MILWAUKEE -- By his own admission, former Green Bay Packers player George Koonce had a wonderful wife, beautiful children, money in the bank and a Super Bowl ring. So why did he try to end it all?
Koonce is a former Packers linebacker who owns a rags-to-riches story. Coming out of east Carolina, he experienced glory, but only as a player on the "Ohio Glory," of the short-lived World Football League.
Number 53 signed with the Green Bay Packers as a free agent in 1992, and became an eight-year starter and Super Bowl champ.
Koonce has given back. He received his Ph.D. from Marquette University, where he serves as Director of Development -- raising money for the Urban Scholars Program.
"I was in a bad place. I was fortunate enough to play football from the age of nine to 32, but when the lights cut out for me, personally, in the stadium, that was tough to take. I was drinking a lot and spending time alone. I was isolated and didn't have anyone I could talk to about the issues that I was dealing with," Koonce said.
One day, Koonce was scoring a touchdown for Seattle, where he ended his career. The next, he was sitting on a couch watching the teammates and opponents he'd battled with and against.
"That was tough to take, and what purpose do I have to be here?" Koonce said.
Fortunately, Koonce had someone who truly loved and believed in him -- his wife, Tunisia.
Sadly, Koonce lost Tunisia in October 2009, when breast cancer claimed her life at the age of 38.
Perhaps as a way of honoring her, Koonce wrote his doctoral dissertation on transitioning from the NFL.
"I knew I was in that place, in a dark and lonely place, a year-and-a-half or so after leaving the National Football League. I knew a lot of my teammates and a lot of guys that I competed against are in that same place," Koonce said.
