Cole Madison Update

[pbmax]

Michael Cohen @Michael_Cohen13
Sources: The tragic death of Washington State QB Tyler Hilinski is keeping Cole Madison away from the #Packers. Madison never reported to training camp last season and is struggling to process the loss of his friend.

https://theathletic.com/804779/2019/02/11/sources-tragic-death-of-former-teammate-keeps-cole-madison-away-from-packers/

[Fritz]

He belongs in the pantheon of "___________, we hardly knew ye."

A draft pick who didn't pan out.

[call_me_ishmael]

Mental health is very serious. Cohen continuing his history of writing stories that probably shouldn't be written about. I totally get taking a period to grief or maybe even not playing again. Packers shouldn't have picked him.

[Joemailman]

Mental health is very serious. Cohen continuing his history of writing stories that probably shouldn't be written about. I totally get taking a period to grief or maybe even not playing again. Packers shouldn't have picked him.

At the time the Packers drafted Madison, Hilinski had not been diagnosed with CTE. I'm not sure if the Packers even knew that Hilinski had committed suicide when they drafted Madison.

[call_me_ishmael]

CTE aside, I am sure they could tell there were some signs that all was not right when this dude's alleged best friend commit suicide. If he's scared of getting CTE, that's one thing. If it's grieving, that's another. It's probably a lot of both. I doubt he plays again. Totally sucks for all parties.

[pbmax]

If it was widely known there was a risk with Madison, we would likely have had reports that year. Someone would have talked if other teams had concerns.

[Patler]

Mental health is very serious. Cohen continuing his history of writing stories that probably shouldn't be written about. I totally get taking a period to grief or maybe even not playing again. Packers shouldn't have picked him.


CTE aside, I am sure they could tell there were some signs that all was not right when this dude's alleged best friend commit suicide. If he's scared of getting CTE, that's one thing. If it's grieving, that's another. It's probably a lot of both. I doubt he plays again. Totally sucks for all parties.

Madison attended rookie camp, OTAs and the June minicamp. Do you really think the Packers should have known something was wrong in March/April before the draft? The Packers were no more wrong in drafting him than the 49ers were for drafting Borland.

[Teamcheez1]

We all know people that have faced adversity and very difficult circumstances in their lives.
I wish Cole Madison the best and hope he can overcome the issues that are troubling him.

However, he either needs to commit to playing football or move on.

[pbmax]

However, he either needs to commit to playing football or move on.

Would you say this about a computer programmer who was suffering from depression?

This isn't Madison being obstinate, its the Packers holding onto player rights.

If you have some evidence that Madison is leading the Packers on, please share it, I haven't seen it.

I also presume he is on a Non Football injury reserve list and probably is not getting paid currently.

[call_me_ishmael]

Madison attended rookie camp, OTAs and the June minicamp. Do you really think the Packers should have known something was wrong in March/April before the draft? The Packers were no more wrong in drafting him than the 49ers were for drafting Borland.

You are 100% speculating on that. If Chris Borland's best friend committed suicide right after the season, I didn't hear about it. That said, I'm done with this topic. I don't think it's fair to give this dude negative attention when he's dealing with some mental health problems.


However, he either needs to commit to playing football or move on.

Is there any reason to think he hasn't moved on? Seems like it's the Packers holding on to hope. I don't get the sense that he's stringing them along.

[texaspackerbacker]

I'm holding back on saying anything against Madison because there's still a chance he will be a Packer.

Borland pissed away his NFL career, but at least he made something like $13 million before doing so.

I say again, the whole concussion/CTE thing is overrated as a problem. I don't have much or any sympathy for mental cases, especially suicidal ones. If they decide to off themselves, the world is probably better off without them.

[red]

He’s a guy that in a few years who is gonna look back on all the money he lost and say, “boy, I should have manned up and go to work”

We’ve all had people die, you don’t shut down your life for years to deal with it. You go to work and think about something else for awhile

[ThunderDan]

I don't have much or any sympathy for mental cases, especially suicidal ones. If they decide to off themselves, the world is probably better off without them.

Once again proving that you are indeed a completely useless fuck.

Go fuck yourself! Seriously, crawl back under your rock you fuck!

