The NFL Draft is an exciting time of year for football fans, because you already know that you’re witnessing history. You don’t quite know how that history will be written – maybe in the form of a GOAT going with the 199th pick like Tom Brady, or the 1st pick like Peyton Manning – but you know that there will be some significance.
Tyrann Mathieu could be called a poster boy of this mindset. Mathieu was in possible Heisman contention when he was dismissed from LSU due to what has been reported as drug test failures. While the reports were never fully confirmed, Mathieu – also known as Honey Badger – did enter a drug rehabilitation facility.
This obviously affected his draft stock, and he ended up being selected in the 3rd round by the Arizona Cardinals. One team that definitely was not going to end up with Honey Badger dressing for them was the Indianapolis Colts.
A flashback video that resurfaced shows former Colts general manager Bill Polian ripping Mathieu for his past. While the term “hindsight is 20/20” absolutely applies to a situation like this, and Polian shouldn’t necessarily be condemned for his own opinion on what makes a “problem player”, Mathieu had a refreshingly honest and upstanding response to the video.
He doesn’t rip into Polian, he simply lays out the reasons why he’s proud of himself, and it goes much deeper than persevering through controversy to simply get drafted to the NFL.
You’ll notice none of his accomplishments are physical. They’re all personality and leadership based. But yes, a Super Bowl is a fairly large accomplishment in itself.
(H/T FTW)
