Theo Fleury had a great hockey career starting in major junior by winning the World Cup, all the way to winning the Stanley cup. Theo was fast and fearless on the ice, many people thought he was too small to be in the NHL but he proved them wrong with his speed and skill. Theo had a rough life starting with family matters, and going all the way to what he loved to do best hockey. His dad was an alcoholic, selfish man and his mom was quiet, conservative, and an emotional wreck (Fleury 6). Theo had a big secret that he was keeping for many years and didn’t tell anyone, this secret caused him to get into drugs and alcohol. Theo was sexually abused when he was in the early stages of his career. Theo Fleury came from Russell, Manitoba he lived …show more content…
with his mother, father, and his two brothers. Theo had a rough life living at home with his parents as his dad was bitter man. His dad hated his job and was a big alcoholic not caring how much money he would spend at the bars after he would just get paid. Theo’s mom was an emotional wreck as she was prescribed Valium when she was sixteen and then she became addicted to it (Fleury 6). Theo was the oldest of the three kids. His two brother’s names were Ted and Travis. Theo had a lot of anger that would make him dangerous guy to be around. Theo became a bully in school because he had no one to go to about his problems because his parents didn’t want to hear about it. Theo started playing hockey at the age of six and had a dream to be in the NHL when he was older. He loved playing the game of hockey and when he was fourteen he was being scouted by the western hockey league. Theo started playing hockey in his home town of Russell, Manitoba. He was getting phone calls from the coach of the Moose Jaw Warriors. He promised Theo that he would be drafted by the team when was able to be drafted. The summer before he was drafted Graham was the scout of the Moose Jaw Warriors and asked him and two other players if they would like to go on a trip with him to North Dakota. When they got to the hotel Graham told the other two boys to take the bed on the left and him and Theo would sleep in the one on the right. Theo woke up the next morning and found Grahams had touching his body and didn’t know what was going on, so he didn’t say anything (Fleury 21). The next summer Theo was allowed to be drafted to major junior and like Graham promised the Warriors picked him in the second round of the draft. When Theo was drafted by the Warriors he had then found out that Graham was the coach of the team (Fleury 22). Theo was sexually abused by Graham more than one-hundred times when he played for the Moose Jaw Warriors. At the age of fourteen his parents were happy that he had the chance to go and play for the CHL, but Theo had a choice to make. He could go to Moose Jaw knowing what Graham wanted from him or he could go and make his parents happy with him. Theo was only fourteen and he was already making life choices which were hard for him. He knew that he had to keep being sexually abused a secret which would cause a lot of trouble in his future. Theo kept his secret for two years and at the age of sixteen he started to drink alcohol because of the secret and after his first sip he was addicted (Fleury 27). Theo turned to drinking because it would help him get rid of the pain, the confusion, and his anger. He felt that the only solution was if he turned to alcohol (CJN). This was just the start of Theo addiction, once he started drinking he never stopped because it took away his pain. Theo’s parents were never there for him even at a young age. His dad was an outstanding hockey player that had the chance to go play for the New York Rangers, but he had an accident play baseball the summer before the training camp. This caused his dad to never be able to play hockey again. After that he got a new job and hated it every day. Theo grew up watching his dad be an alcoholic as he would be drunk every day and Theo never saw him sober. Theo’s mom was the opposite; she was addicted to Valium and was always worried about running out of pills. Theo was not brought up in a good home. Theo and his brothers had no one to go to with their problems so they had to learn how to deal with their problems themselves (Fleury 7). Theo’s parents had a lot of problems going for them, as they would fight all the time and since Theo was the oldest of his brother’s he would step up to his dad at a young age. Theo’s dad being an alcoholic could have had an influence on Theo staring to drink but that is not likely. He started doing drugs and alcohol because he had been keeping a secret that he never told anyone. Theo started doing drugs to take away the pain now. He was never influenced to do drugs or start to drink; he did it all on his own because he was keeping a secret to himself that he never wanted to tell anyone. If Theo would not have kept this secret to himself then he would not have got into all the drugs and became an alcoholic. Theo said “It’s a miracle I’m alive today” (Theo Fleury). His dad might have played a role in Theo drinking and doing drugs but that was not the case. People always wonder if parents play a role in why their children start drinking or doing drugs, but there is no real solution because it’s more of the child’s choice because they choose what to do with their life not their parents. Parents play a role in their children’s behaviour. Parents are the biggest and strongest role model in their child’s life.
