Birds' Eye View

NYT: Eagles' Andrews still battling depression

Shawn Andrews tells N.Y. Times all is not well as he continues to struggle to improve his mental health.

67 comments

NYT: Eagles' Andrews still battling depression

POSTED: Wednesday, May 13, 2009, 3:24 PM

David Sell

Eagles offensive lineman Shawn Andrews, who missed the 2008 training camp because of depression, told The New York Times that his sunnier public demeanor during the team's recent mini-camp was not a completely accurate view of his his mental situation.

“There’s some good and bad in there,” Andrews told the Times, referring to himself. “If you know the song ‘Tears of a Clown,’ that would kind of describe my past a little bit up to now.”

Andrews told The Times that his bouts with depression prior to the 2008 season were exacerbated by concerns about the obligation of being a new father, having been raised in by a single mother.

"I had a new obligation, and I’m going to fulfill it because of my past experience,” Andrews said in the story.

The Times reported that Andrews said his interest in football began to flag at the same time.

“I was partying, drinking to try to hide what was really going on,” he said. “Temporarily, it helped me. In the grand scheme, it really didn’t.”

He held out from training camp. The Eagles said they would fine him $15,000 a day. When Moran told him how much money he stood to lose, Andrews said his reaction was, “So what?”

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Comments (67)

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 4:21 PM, 05/13/2009

And PLEASE stop the friggin' Boldin trade sh*t! We don't need him! Definitely not for anything and paying him 10 million a year like what he's seeking!

— RZA1217

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 4:23 PM, 05/13/2009

And Earl J - You spelled "Elitist" wrong...how's that for elitest?

— B in DC

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0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 4:31 PM, 05/13/2009

5isking hope you are joking or are you on the same drugs Andrews is on. Andrews is a head case, literally.

— maximus

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 4:31 PM, 05/13/2009

5isking hope you are joking or are you on the same drugs Andrews is on. Andrews is a head case, literally.

— maximus

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0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 4:32 PM, 05/13/2009

I KNEW he was gonna come back and say he was still depressed.. I had a funny feeling while I was seeing him all out-going and upbeat during spring training. THIS DUDE LOVES/NEEDS ATTENTION!!!! Isn't it obvious? Whenever he sees a video camera, he has to get in front of it... depressed people don't do that. Now he may be bi-polar or manic-depressive, but still, stop using it as a crutch Andrews!!! You make more $$$ in one year than most Philadelphians make in a lifetime... SUCK IT UP.

— KingOfPhilly