If you’re a Toronto Blue Jays fan, you know the name Roy ‘Doc’ Halladay.
He was a pitcher for the team from 1998 to 2009 and made an impact during that time. I wasn’t even watching MLB at that point, and I knew who he was.
In 2017, Halladay was in a crash off the west coast of Florida that resulted in his death. He was 40-years-old at the time.
I still remember watching the tribute the Blue Jays paid to Halladay on opening day of their 2018 season and mourned along with everyone else. He was inducted posthumously into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2019.
It came out last week that he was performing extremely high-risk and acrobatic stunts at the time, and had high amounts of amphetamines and morphine in his system.
When I heard that, my heart dropped into my stomach.
It pained me because I knew it would cast a shadow onto the tragic passing of a baseball great, which was confirmed when I spoke with a friend who said hearing the news ruined his day.
We don’t know what demons he was battling before his death and we unfortunately never will. If it hadn’t happened, would we have even known anything about his drug levels?
The announcement by the National Transportation Safety Board’s review got me thinking about athletes or celebrities whose deaths are overshadowed by the cause. While we want to know the ‘why’, we don’t stop to think of what actually causes someone to take the steps that led to them being gone much too soon.
We forget the impact this could have on their families, and that they’re experiencing the worst day of their life for the second time.
“It has reinforced what I have previously stated, that no one is perfect,” said Brandy Halladay, Roy’s wife, in a statement. “Most families struggle in some capacity and ours was no exception. We respectfully ask that you not make assumptions or pass judgment. Rather, we encourage you to hug your loved ones and appreciate having them in your lives. As a family, we ask that you allow Roy to rest in peace.”
We forget that these celebrities were someone’s child, parent, and spouse. Even if they died in the worst position imaginable, someone is mourning them no matter what they did.
We put them on this sort of pedestal because they have this amazing talent, and overlook that they’re human and make mistakes.
Remember, nobody’s perfect in a perfect game.
