Vince Young tells his side of the 2008 'suicide incident' story
In 2008, Nashville police were called to quarterback Vince Young's home after his therapist informed coach Jeff Fisher that Young mentioned suicide. Fisher called the police, who went to checked on Young after hearing that he left his house with his gun.
Sports Illustrated's Greg Bishop recounts the infamous "suicide incident" from Young's perspective in a Where Are They Now profile of the quarterback.
Young says that his gun was locked in the trunk and not loaded. He says he was safe and just watching football and eating wings with his friend and teammate, Bo Scaife, while the team tried to track him down. After Fisher got in touch with him through Scaife, Young reported to the Titans' headquarters and met with police and a crisis negotiator.
Young sat down with the negotiator. “He’s talking all slowly,” the QB recalls, “like: ‘Mr. Young . . . are you . . . O.K.? Do you . . . feel like . . . hurting yourself?’ ”
“I’m like, Dude, quit talking to me! And I’m looking at Fisher like, You can stop all this, all the suicidal talk. He’s sitting there, saying nothing. I feel like he was just laughing at that s---. The [TV] cameraman hiding in the woods—it all felt like a big setup. And now I gotta walk through the airport as the Suicidal Guy for the rest of my life.”
The handgun that was found by police was unloaded.
The team released a statement that after Young reported to the practice facility, the initial concerns by friends and family were unfounded and he returned home without incident.
For more on Vince Young, read Bishop's entire story.
