This HEARTBREAKING Tarik Cohen Story WILL have you IN INTERNAL OR EXTERNAL Tears
For those of you that have not heard, Tarik Cohen just released a heart wrenching article. I will post some of the excerpts and give my commentary on it as well as the link below if you desire to read the full article. Here is a portion of the article below broken up.
"Dear 17-year-old Tarik,
Stop screaming at Mom for a second and walk out of the room.
I know you feel like you're getting good enough at football to maybe earn a free ride to college, and that by moving the family to a new town, Mom would be putting that at risk. «It's not fair! This sucks!!!! How could you do this to me?!?!?!» I hear you, man. I get it.
But do me a favor.Bring it down a notch. Take a deep breath or two.
Head back to your room and give me a few minutes of your time. Because I have something I need to share with you right now.
It's about your future, and what comes next.
I know it's been rough to this point � with Mom trying to raise three boys all by herself, and the jumping back and forth between six different elementary schools in North Carolina before you even turned 10. And now this new move? It's like: Things couldn't possibly get any worse!
Well, that's actually what I want to talk to you about, Tarik. You're going to need to really hunker down from this point on. Because the next 10 years are about to be even more challenging than the previous ones. And it won't even be close.
I mean, sure, the football side of things that will be pretty great.
But everything else.
..... Look, nothing I can write in this letter could possibly prepare you for everything that is about to happen. I don't even know where to start, to be honest with you. There's just so much. Looking back on it all, it almost doesn't seem real.
There will be a big bag of crack cocaine.
There'll be a gun right there in your hand, ready to shoot, to help you get revenge.
There will be death. In the family. Unimaginable loss.And that's only for starters.
It's going to be a lot. And you know what? I wouldn't fault you if you want to stop reading this letter right here. Not one bit."
If you continue reading you will see his struggles including two major life changing events in the life's of his brothers. I get it, things were going on that weren't supposed to, however that doesn't make it hurt any less. One of his brothers was paralyzed while his other, dead. As if matters could not get any worse, well... read it for yourself...
"And the beginning of that season is going to be really promising for you. After the second game of 2020, you'll sign a big three-year extension. Real money � $17.25 million, $12 million guaranteed. You'll be calling up Mom like, «Yeah, O.K., you can forget about ever having to work again. Now I really got you. I got alllll of you! Just like I said I would!!!!»
You'll be smiling and laughing again. Mom too. Feeling some joy.
But here's the thing. This is what I'm trying to get at here in terms of a big picture. It's almost like, for you, nothing can just be easy and work out and make everyone happy.One week after signing that new deal, you're gonna blow out your ACL against the Falcons.
Damn.
And that's going to put you out of action for man, you're not even going to believe for how long.
... At first, you actually won't be too worried.
It'll be like, I've seen dozens of guys bounce back off ACL injuries. No big deal! But it'll be one doctor's visit after another, and the news will only get worse. Turns out you not only tore your ACL, you also tore your MCL. And you fractured your tibial plateau.
It's going to be a struggle.
A few weeks after the first surgery, there will be times when you miss a step, or stumble walking down the hall, and before you know it you'll be cursing at yourself. Screaming at the top of your lungs about how you're not yourself anymore. No one beyond your inner circle is going to know the full extent of your injuries. Everyone is just going to think it's a regular ACL tear. And, like you, they've seen Odell and a bunch of other guys come back from that in less than a year. So people are going to start questioning you on a bunch of different levels. Dudes on Twitter will be calling you «soft,» or talking about how maybe you're just lazy.
They'll have no clue. About anything. Obviously.But it will still hurt."
This was an extremely sad story. Could you imagine if you were in his shoes? As I ask that question do not allow bitterness to grip your heart and say something like, "Well he is still rich and I am not, he will get over it." No! You must understand that football players are humans as well created with emotions. No matter how rich or how poor, every human being has a soul that WOULD be destroyed by this. Now while I am not against trash talking, please do not allow it to go past boundaries of degrading another human being and mocking them for things that will harm them in their personal lives. Why do I say this? Too many people were bashing Tarik saying that he was soft and he didn't want to play not understanding the severity of the situation. Judging a situation early will leave you without needed information to judge correctly. This made me so angry as people think that these are robots in the NFL. This is a prime example of why we should never do that. I would love to encourage each of you to say a prayer for Tarik Cohen and his strength for the Lord to get him through.
Pray this scripture over him that he may learn to do this.
"But those who wait on the LORD Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint"(Isaiah 40:31).
May Tarik bounce back and become one of the best in the league! WE ARE ROOTING FOR HIM!!!!
(Link to the full article below)
https://www.theplayerstribune.com/posts/tarik-cohen-mental-health-nfl-football