Most children will adapt most of their parent’s behaviour’s and actions as part of their own. As a parent you need to show a good example to your children at a young age because they will shape out their life to be just like their parents. They will take the positives and negatives of the parents in their life and make them theirs. A big influence that parents show their children is drug and alcohol problems. So if parents do drugs or drink then there is a good chance that their kids will do the same they do (RCMP). Theo Fleury was brought up around his dad and he was an alcoholic, so Theo saw that flaw in his dad and adapted it as his own. Theo was not close to his father but he was a role model for him because he wanted to play hockey and make the NHL just like his father did. Theo started drinking at a young age and did it until he decided to change his life around and become sober again. All parents make mistakes and so Theo’s dad decided a long time ago when he saw Theo get into drugs and alcohol he decided to change his life around too. Also both of Theo’s younger brothers both did drugs and alcohol witch they probably saw their parents doing it and adapted it as one of their …show more content…
values. Doing drugs and alcohol ended up ruining Theo’s NHL career.
In April 2003 Theo decided that he was going to end his career because he thought that it sucked that he had to stop doing drugs. Drugs got to Theo so bad that his wife at the time and their kid left him one night because she did not want their kid to see what he was doing with his life. Theo would spend most of the day laying on the couch and not doing anything all day but at night he would go to the bars and do drugs (Fleury 279-280). Theo got really addicted to crack and for three months he went hard doing mounds of coke and bringing strangers home from the strip clubs. One day Theo woke up and just wanted to die, so he went to the pawnshop and bought a gun and one bullet that he would use to kill himself. Doing drugs changed his life a lot, his parents didn’t want to talk to him anymore, he was losing all his friends, he never saw his kids anymore, and hockey was over for him (Fleury 281). Theo now had to decide what he was going to do with his life now at that point. So he decided that he was going to tell his secret to the
world. Theo got a call in 2009 from the North stars witch was a senior team in Manitoba. He decided it was time for a comeback. In February 2010 Theo looked at his new wife and said I am going to make a comeback to the NHL. So he called the NHL commissioner and asked if he could be reinstated and he laughed and said call the doctors for an evaluation, so he did just that. Theo had been sober now for four years so he started working out again making his way back to the NHL. Theo waited a long time by the phone to ring to hear from the commissioner but on September 9 he had got a phone call from the Calgary Flames general manager asking him if he was reinstated if he would go to the Flames (Fleury 314). A day later September 10 he got a phone call from the commissioner’s right hand man asking him if he could fly to Phoenix and meet with Gary Bettman. Theo jumped on a plane that day and met with Gary and found out that he was reinstated to the NHL. Theo ended up playing four games in preseason and then he decided that the game has changed a lot and he didn’t want to change his game style. Theo wrote this book because he wanted to get his story out and also because he was broke and nothing was going right for him (Fleury 330-331).
Christopher Albert Herren (born September 27, 1975) from Fall River, Massachusetts, was the Durfee High School basketball superstar. His family’s basketball legacy at Durfee included his father, grandfather, two uncles and his older brother who Chris would drink with as a freshman in high school. His brother said that it was normal to drink, drug, fight, and play hard. Recruited by Boston College after turning down offers at the University of Kentucky and Duke University, Chris was featured in magazine articles including a Sports Illustrated cover story, hyping his success. In 1994, Chris broke his wrist playing his first game at Boston College. He took a year off from playing basketball to “not study and do drugs”. Within three months of his injury, Chris failed two drug tests and was subsequently kicked off the team and expelled from college. Drugs took everything away by the time he was eighteen years old.
Who would have thought a little boy from the Dominican Republic would have so much effect on people. David Ortiz is a well known player around the Major League Baseball Association, many people know him by Big Papi. He has created foundations and many other things for all types of people. From children to adults and in between, Ortiz has been an influential individual.
