Matt Russell opens up about his addiction in hopes of helping others
Feb 4, 2021, 2:13 PM | Updated: Feb 28, 2023, 9:19 am
Every episode of “Amazing Americans” is powerful. Jerry Schemmel does a great job of highlighting people who have overcome tremendous obstacles to achieve great things in their lives.
The one that will air on Saturday morning on Sports Radio 104.3 The Fan, however, is among the best. In it, former Broncos director of player personnel Matt Russell opens up about his battle with alcoholism, a fight that led to an infamous DUI arrest in 2013, seven months in jail, and nearly the end of his career and marriage.
The show is powerful because Russell is brutally honest about his addiction. He doesn’t hold back, willing to tell all of the gory details. And it’s for a reason.
“If anyone can relate to my story, seek help and get their life on track before an incident like mine, then I’ve achieved my goal,” Russell told Schemmel.
That story starts with the genesis of his drinking. For the former CU linebacker, it didn’t start during his days in Boulder.
“When I was in college, I didn’t drink a lot,” Russell explained. “I’d have a few beers in the offseason with my buddies, but it wasn’t anything crazy.”
Instead, it started during his early days working in the NFL.
“Things started to get out of control, and I started to bury that I had a problem and try to hide it, was when I was on the road as a scout,” Russell added. “I was away from my family and on the road for 10 days to two weeks at a time. As I’d sit in my room and type up reports, one beer would become two would become three. That’s when things started to spiral for me.”
That was after the linebacker’s career was cut short. A fourth-round pick by the Lions, Russell had high hopes for a long stint in the NFL. But the Butkus Award winner never lived up to his pro potential, as knee injuries pushed him out of the league after just three seasons.
“I always try to be cautious about not making excuses for why I started drinking. Everybody has their reasons,” Russell said about that disappointment being the root of his addiction. “I do think there was a little bit of heartbreak about my career being cut short. That’s certainly not an excuse to have your life go into a tailspin.”
Along the way, Russell knew he had a problem. But instead of seeking help, he tried to cope with it.
“I tried so hard to do things like not drink on the weekdays, to not drink hard liquor but drink beer and wine,” he explained. “You go through all of these scenarios and plans and ways to attack it. None of it was working for me. That’s when I entered into the hiding and deception stage. I was hiding bottles in the house. I had something in a shoebox in the garage. My family was onto it. I couldn’t figure out a way to get control of it by myself.”
He knew those were warning signs. But he ignored them, as well as some embarrassing moments.
“There were plenty of red flags along the way,” Russell continued. “John (Elway) had mentioned to me on two occasions that he thought I was drinking too much and that he had smelled it a time or two. There was an incident at the airport when I drank too much and I had to go to the hospital.”
At that point, it would seem that the alarm bells would be going off. Having to be picked up from the hospital by your family because you drank too much at the airport is the ultimate red flag. Yet Russell still didn’t seek help.
“I ignored the warning signs because I was embarrassed,” he explained. “I was ashamed of where I was at. I didn’t see any light at the end of the tunnel.”
It’s one of his biggest regrets. Had he sought help, the DUI in Breckenridge that injured a policeman could’ve been avoided. That would’ve prevented two families from seeing their lives thrown off course.
“Looking back, the DUI was a fork in the road for me and my family,” Russell said. “I was either going to get help and get my life right, or (my wife) deserved to move on and be happy.”
Before seeking treatment, that certainly wasn’t the case.
“I made her life pretty miserable,” Russell explained. “I’d come home and isolate. I’d go down in the basement, have drinks and pass out, get up in the morning and try to get through the day so I could do it all again. There was a huge strain on our marriage. It was the lack of being there. My concern was getting the next drink.”
Now, retired from his job in the Broncos front office, Matt Russell’s concern is helping others avoid the same mistakes that he made.
Catch the full hour-long interview with Matt Russell on Saturday, Feb. 6 on “Amazing Americans,” heard at 8:00 a.m. on Sports Radio 104.3 The Fan
