College football fans remember Montee Ball as an electric back who broke several school, Big Ten, and NCAA records at Wisconsin. NFL fans remember Ball as a flameout, drafted in the second round by the Denver Broncos in 2013 and leaving the league after 21 games.
After a few years out of the spotlight, Ball opened up to the Sporting News about his downfall attributed to alcoholism. Ball began drinking heavily as a college junior in 2011, and his habits continued when he joined the NFL. Ball said he would get drunk four times a week during his brief pro career.
When Broncos running back Eric Studesville confronted him, Ball did not want to take his drinking problem seriously. From the Sporting News:
Ball said Broncos running backs coach Eric Studesville told him after one meeting that he could smell alcohol on his breath.
“He talked about how he could smell the alcohol on me and that he thinks I may have a problem with drinking,” Ball said. “He said if I needed any help with that he could reach out to people I could talk to.
“I didn’t listen to him.”
…
“I wouldn’t take any of it seriously,” Ball said. “I was naïve enough to think my playing days would last forever.”
On top of drinking, Ball has had trouble with the law since leaving the NFL for good two years ago. He was arrested for domestic violence twice last year. As a result, he watched his former Broncos teammates defeat the Panthers in Super Bowl 50 from a jail cell.
“It brought tears to my eyes,” he said. “At one point, I was on top of the world and now watching the team that cut me a few months prior from a jail cell, that stung a lot.”
Most recently, he was arrested for breaking the terms of his felony bond by drinking at a local bar in Wisconsin. That was when he decided to face his issues head on and try to turn his life around.
Now back at Wisconsin finishing up his degree, Ball told the Sporting News he’s in the process of writing a book about his experience with alcoholism, and he eventually wants to start a charitable foundation.