[Patler]

We all know people that have faced adversity and very difficult circumstances in their lives.
I wish Cole Madison the best and hope he can overcome the issues that are troubling him.

However, he either needs to commit to playing football or move on.

He will, and we will all know his decision in a few months. He will be at the off season events, or he will be done with football. For now, the Packers still carry him on their roster, and his agent has routinely said he intends to play again.

I didn't read the story linked above, I can't get in without signing up. Does it have anything new, or just rehash what was reported last summer?

I have read a lot about Hilinski and Madison. It is easy to guess why this might have had an even more significant impact on Madison than on some other friends and teammates, and why he may have finally just needed some time without the pressure of a rookie year in the NFL to process and come to terms with it. Hopefully, he has, whether or not his future will include football.

[Joemailman]

He’s a guy that in a few years who is gonna look back on all the money he lost and say, “boy, I should have manned up and go to work”

We’ve all had people die, you don’t shut down your life for years to deal with it. You go to work and think about something else for awhile

If he's just dealing with grief, I agree he has to find a way to move on with his life. And since playing football on a high level seems to be a unique God-given ability he has, he should strongly consider that. However, if he believes that his friend committed suicide due to CTE, and he believes football caused the CTE, I can see where he might not want to play football.

[Carolina_Packer]

If he's just dealing with grief, I agree he has to find a way to move on with his life. And since playing football on a high level seems to be a unique God-given ability he has, he should strongly consider that. However, if he believes that his friend committed suicide due to CTE, and he believes football caused the CTE, I can see where he might not want to play football.

Well stated.

[pbmax]

I don't have much or any sympathy for mental cases, especially suicidal ones. If they decide to off themselves, the world is probably better off without them.

OK, what about the one's that the world is NOT better off for losing?

Any sympathy there, or just cost of business?

[ThunderDan]

eat shit and die, you little piece of crap.

Way to be a brave fucker typing on the internet. I guarantee you wouldn’t have the nerve to say that to my face.

[wist43]

He’s a guy that in a few years who is gonna look back on all the money he lost and say, “boy, I should have manned up and go to work”

We’ve all had people die, you don’t shut down your life for years to deal with it. You go to work and think about something else for awhile

The older ya get, the more people you lose... it's called life.

Man up and get on with your life. Collapsing into a puddle of tears doesn't honor your friend, or do you or anyone else in your life any good.

Kids today are much too soft.

[call_me_ishmael]

- or -

and hear me out know.

Society and science have finally caught up and realized that mental illness and mental health is a very real thing. Maybe 30 years ago this dude would have went on and ignored the issue, battled depression, and committed suicide or worse themselves. I think it's wonderful he's taking the time to get right.

On one hand, we ridicule people as soft for taking care of their mental health issues. On the other, whenever a heinous crime is committed by someone who's obviously mentally ill we blame the illness and the lack of proper societal treatment. You can't have it both ways.

[3irty1]

Struggling to process the loss of his friend, who shot himself in his CTE riddled head, is at least as much a business and medical decision as it is a grieving situation. The idea that Madison should merely put on his big boy pants, take the money, and get hit in the head for our enjoyment is crazy. The opportunity costs, tolerance for risk, and priorities in life are different for everyone. He signed his exclusivity as a pro player over to the Packers, not his soul. Nothing wrong with walking away.

[pbmax]

The older ya get, the more people you lose... it's called life.

Man up and get on with your life. Collapsing into a puddle of tears doesn't honor your friend, or do you or anyone else in your life any good.

Kids today are much too soft.

So if I had numbers about suicides declining overall, we could call old people soft?

[call_me_ishmael]

So if I had numbers about suicides declining overall, we could call old people soft?

Don't bother. Wist is one of those morons who doesn't care about facts. It's his intuition that matters. The idiot regularly brags about not wearing a seat belt. Nevermind the fact nearly 15K lives are saved annually by seat belts - Wist's intuition is that they're making him less safe. Moron with a capital M, and Tex is right there with him.

[George Cumby]

I'm holding back on saying anything against Madison because there's still a chance he will be a Packer.

Borland pissed away his NFL career, but at least he made something like $13 million before doing so.

I say again, the whole concussion/CTE thing is overrated as a problem. I don't have much or any sympathy for mental cases, especially suicidal ones. If they decide to off themselves, the world is probably better off without them.

