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The Players' Tribune: Patrick O'Sullivan details years of abuse UPDATED with article

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BonMorrison

BonMorrison

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Jun 17, 2011
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http://www.torontosun.com/2015/10/19/former-nhl-player-details-years-of-abuse-at-hands-of-father
"I'd be looking at an hour or two or more of my father's conditioning program, running the steps in the arena stands like a hamster on a treadmill or chasing after the van for two or three miles. If he didn't think that was toughening me up, he'd slap me around. Every year he was ramping it up: slap in the face when I was eight; a slap with more force and a kick in the ass when I was nine; a punch when I was 10; a big right hook on my jaw and a kick in the gut or ribs until I was gasping when I was eleven, twelve and thirteen."
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So brutal. :(

MOD EDIT: December 9, 2015 The Players' Tribune article: www.theplayerstribune.com/patrick-osullivan-nhl-abuse/
 
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I always wondered what happened to O'Sullivan, he was very talented and then jsut kind of fell off the Earth one day. This makes sense though. What a terrible story.
 
Disgusting actions. Hope he has come to terms with it and that he's not going to let this trauma effect him in the future.
 
Some of the problems were well known. Even at draft it was public knowledge he had a restraining order on his dad (as stated in the article he needed security at the event). His dad was known to show up his OHL games in violation of the restraining order and cause problems. Well into his pro career his dad was causing problems for him. However the extent of the abuse is surprising. Awful.
 
"O'Sullivan said he'll carry the emotional scars forever. Sitting in a coffee shop in a posh Toronto hotel, he fidgeted in his seat. He said he has trouble sitting still. There are certain triggers, like the smell of freshly-cut grass. He was regularly beaten after cutting the lawn if his job was not up to his dad's impossible standards."

...having had two great parents who never did anything but support me, I never appreciated when I was younger how fortunate I was. I can't imagine treating anyone like this, much less someone you are supposed to love and nurture.
 
He also did an AMA on the hockey subreddit recently, I'm on mobile so can't post it unfortunately.

It really is a tragic childhood, a case of parents trying to live their lives through their children. I wish the best for him in the future.
 
It's just sick when parents do stuff like that. It's 1 thing to live through your child and be a crazy loud mouth that pushes their kid a bit too much, but to take it to a level where you abuse your kid and have a restraining order against you is just sickening.

Breaks your heart to read about this or the Jack Johnson saga.
 
tfong said:
Explains why he didn't seem very passionate about hockey. To him there was no fun in it.
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I haven't read his book yet (which I'm very much looking forward to once i get some free time), but for as long as he played it, I'm sure it was a balancing act between bad memories and skating making one feel free.

spintheblackcircle said:
"O'Sullivan said he'll carry the emotional scars forever. Sitting in a coffee shop in a posh Toronto hotel, he fidgeted in his seat. He said he has trouble sitting still. There are certain triggers, like the smell of freshly-cut grass. He was regularly beaten after cutting the lawn if his job was not up to his dad's impossible standards."

...having had two great parents who never did anything but support me, I never appreciated when I was younger how fortunate I was. I can't imagine treating anyone like this, much less someone you are supposed to love and nurture.
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Same here, and now having one of my own, it's heartbreaking even trying to think of the motivation/emotions behind those actions. Ugh.
 
Terrible. It makes me wonder how many players became impactful NHLers with this kind of upbringing.
 
Maybe this will provide a bit of perspective for people and some humility. Fans sometimes forget these guys are people. O'Sullivan was raked over the coals many times by fans on this website in his playing days. Before you start disrespecting players, other human beings, try to think about things from their perspective, and realize you're making judgments on about 3% of the full picture.
 
tfong said:
Explains why he didn't seem very passionate about hockey. To him there was no fun in it.
Click to expand...

Yeah I remember watching him play and asking myself why he couldn't put it all together. He had such talent. Now it all makes sense. It must be horrifying to play the game you love, yet know it brought you such misery at the same time. I also can't imagine scanning the crowd during an NHL game trying to see if your Dad's there, when you should be focused on helping your team. So much of his struggles on the ice suddenly make sense. Very sad.

Anyone know what happened to his Dad? Is he in jail? I hope so.
 
Thorton02 said:
Terrible. It makes me wonder how many players became impactful NHLers with this kind of upbringing.
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Gilbert Brule is another name that comes to mind as someone not having the most supportive father.
 
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