Wives Of Former NFL Players Reveal Brutal Aftermath We Don’t See: Wheelchair, Pain, and Daily Battles Years After Retirement
This article was originally published on Total Pro Sports.
Once upon a time, Louis Leonard was making a name for himself on the football field. The 41-year-old NFL star is long removed from those days. He is now confined to a wheelchair just two years after his retirement.
Now his wife, Lacey, is giving football fans an in-depth look into life after playing professional football. Lacey has taken to social media to share “the part of his story that many people don’t see” following his retirement.
She wants an important message sent to the wives of NFL players: the real work starts after the glamour is gone. Leonard walked away from the NFL in 2010. 16 years later, he’s in a wheelchair at the age of just 41.
In the early 2000s, Louis Leonard was signed by the San Diego Chargers to their practice squad as an undrafted free agent in 2007. He then joined the St Louis Rams after the first week of the 2007 NFL season.
This was followed by a move to the Cleveland Browns in October before he joined the Carolina Panthers in 2009. The 2010 season saw Leonard split time between the Panthers, New England Patriots, and the Denver Broncos. Per ESPN, he had his most productive season in 2008, recording 25 total tackles for the Browns. He would finish his career with 33 total tackles and one sack.
Life for Louis Leonard has taken a drastic change.
Louis Leonard’s Wife Exposes His Life Behind The Scenes
Playing football for a living can lead to future health issues. Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders has had many issues. Last October, Sanders required another procedure to treat blood clots. Deion Sanders revealed in July that he had his bladder removed after doctors discovered a cancerous tumor.
Lacey Leonard, the wife of former NFL defensive tackle Louis Leonard, is exposing what her husband is going through. While accompanying her husband to doctor’s appointments and physical therapy, Lacey Leonard showed fans “the part of his story that many people don’t see.”
“My husband survived the NFL, but now he’s surviving everything it left behind,” Lacey said in her Instagram post.
“People see the glory, the lights, the crowds, but they don’t see this — the aftermath, the pain, the stiffness, the tremors, the battle his body fights every single day,” Lacey added in a voiceover as she showed Louis working with physical therapists and moving through hospitals in a wheelchair.
“This is our reality,” she added. “Physical therapy at the Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center, a warrior learning to move again, step-by-step and punch-by-punch.” She added that “through it all,” the former NFL player “doesn’t complain.”
“He shows up, he fights, he keeps going,” Lacey said of Louis Leonard. “This is strength, this is courage, this is life after the NFL. It’s not all glitz and glam, and it does come with a price.”
In the end, Lacey offered a “piece of advice” to significant others and family members of retired NFL players. He finished with, “Don’t romanticize this life. The real work happens after the game is long over.”
