Ex-NFL Player Percy Harvin Battled Anxiety Disorder

Former National Football League (NFL) wide receiver Percy Harvin revealed in a Bleacher Report interview that he played every game of his career high on marijuana to cope with anxiety disorder.

“There is not a game that I played in that I wasn’t high,” Harvin told the Bleacher Report’s Master Tesfatsion in an “Untold Stories” interview.

The eight-year NFL veteran, who was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in 2009, also played for the Seattle Seahawks (winning a Superbowl with them), New York Jets, and Buffalo Bills, said his time in Seattle (after being traded by the Vikings) “were probably the worst years of my life.”

“My anxiety is worse when I go into unfamiliar situations,” Harvin told Tesfatsion as he recalled being especially anxious in his initial press conference with the Seahawks where he was heavily perspiring and required a few glasses of water. Harvin said that was the first time he realized he had anxiety disorder, as he previously didn’t notice the disorder even after being diagnosed.

When Tesfatsion asked Harvin to recall the worst incidence of him acting out as the result of anxiety, he detailed an altercation with then teammate Golden Tate in which he allegedly punched Tate into a laundry hamper because of a comment he (Tate) had made to the press, questioning Harvin’s value to Seahawks going into Superbowl XLVIII against the Denver Broncos.

“There’s not a game I played in that I wasn’t high”

Percy Harvin opens up about his struggles with anxiety during his playing career. New “Untold Stories” with @MasterTes pic.twitter.com/JdbhjyE9dS

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) October 2, 2019

Harvin went out to say that he turned to marijuana to cope with his anxiety disorder, and for him, he found the drug to be more therapeutic than the medication he was prescribed at Mayo Clinic. He hopes his story eliminates the negative stigma about marijuana smoking, especially among those with “deficiencies” such as anxiety disorder.

Former NFL Wide receiver Percy Harvin acknowledges he combated anxiety by self-medicating with marijuana saying he played every game of his career high‼️ See more on this story below👇 #uaccessmagazine https://t.co/Lm5byYG2Lb

— UAccessOnline (@infouaccessmag) October 7, 2019

NFL Player Percy Harvin Smoked Pot Before Every Game pic.twitter.com/36l7qoYQsq

— Global Grind (@GlobalGrind) October 6, 2019