During the press conference on Monday to announce his four-year, $76 million contract with the Chicago Bears, cornerback Joey Porter disclosed that he attended rehab for sex addiction last season.
“It surpasses myself,” Johnson declared. “To start with, it’s because I am aware that I am not the only one experiencing it. 2. It’s acceptable to experience things. It’s acceptable to be imperfect, and I believe that people place us on this pedestal so that we can stand here and say things like, “Oh, guys are this, guys are that.”
“We are also human, just like man. We experience things. Everyone experiences different things. People seem to think you have to cover it up or put on a mask, in my opinion. Like, it’s acceptable totraverse the situation. You can ask for help. Being vulnerable is OK.”
He acknowledged to reporters that overcoming his addiction “was harder than anything,” but he also said that therapy had contributed to his success in the workplace.
It truly had no effect on me. In fact, it helped me become the person I needed to be,” he remarked. Like I mentioned, I made a breakthrough when I was vulnerable. Both inside and outside of myself, I had a breakthrough in football. Not that it affected me, I would say. If anything, it encouraged me to be my true self.”
With his large salary, Johnson’s press conference was a joyous occasion. Among players in his position, his average pay of $19 million comes in sixth.