Lol.

You are such a disgusting, loathsome, wretched, steaming pile of walking, talking human excrement it defies description.

How much do you pay to fuck underage girls overseas?

[George Cumby]

He’s a guy that in a few years who is gonna look back on all the money he lost and say, “boy, I should have manned up and go to work”

We’ve all had people die, you don’t shut down your life for years to deal with it. You go to work and think about something else for awhile

You have no idea what his thought process is now, let alone in a few years.

I've lost my Mom and my Brother in the last few years, I've almost lost my daughter a couple of times, and yes, I got right back to work, that's how I'm wired. Not everyone is wired that way and I don't pass judgment on those who cope/deal differently. It's their life, their headspace, their grief.

Don't be a dick.

[MadScientist]

You have no idea what his thought process is now, let alone in a few years.

I've lost my Mom and my Brother in the last few years, I've almost lost my daughter a couple of times, and yes, I got right back to work, that's how I'm wired. Not everyone is wired that way and I don't pass judgment on those who cope/deal differently. It's their life, their headspace, their grief.

I don't know your circumstances, but Cole never saw this coming, which adds a large shock to the grief. Then he learned that the suicide was quite possibly related to brain damage caused by playing football. Instead of football being an escape from grief, or being a way to honor his best friend, it is a constant reminder of his death and didn't honor him at all.

The way he is acting, I don't think Cole will have much regret if he never plays football again.

[Joemailman]

The following might be just speculation, but if it is true could add to the reasons why Madison has had a tough time coping with his friend's death:



https://forums.footballsfuture.com/topic/15126-cole-madison/
AlexGreen#20

SPECULATION ALERT

The logical jump some might be willing to make is that Hilinski used Madison's rifle to kill himself due to CTE related mental instability.

We know based on the SI report that a bunch of teammates taught Hilinski to shoot earlier that year.

Initial reports were that Hilinski used a roommates's rifle to kill himself.

Madison and Hilinski were roommates at the time and based on Madison's Instagram at the time, Madison was an avid hunter and gun enthusiast.

Not gonna lie, if my best friend went insane due to playing the game I'm going to start playing professionally, used knowledge that I gave him and a weapon that I left laying around to kill himself, I'd be pretty messed up in the head myself. That's a lot to unpack.

Again, just speculation, but the pieces fit and it would explain a lot of what he's dealing with.

[wist43]

If the kid has other options, and is concerned about CTE and concussions?? Fine, just tell the team you're out, and move on with your life.

But playing the whiny, puddle of tears game doesn't hold any water with me. Seriously, stand up and be a man.

[call_me_ishmael]

^ You have no idea that he hasn't said that and the Packers are keeping the door open for him in hopes the fat salary changes his mind. Lots of assuming going on.

[Anti-Polar Bear]

The following might be just speculation, but if it is true could add to the reasons why Madison has had a tough time coping with his friend's death:

I hope Madison finds peace in his head, but I’m perfectly cool without a “gun enthusiast” donning the Green and Gold. I’m sure Partial would concur. However, when Tex returns from his sabbatical, he’ll argue otherwise. ;)

Madison likely comes from a “blond, bland middle-class” Elephant family. All he had to do to keep his 6 figures signing bonus was show up for TC. He could’ve purposely tanked camp, gotten cut, and still would’ve gotten to keep the frogskins. Money was a nonissue for him, apparently.

I do agree that mental health is no joke.

[Patler]

The following might be just speculation, but if it is true could add to the reasons why Madison has had a tough time coping with his friend's death:
https://forums.footballsfuture.com/t...-cole-madison/
AlexGreen#20

SPECULATION ALERT

The logical jump some might be willing to make is that Hilinski used Madison's rifle to kill himself due to CTE related mental instability.

We know based on the SI report that a bunch of teammates taught Hilinski to shoot earlier that year.

Initial reports were that Hilinski used a roommates's rifle to kill himself.

Madison and Hilinski were roommates at the time and based on Madison's Instagram at the time, Madison was an avid hunter and gun enthusiast.

Not gonna lie, if my best friend went insane due to playing the game I'm going to start playing professionally, used knowledge that I gave him and a weapon that I left laying around to kill himself, I'd be pretty messed up in the head myself. That's a lot to unpack.

