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George Davidson On the 17th of October 2001 Jerry Jones admitted that he doesn’t know when or indeed if, 6-6, 300lbs DT Dimitrius Underwood will play for the Cowboys again. This comment was in response to questions about the latest incident involving Underwood who has not practiced in several weeks and who missed the Monday night game versus the Redskins. Underwood’s career seems to hang by a thread, an unusual situation for such a talented player but there is little ‘usual’ about Dimitrius’ problems and it’s been a strange journey to get to this position…. The Past: Dimitrius Underwood went to college at Michigan State where he was a standout Defensive End his first three seasons. In his senior year, he sprained his ankle, which resulted in him missing that entire season. On the basis of his pre injury performances, the Minnesota Vikings took Underwood in the first round of the 1999 draft (29th overall). He signed a five-year, $5.3 million contract on August 1st and looked set to become part of a fearsome front four for the Vikes. One day later he told Vikings Head Coach Dennis Green he had no desire to play football saying he wished to pursue a calling in the ministry instead. The Vikings released him 11th August and Underwood sacrificed a $1.75 million signing bonus in so quitting. Under league rules, Underwood went onto the waivers list and 23 teams passed on picking him up till that savior of troubled players Jimmy Johnson, decided to take a chance. Underwood must have had a change of heart regarding a football career as he signed a five-year contract with the Dolphins (the first year salary being $395 000). On the 25th of September 1999, (while rehabbing a dislocated shoulder sustained in a preseason game), Underwood was arrested by police for nonpayment of child support. Some 5 hours later, after having been released on a $500 bond, Underwood was found wandering near to the home of the mother of his children in an extremely distressed state covered in blood from a neck wound seemingly self inflicted. Indeed he had slashed his own throat in an apparent suicide attempt with two steak knives. Somewhat hypocritically, Johnson was quoted as saying ‘ (I) have passed on the word that we are 100% supportive of him. Our No.1 concern is his health and well being and the No.1 thing we want to do is for him to get well’. Two months later he was waived. The Cowboys picked Underwood up in March 2000 and things appeared to be improving for this talented but troubled player. His bi-polar disorder had by now been identified and he was taking medication to combat it. Supported by the Cowboys & Calvin Hill’s unit, he appeared to be getting his life back together. Underwood played during the 2000 season and was starting to make an impact at DT during the second half of the year. Defensive Coordinator Mike Zimmer often praised Dimitrius’ play (4 sacks and 14 QB pressures in limited playing time) during that period. And then came the off season. Early in January 2001 Underwood again attempted suicide by running into traffic on a busy suburban highway in Florida. One motorist said the lineman had told him he ‘wanted to go to Jesus’. Several cars narrowly missed hitting Underwood before officers arrived to escort him away. No charges were filed but he was detained for 72 hours under a Florida law that allows psychiatric facilities to commit persons if they are deemed to be a danger to themselves or others. Underwood appears to have stopped taking his medication because he was quoted as saying ‘I don’t like the way it makes me feel!’ The Most Recent Incident: On Saturday 13th October Underwood left the psychiatric facility where he had been receiving treatment for bi-polar disorder. His whereabouts were unknown till he rang Jerry on Tuesday 16th to ask for a meeting at Valley Ranch. At that meeting Jones demanded that Dimitrius return to the medical facility to continue his treatment. Several police officers were on hand in case they were required but Underwood went without problem. Said Jerry ‘Our deal is that we’re with him all of the way, but he has to do what the advisors and the counselors say he needs to do’. The Problem: As you may know, Dimitrius Underwood suffers from Bi-polar Disorder or Manic-depression as it used to be called. This is a condition where mood swings are suffered out of proportion or indeed totally unrelated, to events in the sufferer’s life. These swings affect thoughts, feelings, physical health and behavior. The problem usually begins in the late teens/early twenties and tends to run in families. There is however, no single proven cause of bipolar disorder but it is believed that it is an inherited problem related to a lack of stability in the transmission of nerve impulses to the brain. This biochemical problem makes people very vulnerable to emotional and physical stresses. Upset, substance abuse, lack of sleep or excessive stimulation may cause the brains normal mechanisms for restoring calm to malfunction so leading to an episode. As a result, Underwood is likely to suffer four possible types of symptoms: Mania: this often begins as a pleasurable sense of heightened energy, creativity and sociability but this often escalates out of control. In this condition people lack insight, have inflated feelings of power and are likely to be reckless, easily distractible and in severe cases suffer hallucinations and delusions. This can last for as long as a week. Hypomania: this is a milder form of mania with similar but less severe symptoms. Here the sufferer will feel elated, be more productive and feel better. These