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IMPORTANT // Please look after your loved ones, yourself and be kind to others. If you are feeling that the world is too hard to handle there is always help - I implore you not to hesitate in contacting one of these wonderful organisations Lifeline and Beyond Blue ... and I'm sure reaching out to our PRE community we will find a way to help. T.
Run Benny run!!
- Thread starter tigerman
- Start date
LeeToRainesToRoach said:
There were certainly whispers while he was with us that all was not what it seemed with clean Benny. He was a master at avoiding detection, which means he knew what they don't test for.
And lets not forget he was rushed to hospital for drug related issues while on our list.
LeeToRainesToRoach said:
Me either. I reckon our club were masterful the way we dealt with Ben behind the scenes. Must have been hard work and taken a lot of resource.
I think it was Les Twentyman who said he blames Ben Cousins for giving kids the idea that you can be a drug addict yet still play top level footy. Pretty much said he wished we didn't pick him up when he did. It would have been a better lesson for the kids.
Left to his own devices, Cousins' life will spiral into eventual oblivion. An entrenched history of repeat and patterned behaviour shows no signs of abating, and history is littered with fallen heroes ...
Baloo said:
The Footscray supporter who bagged Stynes' foundation a few years ago. Great adviser.
Prolonged use of ice can have permanent effects. My guess is that Ben may have long term mental health issues from now onward.
His documentary was some years too early.
His documentary was some years too early.
crackertiger said:
If he is admitted to hospital with a drug induced psychosis it would be possible to admit him as an involuntary patient under the 'Mental Health Act'. This may be the only way to keep Ben off the streets and mitigate any risk to himself or the public. Unfortunately strategies like this are a temporary solution to a very complex problem. As others have said above the Ben Cousins story seems to have an air of inevitability about it. Let's hope he is not beyond redemption.
Tames said:
Good post.
The number 1 lesson from this sad tale is not to blame West Coast, The AFL, Ben's family, friends or anyone else.
This was a bad choice that he alone made when he first got into drugs and they've been his demons ever since.
Educate your kids not to make the same mistakes Ben did. Ice is a life sentence.
The vast majority of people who get lost in the world of illicit drugs are deeply unhappy within themselves, dealing with demons that many others have no idea of the pain and turmoil.
Well-adjusted, happy people who have a good sense of self-esteem do not lose themselves in a world of drugs and irrational worlds ... walk a mile in their shoes and most of us would be drained, exhausted and full of self-loathing ...
Cousins needs substantial quality support and treatment that will be difficult and painful and oh so challenging to deal with, otherwise he will be one of the fallen heroes ... and if that is to be the tragedy that befalls him he will be forever blighted in the media and condemned by those unwilling to tap into a sense of compassion and humanity and see him for a gifted sportsman, yet a deeply troubled human being ...
Oh, the humanity ... where is the sense of compassion that could drive us to greater heights????
Well-adjusted, happy people who have a good sense of self-esteem do not lose themselves in a world of drugs and irrational worlds ... walk a mile in their shoes and most of us would be drained, exhausted and full of self-loathing ...
Cousins needs substantial quality support and treatment that will be difficult and painful and oh so challenging to deal with, otherwise he will be one of the fallen heroes ... and if that is to be the tragedy that befalls him he will be forever blighted in the media and condemned by those unwilling to tap into a sense of compassion and humanity and see him for a gifted sportsman, yet a deeply troubled human being ...
Oh, the humanity ... where is the sense of compassion that could drive us to greater heights????
Or he might just have liked to party?
Ben seemingly had it all.
The good looking girl who loved him, came from a great family who loved him, was a superstar of the competition and captain of an AFL side and admired by fellow players and fans alike, earning 100s of thousands of dollars to play the game he loved..
Yes you have to walk in others shoes but if that's misery well you haven't lived much.
If he'd just said 'no' he likely wouldn't be where he is now but he rolled the dice.
Ben seemingly had it all.
The good looking girl who loved him, came from a great family who loved him, was a superstar of the competition and captain of an AFL side and admired by fellow players and fans alike, earning 100s of thousands of dollars to play the game he loved..
Yes you have to walk in others shoes but if that's misery well you haven't lived much.
If he'd just said 'no' he likely wouldn't be where he is now but he rolled the dice.
Misery has so many layers, forms, guises and permutations ... who knows what miseries lie at the root of Cousins' behaviour, but it is apparent he isn't a well or happy or adjusted individual.
All I know is that I haven't always made the right or correct or best decisions in life ...
Drug abuse is usually the culmination and reaction to the deep misery that an individual carries in their spirit, for whatever reason ... it is depraving and debilitating.
With all due respect, "just saying no" does not go anywhere near the reality that presents to some.
The dark depths of despair, borne of whatever experience, are so difficult to confront, let alone manage, for most, least the heroes and superstars of our society.
All I know is that I haven't always made the right or correct or best decisions in life ...
Drug abuse is usually the culmination and reaction to the deep misery that an individual carries in their spirit, for whatever reason ... it is depraving and debilitating.
With all due respect, "just saying no" does not go anywhere near the reality that presents to some.
The dark depths of despair, borne of whatever experience, are so difficult to confront, let alone manage, for most, least the heroes and superstars of our society.
Baloo said:
Agree with this. Richmond should never have got involved with Cousins. It was only through sheer dumb luck that he didn't blow up while at our club. And shame on the AFL for trying to sell Cousins as successfully rehabilitated after a 12 month suspension.
Now every time his name is mentioned it is prefaced with "former Richmond and West Coast player"...
Bullarto Tiger said:
It's a two letter word but it's the most important word in the world when it comes to drugs.
If it's too hard to say it then we need to educate kids better so that they can.
Our children saying no is the best fight we have in the war against the scourge of ice.
