Everson Griffen, star defensive end for the Minnesota Vikings who had a recent mental health scare, announced on Friday that he is bipolar.
“It’s true I am bipolar,” Griffen wrote on Instagram. “I will embrace it and I will be an advocate for mental health. I been running from it a long time. I’m not ashamed of it anymore.”
Griffen said that he began to experience trouble with the passing of his mother, who died suddenly in 2012.
“It all started when my mother passed away,” Griffen wrote. “Went into a dark place, thought I was great for many years. I promise this time I will do everything the experts say. I love my family and I miss my friends. Thank you for all the love and support, but most of all thank you for all the prayers. #bEGreat #mentalhealthawareness”
Griffen, 33, is in his 11th NFL season, all of which have been spent with the Vikings except for 2020, where he played for the Lions and Cowboys. He has made the Pro Bowl four times and has 85.5 career sacks.
In November, cops went to his house in suburban Minneapolis after he brandished a gun in a disturbing Instagram video and shared text messages with his agent in which the defensive lineman said that there were people trying to kill him.
“We are thankful to the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office, the Carver County Sheriff’s Office, the Minnetrista Police Department and the Orono Police Department for their quick response and dedication to ensuring the situation ended peacefully,” the Vikings said in a statement at the time. “Our focus remains on Everson’s health and safety and providing the proper resources for him and his family.”
This was not the first mental health scare for Griffen. In 2018, he jumped out of an ambulance that was taking him to a hospital for a mental health evaluation. He was in the ambulance after a few days of bizarre incidents. At the time, he had threatened to “shoot someone” if he was not allowed into his Minneapolis hotel room.