Jared Allen’s Fight Has Just Begun

Blogcasting the National Football League, Blogcasting the NFL

There’s a great story on Minnesota Vikings defensive end Jared Allen in the June 30, 2008 ESPN Magazine (”The Fight Has Just Begun”). Since Jared quit drinking 20 months ago, he led the NFL in sacks last season and signed a new six-year, $73 million contract with the Vikes. Still, the road ahead won’t be easy for a guy with two DUI arrests in Kansas and a four-game suspension for violating the NFL’s alcohol and substance-abuse policy:

“I wanted to show people I could man-up. I’ve been rewarded for that, and I don’t want to jeopardize that now. People ask if I became a better player because I stopped drinking. Well, I always felt like a pretty good player, but not drinking was part of my growth as a man.”

It seems as though Jared has turned his life around, but there will be a lot of pressure to do the right thing in the future. With his new contract and new lease on life, he has everything to lose with another mistake. As long as Jared can keep his attention on football and doing the job he is so well paid to do, the Vikings could have the NFL’s best defense in 2008.

Source: ESPN.com, Photo: Newscom