, 11:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SKINSnCANES

so what is it about cocaine that makes linebackers great. Manley, lt...etc. Imagine if lavar started doing cocaine. Sadly ive had this conversation many times before. No one really wants him to get into drugs, and hopefully he isnt. But its always been a hypothetical of mine and my friend who is a huge giants/lt fan about how many more peopel would be laying flat on their backs if lavar was on something.

?

SmootSmack · 07-20-2004, 11:56 PM

Butkus, Singletary, Seau, Lewis, Wilber Marshall, what made them so special? Hard work, dedication, raw talent? No, they were all blessed with the same dealer!

huntz · 07-21-2004, 03:17 AM

You guys just ain't right. None of ya.

Riggo44 · 07-21-2004, 08:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by smootsmack

Butkus, Singletary, Seau, Lewis, Wilber Marshall, what made them so special? Hard work, dedication, raw talent? No, they were all blessed with the same dealer!

:cool-smil

dieselhog · 07-22-2004, 02:39 PM

Beer.

CrazyCanuck · 07-21-2004, 03:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SKINSnCANES

so what is it about cocaine that makes linebackers great. Manley, lt...etc. Imagine if lavar started doing cocaine. Sadly ive had this conversation many times before. No one really wants him to get into drugs, and hopefully he isnt. But its always been a hypothetical of mine and my friend who is a huge giants/lt fan about how many more peopel would be laying flat on their backs if lavar was on something.

Unfortunately, the "coke theory" isn't reserved only for linebackers.

In 1981 Tim Raines was a MLB rookie, and with the help of many of his teammates, he was flying high pretty much all the time.

Raines had 71 stolen bases in 1981, and there was only 81 games due to the strike. I've never seen a guy run like that. He was the true equal of Rickey Henderson. The running joke at the time was "How come Raines is so fast? Because he sniffs the baseline on the way to 2nd."

That early-80s Expos team was loaded with "users" and it was probably the most exciting team I've ever watched. If not for Blue Monday they would have made the World Series.

Well soon after Raines went clean. He continued to be a solid player for his career, but he never ran like that again and just seemed to lose a bit of a spark. I would have liked to see what he could have done if he stayed high for a few more years! :cool-smil

PS - Say no to drugs!

07-20-2004, 04:33 PM	#1
SmootSmack Uncle Phil Join Date: Feb 2004 Posts: 45,256	Manley: After the Ball Interesting article in Psychology Today about athletes after they retire and leave the spotlight. I especially thought you guys would be interested in the part on Dexter Manley: “Too often, retired athletes just can’t cope with being retired athletes,” says sports psychologist John Chang, assistant professor at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio. “Especially when their egos get in the way.” Dexter Manley might be Exhibit A. From 1981 through 1989, one would have been hard-pressed to find a more dominant, more terrifying NFL defensive end than Dexter Manley, a.k.a. “The Secretary of Defense.” In his nine seasons with the Washington Redskins, the six-foot-three, 260-pound Manley played in three Super Bowls, winning two. His 971/2 sacks are a franchise record and rank in the top 20 on the all-time league list. “Oh, Dexter was a monster,” says former teammate Charles Mann, who started across from Manley on the defensive line. “He was as physically gifted a football player as I’ve seen.” Yet from the time he was a young boy growing up in the Houston projects, Manley was setting himself up—and being set up—for failure. He was accepted to Oklahoma State on an athletic scholarship even though he could neither read nor write. After four years as a star, Manley entered the National Football League and the life of a big shot in a big town. He played hard and partied 100 times harder. “He was always trying to be this Hollywood superstar,” says Mann. “He’d pull up in these $12,000 suits and crocodile shoes, and I’d be wearing a cheap suit. He’d make fun, and I’d always tell him the same thing. ‘Dexter, it’s not the clothes, it’s the man.’” Manley found himself in the psychological end zone of superstardom that sports the clothes but strips the man. Wherever he went in Washington, Manley was guaranteed a free meal, a free car, a free movie, a free show, free drugs. Addicted to the perks that come with athletic success, he developed an unhealthy dose of narcissistic entitlement: the goodies no longer were appreciated but expected. “The muscle you use to pull out your wallet goes unexercised,” says Mann. “It’s a trap, and it stunts your ability to cope with the real world.” Mann’s wisdom rolled off Dexter Manley’s expensive sleeves. Manley began abusing cocaine in the mid-1980s and in 1991 was permanently banned from the NFL. With a growing drug habit, Manley signed with the Ottawa Rough Riders, of the Canadian Football League, where he spent two unremarkable seasons. He was officially done playing after ’93, but he carried around his expired NFL Players Association card as ID. He stayed in Marriott hotels because, back in the day, it was the chain the Redskins used. And when asked his profession, he continued to say, “football player.” “I’m still living that dream,” he told The New York Times in 1995, shortly after his Mercedes was repossessed. “Football gave me personality. Once it was over, I had nothing to live for.” Manley has been in and out of treatment for the past decade and in 2002 was sentenced to two years in prison for cocaine possession. “Dexter could never accept the fact that football was over,” says Mann, who retired in 1997 and now owns a credit-card processing company. “I used to tell him that nothing lasts forever, that he needed to remember humility. But some guys don’t want to hear that. Especially stars.” http://www.psychologytoday.com/htdoc...719-000002.asp __________________ You're So Vain...You Probably Think This Sig Is About You Last edited by SmootSmack; 07-20-2004 at 05:09 PM.

