Percy Harvin says he smoked marijuana prior to every game of his NFL career
Thursday 3 October 2019 10:42, UK
Former NFL wide receiver Percy Harvin has admitted he dealt with his anxiety by self-medicating with marijuana, and he did so prior to every game of his NFL career.
Harvin, who won a Super Bowl with the Seattle Seahawks in 2014, told Bleacher Report in a video published on Wednesday: "There's not a game - there's not a game I played that I wasn't high."
Marijuana is on the NFL's banned list, although Harvin was never suspended for violating the league's substance abuse policy.
Harvin, now 31, was diagnosed with an anxiety disorder and played through it during his eight NFL seasons with the Minnesota Vikings, Seattle Seahawks, New York Jets and Buffalo Bills.
He said his anxiety got worse after he was traded from Minnesota to Seattle in 2013, describing the time as "probably the worst years of my life".
"The only thing that really seemed to work is when I would smoke marijuana," said Harvin, who recorded 353 receptions for 4,026 yards with 22 touchdowns. He also had five rushing scores and five kick returns for touchdowns.
In the video, Harvin also addressed his altercation with former Seahawks team-mate Golden Tate that took place one day before Super Bowl XLVIII against Denver.
"Golden did an interview, and I had just sat out the previous game with a concussion," Harvin recalled of what first upset him.
"So the question is, 'How do you feel getting Percy Harvin back and getting some of your power back getting ready to play this tough Denver Broncos team?'.
"And the response was, 'We made it here without him, so whether he plays or doesn't play, we are going to be good'."
Harvin admitted "it was true" that he struck Tate and also noted that he cut the chin of fellow wide receiver Doug Baldwin in a melee the following August. He was traded to the Jets just two months later.
