Brandon Marshall might still be one of the NFL’s best wide receivers. We don’t really know, because Chad Henne is his quarterback, and Chad Henne tends to be bad at football. So, without much to go on, the Marshall narrative has shifted to his off-field problems.
Back in April, Marshall was taken to the ICU after his wife stabbed him with a knife during a confrontation. (Marshall said he fell on a vase, but the wound and lack of blood on the broken vase prove otherwise). He’s hated in Denver after forcing a trade and sabotaging preseason practice by punting balls across the field (again, he’s a wide receiver). He played a role—something he says he’s still haunted by—in escalating an argument that led to the murder of Broncos cornerback Darrent Williams. He had his problems in college, too.
But now we might have some insight.
On Saturday, Omar Kelly of the Sun Sentinel revealed Marshall’s struggle with borderline personality disorder. Marshall spent three months earlier this year at Boston’s McLean Hospital, where he was diagnosed with BPD.
Kelly writes:
During Marshall’s treatment at McLean, he learned how to defuse the bomb inside of his head. Now with the tools and a new perspective he’s returning to the real world, to the NFL, to a marriage he admittedly broke, and to a wife who feels vilified. He must use the skills he’s learned to survive, if not thrive.
He has informed the Dolphins of his diagnosis and said he is revealing his story with the goal of creating more awareness of BPD and advocating for better treatment and medical coverage for a treatment program that cost him $60,000.
“By no means am I all healed or fixed,” Marshall said, “but it’s like a light bulbs been turned on in my dark room.”
BPD is marked by difficulties with relationships, your self-image, and controlling your emotions. Marshall hopes to become “the face of BPD.”
Credit to Kelly on the great piece and for getting Marshall to open up. And credit to Marshall for opening up about his problems for all of us to see. Read Kelly’s piece and check out the trailer for the upcoming documentary about Marshall’s troubles, Borderline Beast.
—Photo J. Pat Carter/AP