Jay Glazer says former Bengals player questioned if he ‘deserved’ Super Bowl

Recently on an episode of Meadowlark Media’s The Dan Lebatard Show with Sutgotz, frequent guest Jay Glazer revealed what an ex-Cincinnati Bengals player felt after winning the Super Bowl. A sentiment that may surprise some. 

Glazer, a Fox Sports NFL Insider, often speaks about mental health issues and offers insight into how it affects him and how he is learning to live with them in an effort to help others. On his most recent appearance on The Big Suey segment, he talked about how former Bengal and should be future Hall-of-Fame offensive lineman Andrew Whitworth felt after winning the Super Bowl with the Los Angeles Rams. 

"I was with Whit right after he won the Super Bowl. He and I got in the car together, went to the party after, and he was in the tank. Like, in the tank! And I’m like bro, what’s going on here? And he’s like, ‘I don’t deserve this.’ If Andrew goes through this like I do and Michael Phelps does, you wouldn’t know it. But that’s why Andrew does so many great things. He’s Walter Payton Man-of-the-Year Award. I told you in order for us to get through our ‘gray,’ we have to be of service. And you’d look at it and go, ‘Andrew Whitworth, what?’ So Whit was really struggling of not feeling deserving to have won the Super Bowl."

- Jay Glazer curtesy of Meadowlark Media

As a Bengals fan, it isn't easy to imagine Whitworth not being able to embrace winning the Super Bowl fully. He spent 11 years with the Bengals and was arguably the best left- tackle in the NFL during his tenure with Cincinnati.

We all know that he deserves it. We know that he is worthy. To think that Whitworth could feel anything but euphoria after becoming a Super Bowl Champion is disconcerting. It is further evidence that we have no idea what players might be going through or how they feel. 

Never mind professional athletes; we are incapable of truly understanding what anyone is really going through until it is revealed in rare moments of honesty. And even then, we can sometimes lack the empathy to appreciate what others reveal in their vulnerable moments fully. 

As Glazer said, Whitworth just won a Super Bowl. He was voted Man of the Year. He had a Hall of Fame-worthy career and made a lot of money playing a game. It would be easy for us fans to dismiss what someone in Whitworth’s position is going through. But we should not do it with him, nor should we do it with each other. 

You can listen to the entire Big Suey segment from Meadowlark Media’s Dan LeBatard Show with Stugotgz here.

Also, Glazer wrote a book entitled Unbreakable: How I Turned My Depression and Anxiety into Motivation and You Can Too. In addition, he has a podcast aptly named Unbreakable with Jay Glazer. You can listen to the episode of Unbreakable that Glazer did with Whitworth here.

If you or someone you know is struggling mentally, there are ways to get help.

If you don’t know what that internal fight looks or feels like but would like to learn more, a good place to start might be to listen to Glazer’s podcast or his weekly hit on The Dan Lebatard Show with Stugotz. Glazer is excellent when describing the feeling of when the “gray” comes and what he does to try to combat it.   

Love each other and yourself 3,000. Who Dey?!