Hi barryba-ga,
There are actually two cases of this that I found - one who overdosed
on drugs and another who was drunk. Neither exactly "slept through"
the Super Bowl, but I'm hopeful that one of them is the one to which
you are referring. I'll present them both for you.
1) Stanley Wilson (1989) - "the Cincinnati Bengal tailback who
overdosed on drugs the night before the biggest game of his life and
missed Super Bowl XXIII."
--and--
2) Barret Robbins (2003) - the Oakland Raider center "who went AWOL
the night before the game in San Diego and wound up staggering drunk
down the streets of Tijuana. He too missed the Super Bowl..."
http://www.thesunlink.com/redesign/2004-01-30/sports/389613.shtml
1) Stanley Wilson
From NFL Insider: "In 1989, Wilson, a fullback with the Cincinnati
Bengals, was found impaired by cocaine in his hotel room the night
before Super Bowl XXIV in Miami. The next day, the Bengals lost a
20-16 heartbreaker to San Francisco."
http://www.superbowl.com/insider/story/6152558
From a San Diego Union Tribune article "Under Pressure" by Chris
Jenkins: "...they found the Cincinnati Bengals fullback in the
bathroom of his hotel room on the morning of Super Sunday in 1989. He
was completely coked out, in no condition to play the biggest game of
his life."
http://www.signonsandiego.com/sports/nfl/20030124-9999_mz1x24under.html
An excellent in-depth article by Paul Daugherty in the Cincinnati
Enquirer covers the entire Stanley Wilson affair from the time it
happened to his interview with Fox about the incident on its ten year
anniversary. It talks about him being found by teammates overdosed on
cocaine the night before the Super Bowl, his subsequent disappearance,
and his return the following Monday, "the day after the 49ers beat the
Bengals 20-16 in the Super Bowl." The article covers Wilson's reaction
as well as that of his teammates and others who knew him.
http://www.enquirer.com/editions/1999/01/31/spt_hard_fall_for_man.html
Unfortunately, Stanley Wilson wasn't able to pull his life back
together following the Super Bowl incident. He was sentenced to 22
years in prison in March 1999 (10 years after the Super Bowl he
missed) for burglarizing a home to support his cocaine habit.
http://www.cincypost.com/sports/1999/stan032099.html
2) Barret Robbins
From the Mercury News on 1/26/03: "Hours before the Super Bowl, the
Raiders banished their Pro Bowl center, Barret Robbins, sending him
home for disciplinary reasons. Coach Bill Callahan took the action
after Robbins missed most of the team's final preparations Saturday."
This article also refers to two other "Super Bowl Scandals" - the
previously mentioned Stanley Wilson, plus Eugene Robinson, who almost
missed Super Bowl XXXIII after being arrested the night before on a
sex solicitation charge.
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/sports/5037711.htm?1c
From "Kind Words Are Few And Far Between For Robbins" by Al Thompson
on FootballStories.com - "all-pro center Barret Robbins, who,
depending whose report you believe, made the team?s Friday 11 p.m.
curfew but disappeared Saturday morning, missed several team
obligations including team meetings and a walkthrough, and didn?t
surface until Saturday night at 8 p.m.....Subsequent media reports
revealed that after being informed that Robbins absence was the result
of a booze binge in Tijuana, Callahan, with the blessing of the entire
team, banished Robbins from the team hotel [and the Super Bowl]." The
article goes on to discuss how distraught Robbins was over letting
down his team and includes reactions from many of his teammates.
http://www.footballstories.com/articles/detail.asp?ArtID=203
Here's an interview with Robbins from June 2003, giving his take on
the situation: "Barret Robbins disappeared for nearly 24 hours before
Super Bowl XXXVII. Now, for the first time since his disappearance,
the Raiders' All-Pro center has gone public, telling his story to
Andrea Kremer on Outside the Lines Nightly."
http://espn.go.com/nfl/news/2003/0612/1566970.html
I hope these stories help to answer your question about the incident
to which you are referring, as well as reactions by the people
involved. If you need further clarification, please let me know.
Regards,
--inquisitive-ga
Search Strategy:
football player "missed super bowl" drunk
"stanley wilson" "super bowl"
"barret robbins" "super bowl" |
