Percy Harvin was never able to fulfill his potential in the NFL due to both injuries and issues he had off the field, and the former wide receiver says things could have been a lot worse if not for his self-medication.
Harvin opened up about his issues with anxiety during an interview with Master Tesfatsion of Bleacher Report, and he said he was prescribed multiple medications to treat the condition but there was only one that worked — marijuana. The former Florida star said he smoked weed before every single NFL game in which he played.
“I was at the Mayo Clinic and I had at least seven prescriptions that I was supposed to take from Zoloft and all the other ones I was taking. The only thing that really seemed to work is when I would smoke marijuana,” Harvin said. “There’s not a game I’ve played in that I wasn’t high.
“That’s what I want the world to see today. It’s not a stigma and people only (smoking marijuana) and getting in a whole bunch of trouble. There’s just people living a regular life who have deficiencies or just maybe want to enjoy themselves. It’s a natural way to do so.”
Tesfatsion asked Harvin what he would say is the worst incident of him acting out as a result of his anxiety, and Harvin spoke about the incident where he punched former Seattle Seahawks teammate Golden Tate just days before the Super Bowl. He said he was angry that Tate told reporters the Seahawks got to the Super Bowl without Harvin — who was injured — and would be fine whether he played or not, and Harvin lost his cool. His account of what transpired begins at about the 1:17 mark below:
Harvin also nearly fought Russell Wilson during that same season, and he told Tesfatsion that his time in Seattle was “the worst years of my life.” He did, however, take the blame for the incident with Tate, which is a change from the way he has talked about his former teammates in the past.
Many former and current athletes have advocated for pro sports leagues to allow marijuana use for pain management and other issues like anxiety, so Harvin certainly is not alone with that. He’s also not the only player who has gotten high before games, though most who do or did will probably never admit it.
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