Some might remember Bernie Kosar for his exploits with his hometown Cleveland Browns, or for being unceremoniously dumped by Bill Belichick when he took over the Browns, or you might be like me and remember his guest appearance on an episode of The Drew Carey Show. Regardless of how you recall Kosar, things have not been going great in his world recently.
Due to some a divorce, unfortunate business decisions and foolish investments, Kosar was forced to file for bankruptcy the other day. The man who once threw 308 passes without an interception and once broke his ankle in the first quarter of a game, only to throw 2 touchdowns in the 4th, now is desperate to keep boys away from his young daughters.
He shattered a Kid Rock-autographed guitar the other day while chasing one teenager out of his house because he doesn’t mind all of the other boys within the area code thinking the Kosar girls have an unhinged dad.
“There are a million doors in this place,” he says. “Too many ways to get in.”
Every movement carries pain and suffering, too many hits over the years have left his body battered and broken and needing multiple surgeries. When asked how much of his money he gave to former teammates over the years with being paid back,
Eight figures,” he says.
Friends and family?
“Eight figures,” he says.
Charities, while putting nearly 100 kids through school on scholarships? “Well over eight figures.”
Now, no longer near the world of football, this once great player has been reduced to the realization that he’s a 45 year old man incapable of doing many mundane tasks. He simply never had to. For most of his life everything was taken care of, by his wife, by maids, by assistants, now, he’s on his own, trying to be a dad and trying to live a “normal” life. I for one wish him luck.
Its the plot of HBO’s ‘Hung’ except he was actually big-time once. Have fun getting older and realizing that you’re not actually a god amongst men, Bernie, unless you can screw your way back to riches… also, what are the odds that he has already read this post on his nightly self-google search?