Isn’t it crazy that in the same week, D.C. United midfielder Santino Quaranta had an ESPN mini-feature done on him and his substance abuse past, New England midfielder Shalrie Joseph reportedly enters the MLS substance abuse program and we learn about former D.C. United goalkeeper Josh Wicks?? Crazy.
Quaranta: “I was reading about that [Joseph] stuff today. That’s the first I heard about that, but the Wicks thing, obviously, I’ve known him for a while, and anytime – he’s been through a lot in his life, you know, and I understand the mental part of it, the thinking process, the pain. I was fortunate to get a second chance. It’s the way it goes sometimes because he was given a chance last year, and he really, I guess, didn’t do the right thing with it. Hopefully, I get a chance to talk to him.”
What’s your message to him?
“Listen, you gotta want it for yourself, you know, the willingness for him to do what he has to do to stay sober, whatever he has to do. I can’t cure him. He knows that. He’s got to surround himself with the right people, and he’s got to keep a level head. You can tell in games, when somebody’s got some serenity. They’re not stepping on guys like last year, and it’s not like that. Hopefully, he pulls through this.”
Clyde Simms
“I still kept a little bit of contact with him. I haven’t seen him since he’s been back, but we’ve been texting each other, and I love Wicks. I think he’s a great guy, and I’m glad to see he’s back and doing well. I hear he’s looking to try to train somewhere, and hopefully start playing soccer again. I think that’ll be great for him.”
“It’s definitely unfortunate, especially when you’re friends with somebody in that situation. But the good thing is that he caught it before it was a real big problem, and got help. I think that’s the most important thing, and he’ll be stronger because of that.”
Add Penalty Kicks to your RSS: http://feeds.feedburner.com/Penalty-kicks
Follow me on Twitter: @craigstouffer
