During lockout, NFL Player and many others finding wisdom in new audiobook

 

Author – Tim Hampton

 

Nationwide (BlackNews.com) — It’s common to hear about professional athletes, who at some point of their careers were worth millions of dollars and then after a short time, end up broke and out of luck.

The list is seemingly endless: former NBA player Antoine Walker was worth $80 million dollars in 2003, and today is broke. Former NBA star Scottie Pippen, who played alongside Michael Jordan and won several Championships, just this past fall attempted to rejoin the league as a player in an attempt to satisfy pending outstanding judgements against him and also avoid foreclosure on his home. Also, Mark Brunell, the former Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback and three-time Pro Bowler who raked in more than $50 million during his decade-long career and took home a Super Bowl ring in the 2009-2010 season with the New Orleans Saints, filed for bankruptcy in June 2010.

Author Tim Hampton, a 36 year old mental health counselor who resides in Tampa, FL, says, “I’m tired of seeing and hearing about the social and financial collapses of guys who excelled in their profession. Poor decisions, inability to choose friends wisely, mismanagement of funds, and even drug use, usually play a huge factor in this vicious cycle that sometimes includes run-ins with the law and has plagued professional athletes for years.”

These unfortunate tales inspired Hampton to write a story about a young high school football player who had dreams of becoming a professional athlete. In his story entitled Holding, a young man achieves success in college, as well as on a professional level, but quickly loses it all due to making poor decisions.

Abdul Hodge, who currently plays with the NFL‘s Carolina Panthers said he saw a Twitter message posted by Hampton (@holdingmyown) about the story and decided to download it from Amazon.com mp3 to his cell phone. He comments, “The story Holding reminded me of how fortunate myself as well as the other 1,600 + NFL players are to be in the financial positions that we are in, I also realized the importance of keeping good people around me.”

Hodge also went on to say how much he enjoyed the story and that he encourages coaches and athletes in high school, as well as college to listen to it. Hodge has also partnered up with a company who manages professional athletes, and with the advice of former teammate Iowa Hawkeye player Jermire Roberts, Hodge has tapped Hampton to possibly come on board as a mentor.

“Currently there are not many resources in place for these young athletes to help them adjust to life outside of their newly found fortune and fame, with Hampton’s background and leadership, he may be a big help” said Hodge. Hampton the Author of six books (three audiobooks), said Holding is the story he embraces the most, as he himself is a former athlete and a huge sports fan. Holding is available as a downloadable audiobook on iTunes, Amazon.com as well as Hampton’s personal website www.holdingmyown.com and is getting attention from sports analysts to film producers.