Cocaine is a hell of a drug. Doc Gooden (the man who once rivaled the legendary Roger Clemens as the greatest MLB pitcher in the league during the 80’s) seems like he hasn’t been able to kick the drug habit that’s derailed many illustrious careers.
After missing a public appearance with Darryl Strawberry, Gooden was called out by his former teammate as a “complete junkie-addict.” This spurred Doctor K to speak to the New York Daily News and insist that he hadn’t reverted to using yayo while taking some swipes at his former Mets teammate.
Reports NYDailyNews:
“Unfortunately it’s no friendship (and) bad judgment on my part thinking it was,” Gooden, 51, told The News. “(Never) once lied or said anything negative about him to the media, but teammates and people who really know us (know) who’s real and who’s counterfeit.”
“We’d been close, especially since ’86. I always thought we’d be brothers. But I was wrong. It hurts — I don’t understand why friends would do such hurtful things.”
While Strawberry (another man who seemed Hall Of Fame bound before falling victim to the Colombian Bam Bam) was able to conquer his demons and live a normal life, Gooden’s physical attributes present a man who’s struggled with his addiction to this day. But in a statement he maintains that drugs don’t play a part in his everyday life these days and is hurt that Strawberry would throw him under the bus the way he did.
“I had never failed to be there for (him). I don’t do cocaine and have not for years,” his statement said.
But in an open letter posted by the NYDailyNews this past weekend, Gooden’s ex-girlfriend also put the pitcher’s drug problem on blast and asks him to seek help.
You have been manipulating and lying your way around the parking lot for a long time. You’ve put yourself in a position before the public that, because of your denials, forces your loving fans to judge you by what they see in you physically and about you behaviorally.
Unfortunately everyone knows that no one can change until they themselves acknowledge they have a problem and from what he does and says, Doc Gooden doesn’t feel that he has anything to account for.
If he’s telling the truth and he doesn’t have a drug problem, more power to him. If he does, we hope he gets help and soon.
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Photo: WENN.com