07-20-2004, 05:53 PM	#3
SmootSmack Uncle Phil Join Date: Feb 2004 Posts: 45,256	LOL! Yeah Rat, that Dr. Melfi is great! __________________ You're So Vain...You Probably Think This Sig Is About You

07-20-2004, 08:32 PM	#7
SmootSmack Uncle Phil Join Date: Feb 2004 Posts: 45,256	Jeez. I try to post a serious article about Dexter Manley and Rat turns it into Last Warpath Comic Standing funny stuff though Rat __________________ You're So Vain...You Probably Think This Sig Is About You

07-20-2004, 08:40 PM	#8
Sammy Baugh Fan Playmaker Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Northern Virginia, Woodbridge Age: 63 Posts: 2,507	I love Dexter Manley. Sure he has "demons" but the guy has a real Redskins heart. I'd love to meet the guy someday. peace __________________ Check out Mike Hedrick - The Next Food Network Star. Please Click and give me a Thumbs Up and Positive Comment. Thanks

07-20-2004, 10:56 PM	#9
SKINSnCANES Pro Bowl Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: New Jersey Age: 43 Posts: 5,455	so what is it about cocaine that makes linebackers great. Manley, lt...etc. Imagine if lavar started doing cocaine. Sadly ive had this conversation many times before. No one really wants him to get into drugs, and hopefully he isnt. But its always been a hypothetical of mine and my friend who is a huge giants/lt fan about how many more peopel would be laying flat on their backs if lavar was on something. __________________ "I'm used to winning, coming from the University of Miami. " Clinton Portis

07-20-2004, 05:16 PM	#2
RedskinRat Franchise Player Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: I'm in LA, trick! Posts: 8,700	Nice find, were you reading that in your therapists office?

07-20-2004, 06:17 PM	#4
RedskinRat Franchise Player Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: I'm in LA, trick! Posts: 8,700	Mine makes me wear a ball gag. Still at least she's female (Now the post op surgery is over).

07-20-2004, 07:24 PM	#6
RedskinRat Franchise Player Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: I'm in LA, trick! Posts: 8,700	I was kidding, it's really my chiro.

07-20-2004, 11:56 PM	#11
SmootSmack Uncle Phil Join Date: Feb 2004 Posts: 45,256	Butkus, Singletary, Seau, Lewis, Wilber Marshall, what made them so special? Hard work, dedication, raw talent? No, they were all blessed with the same dealer! __________________ You're So Vain...You Probably Think This Sig Is About You

07-21-2004, 03:17 AM	#12
huntz Special Teams Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Harrisburg, PA Age: 68 Posts: 311	You guys just ain't right. None of ya.

07-22-2004, 02:39 PM	#14
dieselhog Special Teams Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Bolton, Lancashire Age: 53 Posts: 166	Beer.

Manley: After the Ball

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