In his new autobiography, All the Way: My Life in Four Quarters, Joe Namath reveals that one of the lowest moments of his life may have helped save it.
The 75-year-old writes that his infamous interview with ESPN’s Suzy Kolber during a Monday Night Football game in 2013 helped him turn his life around.
During a nationally televised broadcast, Namath, clearly drunk, told Kolber, “I want to kiss you.” A consummate pro, Kolber attempted to get the interview back on the rails but gave up after Namath said he “couldn’t care less” about the game and the Jets “struggling.”
Here’s the incident Namath credits with taking his life down a different path.
A drunk Joe Namath REALLY wants to kiss Suzy Kolber pic.twitter.com/kZdJAHKjXX
— 24/7 NFL News (@247NFL_News) August 9, 2015
In the book, Namath said the incident ended up being “a blessing in disguise” that forced him to confront his drinking.
“I had embarrassed my friends and family and could not escape that feeling. I haven’t had a drink since,” Namath writes. “That shame is where I found my strength to deal with the addiction. With the help of my recovery, I learned that I had used my divorce as an excuse to go back to drinking. That knowledge made me a stronger individual.”
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