The memories they have growing up affects how they see people and the life styles they choose. Jeannette’s fathers drinking habits plays a very big role in life. “Yeah, but you love this old drunk, don’t you?” Her dad said in an argument with her mother. Jeannette was just happy they didn’t kill each other. For many parts of her life she yarned to stop her dad’s drinking habits. His drinking habits hindered their family from a decent living environment, he couldn’t keep a job, made him a more violent person and blocked a strong relationship with his family. In her adult life, she made it her goal to never live like that again. His drinking also affected the relationship she had with him in her adult life. “Dad had a heart attack.” She mentioned in an interview if her dad was even still alive she wouldn’t written her books, but she still loved her dad for the good. “We started talking about some of Dad’s great escapades: letting me pet the cheetah, taking us Demon Hunting, giving us stars for Christmas.” Memories of the past helps kids distinguish between good and bad and which route they take in life and how they see the ups and downs in
Being exposed to his family’s drinking and violence influence him in a profound way. He will grow up to think that leading a chaotic life is acceptable in society. He is doomed to become an alcoholic himself if his parents do not wake up from their substance abuse haze and get him away from such a negative environment. Children who grow up with addicted parents are predisposed to becoming addicts themselves. According to Robert Priedt, author of Many Alcoholics Suffered Childhood Trauma, “patients being treated for alcoholism were likely to have experienced one or more types of childhood abuse or neglect” (Priedt). He also found that a history of emotional abuse was associated with an increase in the likelihood of the patient having depression. This is important concerning that while Victor is not being physically or sexually abused, he is forced to live in an unhealthy environment. This is a form of emotional abuse. Aside from that, Victor is neglected the basic necessities such as food and safety. With his family constantly under the influence and fighting, they do not have time to give Victor the emotional support that a child desperately needs to grow into a functioning member of society. He is also growing up poor. This is not always a bad thing. In fact, some people that grow up in poverty learn the best coping skills and grow to be resourceful,
On June 26th 1974, in Pequannock, New Jersey, Derek Sanderson Jeter was born. His parents were Charles Jeter and Dorothy Connors. His parents had a rare relationship for their time. Charles was african american and Dorothy was white. In the 1960s marriage of separate races was frowned upon but they loved each other and made it work. When Derek was still a small child, Charles moved the family to Kalamazoo, Michigan. This is where practically Dereks whole childhood took place.
At a young age Marquese was introduced to drugs and taught to rob people and places. This is the biggest unfortunate event that could happen to him, because he feels he is obligated to do things for his mother. They have built a strong relationship that has held him back from changing the way he handles his delinquent behavior, because he will not step away from his mother. Marquese is a good example of the large amount of children who fall into having delinquent, because they consistently are exposed to the same
(2.) Nic Sheff is a chronic slipper when it comes to staying sober. He has gone in and out of rehabs faster than you would think possible. Finding excuses to use drugs again and eventually hit rock bottom seem to be his only skills in life. After what seemed to be an infinite struggle with himself, Nic finally pulls through and stays sober. His book shows these hardships and how he deals with them on the road to recovery. Some of his decisions are well thought-out, and others, not so much. He keeps the story alive by believing in a higher power, his passion for living and his love of others. While sober, he continues to be painfully aware of how much he has hurt others by using, especially his mom. "Sometimes I think she would just prefer it if I was gone completely, so she wouldn't have to deal with me and so her children would be safe. It hurts my feelings, but I don't blame her. I know what I've done." (197, Sheff) Nic's parents feel like they can't trust him after all the lying, cheating and stealing he has done while under the influence of drugs. I wouldn't either, but they find it somewhere in their hearts to forgive him and cautiously let him into their lives in the end. Honestly, I cannot relate to much of this at all. I have never used drugs, been kicked out of my parent's house or prostituted to make money to buy even more drugs. Nic had a terrible childhood filled with screaming fights between his (now-divorced) parents and nights left alone while mine was just fine. He has a bipolar disorder and severe depression while I do not. The amount of differences are uncountable.
His upbringing was a quiet one, “born into a family, a home and a neighbourhood of modest means” . Joseph Charles-Émile Trudeau, the family patriarch, was not a rich man because his parents were Quebec farmers. However, his maternal grandfather was a businessman. The young Pierre was born on October 18th, 1919 as Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau. He was enrolled in a bilingual school on the outskirts of Montreal, yet was taught only English for his first three years. Early on is his first year at school, Pierre was separated from his friend Gerald O’Connor, who had moved to second grade. Taught by his father to be self-reliant, the young boy marched up to the principal’s office and asked to be moved to the same class. He was promptly promoted, and adult Pierre remembers this as the episode where he “overcame his shyness” . In his childhood, he acquired a reputation of a fighter, only to be further encouraged by his father, who bought him a pair of boxing gloves. Pierre, armed with his new boxing gloves, never afraid to confront a rascal who came from another suburb to challenge his friends.
For much of the 20th century, African-American citizens had been disenfranchised throughout the South and the entire United States, they were regarded as inferior second-class citizens. Despite efforts to integrate society, the political and economic systems were meant to continue the cycle of oppression against African-Americans, throughout the south and indirectly yet ever present in the north. These laws of segregation, otherwise knows as Jim Crow laws, applied to almost every aspect of southern American society, including sports. During this time period, African-American athletes had to resort to second class organizational leagues to play in, this included the famous baseball player Jackie Robinson. Much of this institutionalized racism
Jackie Robinson was a black man that played a white man only sport. Jackie Robinson’s life was outstanding regardless of the obstacles that were thrown in his way in order for him to make it to the top. Jackie Robinson overcame the pain people put him through with the support of his family, friends, and his God given talent, which was playing baseball. Jackie Robinson overcame the negativity of white people during the Civil Rights Movement. For this reason, Jackie Robinson never gave up on his dream and proved people wrong. Jackie Robinson became a vocal champion for the African-American athletes around the world (“Robinson, Jackie - Black History”).