episodes feel so good that people may well stop taking their medication in order to ‘chase the high’. Usually however, Hypomania escalates to mania or a crash to depression. Depression: Symptoms here are self-evident with the sufferer feeling down, an inability to concentrate, feelings of worthlessness, thoughts of suicide, disrupted sleep patterns and either lethargy or agitation. This can last for as long as two weeks. Mixed Episode: the worst of both worlds where symptoms of both mania and depression occur simultaneously where you feel excitable/agitated and irritable/depressed at the same time. Now it is obvious to see just how the above fits into the various incidents that Dimitrius has been involved with over the last couple of years. The very nature of football seems tailor made to trigger episodes of mania or depression. Now his problem can never be cured but it can be treated through medication, education and psychotherapy. With education and psychotherapy it seems apparent that the Cowboys and Hill have supplied the framework for Underwood to hold his life together. However in the area of medication there is more of a problem. There are two types of medication that can be taken for Bi-polar disorder – mood stabilizers and antidepressants. The purpose of these drugs is to smooth out the highs and the lows. For these two types, there are some 155 different brands that can be prescribed although there are really only 20-25 different drugs on the market. These range from the familiar Prozac to drug names worth 150 points in Scrabble (and that’s without a double word score!). ALL of them cause side effects. These side effects do vary depending on the person but the common ones are dizziness, headaches, nausea, weakness and vomiting. Less common are irregular heartbeat, shaking and difficulty in breathing. This is why Underwood is not always taking his medication – as he has said, he doesn’t like the way it makes him feel. Several sources have said the side effects that Dimitrius has suffered are lethargy and lack of concentration – feelings that will obviously affect his game. The Cowboys had assigned someone to ensure that Dimitrius always took his medication but that’s a bit difficult to enforce if you can’t find him as has happened recently. However drugs can only do so much and ultimately the onus is on the sufferer to take charge of his illness. To this end there are self-help groups, counseling and therapists available to aid in those moments of doubt but you have to want to face up to the disorder. It has even been said that working with the team is the best thing for Dimitrius as it gives him a stable framework in his life. Certainly, during his time in Dallas, problems have developed whilst he has been away from the team. The present: Mostly the media have reported the facts surrounding Underwood’s problems and have not sensationalized the ‘crimes’ he has committed as they have with other Cowboy players. Having said that, very little sympathy or indeed empathy seemed to have headed Underwood’s way as he struggled with the problems in his life. Cracksmoker.com, a site dedicated to listing the shortcomings of professional athletes, depicted him as a thug in their competition for ‘The bad boy you’d least like to date your daughter’. Underwood’s condition seemed to have cut little ice with the voters either as he beat out Isaiah Rider (an NBA star with accusations or convictions for drug use, fighting, assault, rape, traffic violations and threatening to have a reporter murdered), Mark Chumura (NFL tight end accused of raping a teenage baby sitter) and Anthony Mason (NBA star with a rap sheet for multiple assaults and third degree rape) but lost in the quarter finals to Ray Lewis. This characterization is extremely unfair as it ignores a legitimate illness that Underwood suffers from but also ignores the fact that 1.2% of the adult population of the USA (2.2million people) has some form of Bi-polar disorder. However like all mental illnesses it seems that there is a great deal of ignorance (and perhaps fear) about the disorder and no one really wants to know. Now Jerry Jones has gone on record as saying that
as regarding his health, Underwood has to do what he’s told – that’s
their agreement. However, several sources have said that Underwood
stopped taking his medication in the second half of last season (just as
he started to make an impact). It has been hinted that coaching staff
weren’t sure that he could perform to the same standard while on the
medication. Just whether or not the coaching staff told him to stop
taking the drugs is something of an unknown. As it can take 4-6 weeks
for the drugs to take effect, this is obviously not something that can
be switched off and on at will. Not taking his medication could be a
direct result of Dimitrius wanting to play harder or it could even be
due to pressure from the coaching staff (although this might not be a
conscious pressure). Jerry has shown himself to care about his players
but just where the organization will or can stand if Underwood can no
longer contribute to the team is unknown. The harsh realities of the NFL
does not allow for compassion. Their rules enforce the Darwinesque
replacement of flawed players. Where next years model is always stronger
and faster. And while Underwood’s hardware may be physically up to the
task, his software cannot take the strain. You can only hope that
sometime soon the spirit that allows Dimitrius Underwood to excel on the
field will let him defeat an opponent more insidious and pervasive than
any offensive lineman. |
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