Herschel Walker, the 1982 Heisman Trophy winner, NFL Pro Bowler and Olympian, tells of having dissociative identity disorder (DID), or what is more often called multiple personality disorder, in his book Breaking Free which was released this week. Herschel says he knows that conjures immediate thoughts of demons and freaks. He was diagnosed with DID in 2001. He remembers some things like playing Russian roulette with himself, but he does not remember other things like placing a gun to his wife’s head. “That’s when I knew I had a serious problem. I never injured her, but I threatened her a couple times. That’s not me.” He says the disorder contributed greatly to his divorce. He married his childhood college sweetheart, Cindy Grossman in 1983. After eighteen years of marriage they divorced in 2001.
He originally wanted to name the book “Doctor, Am I Crazy?” but it sounded so negative. He chronicles how as a child he developed hidden personalities, or “alters.” That was his coping mechanism to deal with childhood bullies who picked on him because he was obese and he stuttered. He says he was frequently the subject of beatings throughout his early school days. In an attempt to get comfortable talking with other children he offered money just to have conversations. To get in shape, he spent days running barefoot in a plowed field in rural Georgia, dragging a tire roped around his waist. To conquer his confrontations with bullies, Walker says he used alters that he has given names: Warrior, Sentry, General, Daredevil, Different Drummer, and Enforcer. He says his alters functioned as a kind of community supporting him. But there are parts of his childhood he doesn’t remember. He revealed that due to his social disorder, he can not remember the season he won the Heisman Trophy, let alone the moment. He is getting help for this disorder, and feels he has turned it around.
Herschel Walker lives in Dallas and founded a successful food company, Renaissance Man, that he sells about 25 million pounds of chicken a year. The profits of which have enabled him to become involved in starting medical treatment centers in Texas and California. He is a born-again Christian who frequently talked about his faith during his USFL interviews.
He chose the U.S. Football League over the NFL in the 1980s. After the USFL’s failed, he may be best remembered for the deal in which the Dallas Cowboys traded him for five players and four draft picks one of which turned into Emmitt Smith. On the playing field, Walker says he invoked his alters primarily to be aggressive and cope with pain. An all around athlete, he was awarded the first Dial Award for the national high-school scholar-athlete of the year in 1979. In college, he was a running back for the University of Georgia, where he was an All-American and won the 1982 Heisman Trophy. In 1999, Walker was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame. He has a sixth-degree black belt in tae kwon do. He ran the 100 meters in 10.22, the 100 yards in 9.3. He competed in the 1992 Winter Olympics in two-man bobsled. He still performs 2,500 sit-ups and 1,500 push ups every morning. He has been going through this same routine every morning since high school. When asked if he ever got tired carrying the ball 30 times a game, he replied, “The ball ain't heavy.” In 1999, he was selected to Sports Illustrated's NCAA Football All-Century Team. On the Fox Sports Net show Sports List, Walker was named the best college football running back of all time. Herschel Walker is the only player to have 10,000+ yards from scrimmage and 5,000+ return yards (all of which were on kickoff returns). He is the only player to gain 4,000 yards three different ways: rushing, receiving, and kickoff returns. He is one of six players (Jim Brown, Lenny Moore, Marcus Allen, Marshall Faulk, and Thurman Thomas) to exceed 60 TDs rushing and 20 TDs receiving.
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