Jackie Robinson once said that “"A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives." (Brainy Quotes). Jackie Robinson faced more abuse than any other baseball player. Jackie Robinson had his mind set on breaking the color barrier for African Americans. Jackie Robinson had the muscle strength and talent to inspire and change the color barrier in Major League baseball. Jackie Robinson was one of the most significant baseball players that America has ever known for Jackie Robinson’s bravery to stop the color barrier for, his inspiration he gave to people all around the world and for his accomplishments during baseball and outside of baseball this made him one of the most valuable players in the National League.
Children living in this type of environment may feel anger, shame, and sadness. They are forced to take on adult roles much earlier because their parents are irresponsible. For instance it shows this in The Glass Castle because the children are forced to make their own meals and fend for themselves because Rex is too busy drinking and Rose Mary is careless (Walls). Alcoholism takes away children’s childhood by forcing them to take on adult roles. Another example of this is when Billy Deel is forced to take care of himself while his father is passed out and constantly drinking, “Billy had a lot of unsupervised time on his hands” (Walls 82). Billy was greatly affected by his father’s alcohol abuse his personality didn’t maturely develop like other children. This is shown when he sexually assaults Jeanette and doesn’t see anything wrong with it, he yells on page 87 “Guess what? I raped you!” (Walls). This statement proves that parents make a huge impact on children, and when children don’t have that, they suffer. Alcohol abuse is not an individual problem, it affects everyone surrounding that person. It isn’t fair for children to be raised in that environment and government should take greater action to protect the children’s safety by removing them from homes like
In the article “Children of Alcoholics” produced by the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, the author explains the negative effect of parental alcoholism on their children’s emotional wellbeing, when he writes, “Children with alcoholic parents are more likely to experience symptoms of anxiety and/or depression, antisocial behavior, relationship difficulties, behavioral problems, and/or alcohol abuse. One recent study finds that children of drug-abusing fathers have the worst mental health issues (Children of Alcoholics 1). Walls reflects upon her childhood experiences in which her father would become drunk and not be able to control his behavior, as she writes, “After working on the bottle for a while, Dad turned into an angry-eyed stranger who threw around furniture and threatened to beat up Mom or anyone else who got in his way. When he’d had his fill of cussing and hollering and smashing things up, he’d collapse” (Walls 23). The Walls children, who frequently encounter their father’s abusive behavior, are affected mentally in the same way that national studies have shown. Jeanette Walls describes how, after drinking, her father’s behavior becomes cruel and intolerable through his use of profanity, threats, and angry, even violent, actions. In a conventional family, a parent has the responsibility of being a role model to influence their children in a positive way as they develop. Unfortunately, in the Walls family and other families with alcoholic parents, children are often subject to abuse and violence, which places them at risk, not only physically, but mentally. Rex’s irrational behavior when he is drunk is detrimental to the children’s upbringing, causing them to lose trust in their parents, have significantly lower self-esteem and confidence, and feel insecure. Rex’s behavior contributes to Jeanette’s
“When Dad went crazy, we all had our own ways of shutting down and closing off…” (Walls 115).In Jeannette Walls memoir, The Glass Castle, Walls enlightens the reader on what it’s like to grow up with a parent who is dependent on alcohol, Rex Walls, Jeannette’s father, was an alcoholic. Psychologically, having a parent who abuses alcohol is the worst thing for a child. The psychological state of these children can get of poorer quality as they grow up. Leaving the child with psychiatric disorders in the future and or being an alcoholic as well.
During the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, Major League Baseball, much like the majority of other American institutions, was racially segregated. A color barrier was implemented during baseball’s infancy in order to separate people of different race to cater to the white American players. The color barrier was an unofficial “rule” that hindered those with dark skin from playing baseball for Major League teams. The color barrier was enforced by preventing any teams with a colored player from competing at the professional level. Many team owners, umpires, and players justified their opposition to allowing blacks to play by declaring that only whites could uphold the "gentlemanly character" of professional baseball. Others argued that excluding blacks would prevent future racial resentment between the ethnicities, as players of different races would be competing for the same job opportunities.