Keyon Dooling discusses retirement, being sexually abused & much more

Celtics Life favorite Jessica Camerato just posted an amazing column on Keyon Dooling. Here is very small part of the column:

For over 30 years, he took on everyone else’s problems and internalized his own. The pillar of resiliency had cracks, too. He was just too strong to notice them as he focused on his career and the needs of others.

Then, after re-signing with the Celtics in July and beginning preparations for another season, Dooling realized he didn’t want to play any longer.

“I was talking about it with my wife and with my pastors and all the people that are in my life, and nobody wanted me to retire. Nobody wanted me to retire,” he said.

Years of repressed emotions came rushing back during this realization. Memories that Dooling had tried to bury were flooding out.

"I actually had such a meltdown that I had to get professional help and I ended up in the hospital," said Dooling.

"It just all came to a head. To be honest with you, I blocked a lot of things out of my life. I’m a man who’s been abused, sexually, emotionally, mentally. I’ve been abused in my life, and there’s so many guys around the NBA who have been abused and I know it because I’ve been their therapist. I didn’t even have the courage because I blocked it out so much that I couldn’t even share that . . .

“It took literally a meltdown for everybody to see how serious I was about not playing ball anymore."

There's so much more to Jessica Camerato's column, the media's unfair treatment of Rajon Rondo, how special KG is, etc, so if you can read just one Celtics post today, please go over to CSNNE and read this Dooling piece.

I give Keyon MAJOR props for opening up like he did. Dooling personifies the "once a Celtic always a Celtic" mantra. Dooling is real class.