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Brittany Horschel Reminds Us Athletes are People, Too.

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I can tell you I’m as guilty as anyone when it comes to overlooking this very simple fact.

Athletes, as super-human or other-worldly they may seem on television or in real life, are, very simply, just people.

People with personal, day-to-day struggles that we know absolutely nothing about. After Billy Horschel’s win on Sunday, his wife, Brittany, gave us a stark reminder of this.

Imagine, or perhaps many of you don’t even need to imagine, that your wife or husband, the mother or father of your children, was in a treatment center for alcoholism.

While at the same time, you are expected to continue to perform at the very highest level at work, a job that takes you away from home, a job that requires public appearances, and one that requires you to smile and be personable all the time. A job where you are constantly under the microscope by people you don’t even know.

 
And all the while, wondering if the person you love will return to you whole again.

Imagine the struggles Billy Horschel was going through even prior to his wife finally seeking help for her disease. While trying to do what he loves, the one he loves is crumbling. Maybe golf was a form of escapism for Billy. But golf, especially professional golf, has a lot of down time.

And yet, there he was. Competing. Week after week.

And there some of us were, myself included, criticizing him for a club toss. Calling him a flash-in-the-pan.

“Life gets in the way sometimes,” Horschel told reporters Sunday. “I’m not able to talk about it right now. But it’s just a lot of stuff happened in the last year and this is just – this is nice.”

It is nice, Billy.

And it’s a reminder for me to be a little nicer a little more often when it comes to professional athletes.


Cover Image Via Instagram

Kris became obsessed with the game of golf after deciding to finally hang up his baseball cleats about four years ago. Still learning the game, he’s leaned on much of the on-line golf community for help and loves to return the favor whenever possible. A contributor to several golf sites in the past, Kris writes from the perspective of your average golfer. One who has a passion for the game, but also has the typical restrictions of life and budget. He can be reached on Twitter at @krismcewen.

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