Jerry West abuse victim
NBA Hall of Famer Jerry West said he has battled depression since childhood, when his father would beat him, causing low self-esteem that has plagued him despite a successful career as one of the NBA's biggest influences.
NBA Hall of Famer Jerry West said he has battled depression since childhood, when his father would beat him, causing low self-esteem that has plagued him despite a successful career as one of the NBA's biggest influences.
West said his West Virginia childhood was devoid of love and filled with anger as a result of his abusive father, who left him feeling tormented and worthless.
"I would go to bed feeling like I didn't even want to live,'' West said in a segment that aired yesterday on HBO's "Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel.''
West's memoir, "West by West: My Charmed, Tormented Life,'' is in stores today. It's a book his wife, Karen, his five sons and his four siblings didn't want him to write.
He said he never knew what would set his father off. It wasn't until his father hit his sister that West found the courage to stand up to him. At 12, West kept a shotgun under his bed and threatened to use it on his father if the abuse didn't end.
West, who starred for the Los Angeles Lakers and then was their longtime general manager, said his depression never bothered him as a player because he was so driven by a fear of failure. However, once the season ended, he would dwell on the defeats, including the Lakers' six NBA Finals losses to Boston.
"He wouldn't speak for days at a time . . . It worried me,'' Karen West said.
West said his condition has eased. He now works as an adviser to the Golden State Warriors.
In other NBA news:
* NBA players and owners met with a federal mediator in an attempt to settle their labor dispute.
Colleges *
The University of Oklahoma has so far spent more than $50,000 on an investigation into major NCAA rules violations by the men's basketball program.
* Connecticut center Michael Bradley will miss the start of the basketball season with a fractured ankle.
* Tulane football coach Bob Toledo resigned. Tulane is 15-40 in Toledo's five seasons, 2-5 this year.
Sport Stops *
Disgraced former FIFA vice president Jack Warner has threatened to release a "tsunami" of corruption allegations against FIFA president Sepp Blatter.
* Tour de France riders will face steeper mountain climbs and longer time trials, making for a wide-open race in 2012.