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Player Discussion Joe Murphy current situation

Drivesaitl

Drivesaitl

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Just being honest here, I'm not going to applaud the NHLPA, or player membership for helping a colleague, a peer. One would do this just as a scientist might tap somebody needing help and ask for his involvement in a scientific study because the post fellow could use a leg up during a stonecold research spell. Or a Tradesperson putting his buddies name on a list for a job or at the union hall. Or a musician calling up a struggling ex friend to do an album or go out on tour. These are the acts engaged in every day where peers and colleagues help peers and colleagues. None of those people are written about, applauded, and they do what conscious empathic humans do.

But the reason I write this is the NHLPA history is sordid when it comes to helping their own. This being the same association that was fervently against retro compensation for impoverished ex players that never had a pension, or adequate pension, and for the expressed reason that "we shouldn't have to pay for that" even players like Chris Pronger being among the ones opposed.

High earning pro players have special and unique ability to change the circumstances of others with a monetary snap of their finger. Its nice if they do this for one of their own as they are doing now. But in the world of NHL hockey its the exception rather than the norm. Meaning that on average the players have displayed less peer and colleague compassion than almost any profession would.

Yeah, scathing reply, I realize, but not inaccurate.

Finally, I'm no Brownlee fan but kudos to him for doing as much as he has further to helping somebody that wasn't a colleague but just because the story moved him, it resonated with his heart, and that he has one.
 
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joestevens29

joestevens29

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Does anyone remember if he was at the closing ceremony at Rexall? Surely you'd think if he was there people would've noticed something was wrong with him
 
joestevens29

joestevens29

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Drivesaitl said:
Just being honest here, I'm not going to applaud the NHLPA, or player membership for helping a colleague, a peer. One would do this just as a scientist might tap somebody needing help and ask for his involvement in a scientific study because the post fellow could use a leg up during a stonecold research spell. Or a Tradesperson putting his buddies name on a list for a job or at the union hall. Or a musician calling up a struggling ex friend to do an album or go out on tour. These are the acts engaged in every day where peers and colleagues help peers and colleagues. None of those people are written about, applauded, and they do what conscious empathic humans do.

But the reason I write this is the NHLPA history is sordid when it comes to helping their own. This being the same association that was fervently against retro compensation for impoverished ex players that never had a pension, or adequate pension, and for the expressed reason that "we shouldn't have to pay for that" even players like Chris Pronger being among the ones opposed.

High earning pro players have special and unique ability to change the circumstances of others with a monetary snap of their finger. Its nice if they do this for one of their own as they are doing now. But in the world of NHL hockey its the exception rather than the norm. Meaning that on average the players have displayed less peer and colleague compassion than almost any profession would.

Yeah, scathing reply, I realize, but not inaccurate.

Finally, I'm no Brownlee fan but kudos to him for doing as much as he has further to helping somebody that wasn't a colleague but just because the story moved him, it resonated with his heart, and that he has one.
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They are also the ones that shelved a concussion support program in 2011 after there were deaths.

Lots of people are painting Bettman and the NHL as the evil ones here, but the PA has done very little over the years to protect it's players or help them.
 
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Drivesaitl

Drivesaitl

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joestevens29 said:
They are also the ones that shelved a concussion support program in 2011 after there were deaths.

Lots of people are painting Bettman and the NHL as the evil ones here, but the PA has done very little over the years to protect it's players or help them.
Click to expand...

Absolutely. That's another good example.

As per your earlier question Murphy has not been in any of the oilers reunions I know of. He was also not in with the NYR Stanley Cup team, Graves was, and Murphy wasn't talked about.
 
StevenF1919

StevenF1919

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joestevens29 said:
They are also the ones that shelved a concussion support program in 2011 after there were deaths.

Lots of people are painting Bettman and the NHL as the evil ones here, but the PA has done very little over the years to protect it's players or help them.
Click to expand...
The biggest impediment to tougher consequences for hits to the head is the NHLPA. The PA is a joke and doesn't get nearly enough stick from fans over issues like concussions and lockouts.
 
joestevens29

joestevens29

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Drivesaitl said:
Absolutely. That's another good example.