Again, just speculation, but the pieces fit and it would explain a lot of what he's dealing with.


This is the "guess" I was referring to when I wrote the following:


I have read a lot about Hilinski and Madison. It is easy to guess why this might have had an even more significant impact on Madison than on some other friends and teammates, and why he may have finally just needed some time without the pressure of a rookie year in the NFL to process and come to terms with it. Hopefully, he has, whether or not his future will include football.

except that it seems even somewhat less speculative and more impactful than implied in the quote posted by Joemailman above.

Various pre- and post draft articles of the type "things to know about Cole Madison" mentioned that he is a very passionate hunter who hunted whenever he had a free day, and would leave the night before off days and sleep in his car to get an early start hunting. He butchered and processed much of his meat himself, and often brought jerky and other meats to share with his teammates. The team all knew of his passion for hunting.

According to several articles, it was just the day before his suicide that Hilinski, who had no experience at all with guns, asked a teammate that he knew as an avid hunter to teach him how to use a gun, so this teammate and several others spent the afternoon before his suicide teaching Hilinski how to shoot and practicing with him. It is not much of a step to speculate that Madison was at least involved in this event and may have been the person Hilinski went to the day before his suicide in order to learn how to use a gun.

Later that day, a friend/teammate reported that a gun of his was missing. In fact, Hilinski had stolen it, but he spent quite some time helping others look for the missing gun. Was this Madison's gun? It hasn't been reported that I have seen, but again, not a big step to speculate that it may have been.

It is not hard to understand that if any of the above speculations are accurate, for Madison this suicide may have been even more impactful than the suicide of a close friend always is, because of the events the day before.

Madison signed his contract, attended rookie orientation, OTAs and the June minicamp. On June 26, the Mayo clinic study of Hilinski's brain was made public. Now Madison might have questioned if football was a cause for his friend's suicide on top of some personal responsibility he may have felt for it. Just a few weeks later, as a rookie Madison was being asked to move a couple thousand miles away from friends and family who could support him in his efforts to deal with all of this. Tough thing for an adult, let alone a "kid" in his early 20s. Tough thing for an adult having friends and family close to help him deal with it, tougher for a kid immediately moving far away to a situation without any family or existing friends.

This is not a question of "being a man", or being whiny or anything else. It is simply a very young man having a lot to deal with, and choosing a path to do so that some fans don't like. I say to him, "Do what you have to do in order to deal with it." I'm not in his shoes, and won't judge him. It takes a lot of guts to walk away from something that has been a big part of his life so far, just as he was ready to approach the ultimate level of it, not to mention the money and financial security he will be turning his back on.

It is unclear if Madison is being indecisive, or if the Packers are simply leaving the door open if he changes his mind. He may have told them "I'm not coming", to which they replied, "Well, in case you change your mind....." just in case he reconsiders.

[Patler]

I hope Madison finds peace in his head, but I’m perfectly cool without a “gun enthusiast” donning the Green and Gold. I’m sure Partial would concur. However, when Tex returns from his sabbatical, he’ll argue otherwise. ;)


You have to admit, Madison would be a good fit for Wisconsin, Green Bay and the Packers, as much as he has enjoyed hunting to this point in his life.

[pbmax]

If the kid has other options, and is concerned about CTE and concussions?? Fine, just tell the team you're out, and move on with your life.

But playing the whiny, puddle of tears game doesn't hold any water with me. Seriously, stand up and be a man.

Do you spend most of your time arguing with people that exist only in your head?

[wist43]

Do you spend most of your time arguing with people that exist only in your head?

"I dare do all that may become a man; Who dares do more is none"

- Macbeth

[falco]

"I dare do all that may become a man; Who dares do more is none"

- Macbeth

whatever happened to retailguy, the big kool-aid dude?

[Sparkey]

I don't have much or any sympathy for mental cases, especially suicidal ones. If they decide to off themselves, the world is probably better off without them.

Such a simple minded comment. :cry: As someone who has had a loved one make such a choice, I can only surmize that you have "no clue" or you would never make such a comment.

[pbmax]

whatever happened to retailguy, the big kool-aid dude?

Wasn't RetailGuy the poster that turned out to be Joe who took over admin/ownership from Mad for a time?

He wasn't around much after that.