Photo Credit: Everson Griffin/Instagram
If you’re a Minnesota Vikings fan, you may have seen defensive end Everson Griffen on Instagram waving a gun around saying people were trying to kill him a week ago. At the time, his team released a statement saying the police got involved to help him, stating, “Law enforcement agencies have notified us Everson Griffen came out of his home without incident and is now getting the care he needs. We are thankful to the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office, the Carver County Sheriff’s Office, the Minnetrista Police Department and the Orono Police Department for their quick response and dedication to ensuring the situation ended peacefully. Our focus remains on Everson’s health and safety and providing the proper resources for him and his family.”
On November 26th, Griffen was placed on the reserve/non-football illness list indefinitely, likely until he gets his diagnosis under control which shouldn’t take long.. hopefully. But he posted on Instagram announcing his condition saying, “It’s true I am bipolar. I will embrace it and I will be an advocate for mental health. I been running from it a long time. I’m not ashamed of it anymore.”
Griffen continued saying the death of his mother almost a decade ago triggered things with him. “It all started when my mother passed away. Went into a dark place, thought I was great for many years. I promise this time I will do everything the experts say and my wife. I love my family and I miss my friends. Thank you for all the love and support, but most of all thank you for all the prayers.”
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We’re praying he gets better. I think a lot about a friend I knew on social media that called me one day saying something very similar that I didn’t respond to in the way that I probably should have, and years later I randomly Googled them and saw they were arrested after lunging at people with a makeshift gun in a restaurant and was reported as homeless. This was a well educated person in DC. The object lesson is that when you notice these types of behaviors from people that you know, you should take it seriously. Luckily he has the support needed to get better. Not everyone has that.