As per your earlier question Murphy has not been in any of the oilers reunions I know of. He was also not in with the NYR Stanley Cup team, Graves was, and Murphy wasn't talked about.
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I haven't saw the special or read the timelines, but he was in south america or something for awhile so that could be why too.
 
shoop

shoop

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joestevens29 said:
I haven't saw the special or read the timelines, but he was in south america or something for awhile so that could be why too.
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His wife touches on his time in South America. By that point it sounded like he was out of touch with pretty much everyone in his life.
 
joestevens29

joestevens29

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shoop said:
His wife touches on his time in South America. By that point it sounded like he was out of touch with pretty much everyone in his life.
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Which seems so odd in itself. Did everyone in his life just give up on him too?
 
Drivesaitl

Drivesaitl

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Now, I certainly hope this is not considered OT as it references the topic of hand and applies. One cannot know at this point the exact circumstances that led to Joe Murphy being homeless but most homeless people have by then eventually eroded all relationships with meaningful others. The degree to which this occurs in homeless population is fervent. So that you have series after series of helpers and attempted helpers being refuted and even abused, robbed, etc in their attempts to help the homeless friend/relative. In Edmonton there was a fairly recent case of this where the helper had their house set on fire apparently to hide a theft. A case in which the person being helped abused the helpers efforts for years.

Being homeless is the product of more than lack of funds, recourse. Its often accompanied by mental health concerns, anger, self and other loathing, self medicating substance abuse and with a large component of antisocial behavior. Joe Murphy was quite clearly demonstrating this as early as Boston if not first in Detroit. Again, in Boston Joe was telling coaches and players to f*** themselves and ended his tenure there that way. That was in 2000. He was already at that rockbottom, somehow got another NHL gig in Washington, and that didn't last. When last seen in the hockey world he was a minor league coach in 2014 that lost that position due to undisclosed circumstance that resulted in a county barring him from entry due to alleged incident and with restraining order. So Murphy was fired. If I remember right he was involved in some fracas. Online information often gets deleted.

Without knowing for sure I would still think that people have been attempting to help Joe Murphy for decades. Keep in mind Glen Sather was exhibit A for helping players and going to incredible lengths in doing that. So that Murphy had the perfect coach/manager here and the help from that was apparently only temporary. Because the demons within often continue.

People can always change, that is my belief, but the probability in some cases is very remote. One of the chief problems is that recovery involves making peace with the past. For some people they've collected so many wrongs in life that they find it basically impossible to do this. For some the pain of recovery is worse than what they currently experience. This is why self medication is so often connected. To blur memory, cognition, pain.

Most of what I write here is consistent with homeless populations, if not about Joe Murphy entirely. But the information quite likely applies to an extent.
 
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joestevens29

joestevens29

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Here's one of the problems I have with current sports athletes. There are numerous guys across NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, Boxing, MMA etc.. that appear to not be operating with a full deck of cards.

What is really being done to help these guys?

I can somewhat understand Murphy not getting the help he needed simply because there wasn't a lot of awareness 20 years ago. But nowadays I just don't get why there are more programs from the PA.

Also don't know how a guy like Richie Incognito is allowed to be out in the real world either, but that might change after him wanting to cut of his dead father's head.
 

Lacaar

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Money > Head trauma.
That's all it's about... money.
Current players and the union don't give a piss about head trauma. They wan their money.

It's like smoking. Only really matters once you get cancer.
 

Shane Goudie

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Jul 8, 2009
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It is going to take something tragic for the NHL to smarten up about head injuries. More tragic the one player's downward spiral. It took Chris Benoit's double murder/suicide for the WWE to wake up. Now there arguably have done the most of all the major sports (entertainment) to try and prevent TBI.
 
shoop

shoop

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joestevens29 said:
Which seems so odd in itself. Did everyone in his life just give up on him too?
Click to expand...

I had a friend with pretty serious mental health issues who said it was due to TBI. I witnessed him alienate one friend or family member after another until I finally had it.

The random outbursts and unreliability eventually got to be too much. I tried to help. Stuck with him longer than most. Not sure what happened to him. He still had a home the last time I saw him, but wasn't too far from being homeless.

Watching the special on Murphy and it really reminded me of this fellow.
 
Bring Back Bucky

Bring Back Bucky

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I’m fascinated by his photo. His face looks like his teeth may be in trouble but his physique looks like that of a very healthy 51 year old. Guy must have incredible genetics. Sad tale for sure.
 
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