Image via Getty / Tom Pidgeon / Allsport
Former NFL full-back Jon Kitna has revealed The Ryen Russillo Podcast that a former teammate and wide receiver for the Cincinnati Bengals played an entire game while intoxicated.
“There was a time when I was playing a game with a man who was drunk,” Kitna said.
Kitna, who played for the Bengals from 2001 to 2005, said players were expected to arrive at the stadium at least two hours before the kick-off, but this unidentified extent began to appear less than an hour before the match. When Russillo asked if members of the organization were aware that this player was under the influence, Kitna said he was not sure if the staff knew it, adding that “it’s kind of normal.”
Kitna said this player could still manage to compile impressive stats despite being hammered. “He was drunk and now received almost 200 meters,” he recalls. “So, that was crazy.”
A number of former NFL players have admitted to drinking before games. Clinton Portis to the Washington Post in 2017 that he, Santana Moss and the late Sean Taylor would take a chance on Hennessy before games to boost their adrenaline. “Not like going out and getting sloppy wasted. Just adrenaline, ”Portis said. “You know, you take a chance and you were done with it. Me, Santana and Sean, we did it a year and a half before anyone knew it. We never told anyone that. It was just, hey, here’s a little sip, bam, that was it. ‘
That same year, Josh Gordon admitted in an interview with GQ that he, in addition to drinking before matches, also ‘the biggest bong-rip I could take’.
“I used to love Grand Marnier,” Gordon said. “I could drink it smoothly. I could usually drink a lot of it. But if it wasn’t that, it could be a whiskey or something. And I would probably drink like half a glass, or a few shots to basically warm up my system. To get the car running. This is what I would do for games. ”
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