Not a Saint - America's Game

On the left is the man we all root for. He is the underdog, the odds-beater, the dream chaser, and the pride of your hometown. On the right is our country's biggest problem. He is the addict, the menace, the criminal, and the kid we want out of our neighborhood. What if I told you that is the same person? What if I told you these pictures were taken the same week? What if there was more to the story? What if treatment wasn't available? My name is Luke Wollet, former football star and survivor in America's deadliest game.

"Our player of the game, Luke Wollet. That interception and 
13 tackles for one of the best safeties in the country"
-Michael Reghi, ESPN Commentator (2012)

BOOM! INTERCEPTION! Kent State wins the MAC East and are heading to the MAC Championship for the first time in 40 years! Ever since I first touched a football, I dreamed of the walk off interception to send my team to victory. It would happen my junior season in the biggest game in Kent's history. Kent State would get ranked as high as #15 in the country, we would play in our program's 2nd bowl game in school history, and I would be an all-conference safety that season. Dreams were becoming reality. The NFL was now an arms length away for me to reach out and grab. All the late nights, early morning, and sacrifice of time with loved ones would finally pay off. That off-season I would hear from the press, scouts, and agents. Little did I know the game I was about to play was just beginning. It would be earlier mornings, later nights, and no contact with family or friends. This game would be for my life.

"Luke's one of those throwback, grind-it-out type players. He got hurt in 
the LSU game and played through it all year. He never missed a game and 
never missed a practice." 
-Head Coach Paul Haynes to Cleveland Newspaper (2013)

A projected draft pick heading into my senior season, we would travel on the road to play #8 LSU. It was a great opportunity to showcase my talent and solidify myself in this years upcoming draft. The first series of the game, I saw LSU's 280 pound fullback JC Copeland, run out for a pass. In true Youngstown fashion, I ran downfield to torpedo myself into his body. I got up from the collision, and my knee buckled over and over. On this play, I ended up tearing my left MCL. I must admit, at the time I probably thought my teammates needed me more than they did. Being from Youngstown, Ohio we are taught toughness and accountability. If someone needs something, you are there for them and you make no excuses. I wasn't going to make any excuses and I wasn't going to ask for help.

"He underwent heart surgery at 13 years old, received just one division 
one football scholarship and is the 17th best returning player on our 
countdown." -MAC Beat Writer previewing top players in league (2013) 

Football for me was more than a game, it was my first drug. With it I was everything, without it I was nothing. I had to have it in my life regardless of the physical, emotional, or long term costs. Up until this knee injury, I never really was involved in partying or abusing pain medicine. I could count on my hands how many times I drank alcohol in the first 21 years of my life. My sophomore year, I was prescribed Vicodin for a surgery I had on my left ankle. I remembered the freedom from pain it gave me physically. In all honesty, I never did abuse it or have thoughts of abusing it. It seemed like a good tool to have for physical pain. Now let's go back to my current situation. My knee is shredded, I can't use a red-shirt because I played too much this season, and an NFL opportunity looms over my performance this season. The emotions surrounding the circumstances were fear, anger, anxiety, depression, ext. There was only one real option in my mind, and that was pain medicine. The first game after LSU, I would play at Penn State on a torn MCL, two percocets, and a crusty knee brace. I recorded 15 tackles against them in front of 110,000 fans. It seemed at the time not only the medication worked, but it improved who I was and what I was capable of on and off the field. This type of thinking is exactly where addiction would manifest itself in my life. Pain medicine never became a problem for my physical pain. It became a problem when I began using it for my emotional pain. I'm not sure exactly when the flip switched. What I can tell you is it masked all those negative emotions, it covered my insecurities, and it would eventually consume my life. Over the next 10 weeks of the season, I would continue to play on street bought or doctor prescribed pain medicine. I would statistically record my worst season at Kent State, my addiction that season would progress from pills to heroin, and I would watch everything I worked for my entire life be thrown away. Even with all this said, I would still be picked up by the New Orleans Saints following the 2014 draft. That is where I almost died with lie, "I'm alright".

"That’s all I really wanted was a chance. I never
really wonder ‘What if?’ but I kind of wanted to go out on my 
own terms." -Luke Wollet to Youngstown Vidicator (2014)

Considering the journey I have been on over the past 6 years, it is chilling for me to reflect back on this quote I gave in reference to being picked up by the New Orleans Saints in 2014. All I wanted or needed was a chance, I never wanted to regret a lost opportunity, and I wanted to be able to control what I could control. I failed that entire quote while in New Orleans, I would be let go following camp. I would be called with other opportunities over the next couple years but at that point, I wouldn't even call back. By the end of 2016, I spent most of the year homeless, tired of living, and a full blown addict. My addiction had beat me down to a feeling I wish upon nobody. Knowing I'm going to die soon, I figured I might as well do it on my terms and not my addictions. It was a day later after I had these plans and thoughts of suicide, where I was offered help for the first time. If it wasn't for a loved one reaching out to me, I would be dead. I checked into treatment for alcohol, drugs, and gambling at the end of 2016. I made the most out of the opportunity I was given to change my life. Since that day, my single greatest problem has become my life's purpose. What evil used to try and kill me, I now use to save others. My test has become God's testimony.

Romans 14:12-13
"So then each of us will give an account of himself to God. 
Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather 
decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother."

Since becoming sober in 2016, my life has been filled with blessings that I could have never imagined. I remember my 3rd day in treatment where I told my little brother everything. He said to me crying, "Right now, is the best big brother you have ever been." It was after he said that, I knew what I was put on this earth to do. I truly believe I needed to feel and experience all these lows, so that someone else who is walking through those same feelings never has to feel all alone. If you are reading this and feel like giving up, just know I did too. If you feel like there is no other way to live without drugs, so did I. If you feel like the world is better off without you, so did I. If you are a loved one of an addict who feels like it will take a miracle to save the person you love, I'm an example of that miracle. If you are struggling, just know you are not alone. Every saint has a past and every sinner has a future. That miracle starts with reaching out for help. I wish I would have sooner. The same exact qualities that made me a professional caliber athlete, also were what made me a stone cold addict. The reality is we live in a country where depression, anxiety, and stress are at all time highs. With the explosion of social media and materialized morals, the addiction issues in this country are going to get even worse. Just know, there is hope. The other side of living to die, is learning to live. Checking into treatment gave me hope I didn't have for a very long time. I firmly believe without treatment, I would not be alive today. I have been blessed to work in the treatment industry from different perspectives, and now as Banyan's National Outreach for Faith in Recovery. Being obedient to God's calling has unlocked opportunities I never could have made happen on my own. I worshiped all the wrong things, only to end up with them all. I had money, prestige, women, and anything else you think should make you happy. The only problem was, I was still miserable. I hurt people I loved, and did things that are unforgivable in the process. The happiness I searched for tirelessly in this world, I would find in a relationship with my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He has given me everything I longed for, and a new set of rules to play by. He changed my heart of stone into a heart of flesh. He has given me a dream job representing the largest private treatment provider in the country, Banyan Treatment Center. It is a honor to be able to dedicate my life working with those individuals and their families that are struggling with the exact same things as myself. I am grateful to be a lighthouse in the darkness for others. I am humbled to be able to connect those struggling with treatment they so badly need. I am blessed to live a life spreading the message of hope and love of God. Understand you are not in this fight by yourself. I know how you feel, and my family knows how you feel. Trust that God loves you, I love you, and I will be there for you. Reach out to me or the number below if you or a loved one is struggling with mental health issues or addiction. Addiction doesn't have to write the end of your story. God Bless.