When a Teammate Is Fighting Addiction

Someone in or connected to this program is fighting something harder than a losing streak.

Addiction is not a character flaw, a lack of willpower, or a failure of the kind of mental toughness we talk about in this room. It is a real condition with real neurological dimensions that affects people who are strong, disciplined, and fully capable of competing at a high level. The athletic environment is not immune to it. In some ways, it is more vulnerable to it.

Read this passage slowly.

Let that sit for a second before you move.

Restore that person gently. The instruction is restoration, not condemnation. And the gentleness is specific — not the gentleness that looks away from the problem, but the gentleness that engages the person as someone worth restoring rather than someone to be expelled or managed.

The team’s role when a teammate is fighting addiction has two parts that are easy to confuse. The first is genuine care — the refusal to let the person become invisible, the consistent presence that says you are still one of ours, the willingness to help them access the professional support they need. The second is the refusal to enable — the understanding that covering for someone whose addiction is damaging them and the team is not loyalty. It is participation in the harm.

The line between care and enabling is not always obvious and it is not the team’s job alone to navigate it. The program’s coaches, athletic trainers, and counselors need to be in the situation. Professional treatment is where addiction is addressed. The team’s role is to not be the obstacle to getting there — to not protect the teammate from the intervention that could actually help them.

Care for the person. Don’t cover for the addiction. Get the professionals involved. That is the team’s assignment.

This may require significant pastoral care and professional coordination before and after delivery. Know your program’s substance abuse protocols.