Over the past decade, active and retired athletes have stepped up to the line of scrimmage to advocate for cannabis as well as push plant-based education forward. Retired NFL and CFL legend, best-selling author and thought leader Delvin Breaux Sr. is changing the coverage and making a play for cannabis.
Early in his football career, during a kickoff return, Delvin sustained what medical professionals would consider a career-ending injury, fracturing his C4, C5, and C6 Vertebrae. Despite the setback, Delvin Breaux Sr. would not be denied a professional football career. With a relentless work ethic and ferocious appetite to succeed, Delvin made his dream a reality in 2013 when he was drafted to the CFL by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. Shortly after, he took his talents to the NFL to play for the New Orleans Saints in 2015 where he made an instant impact, recovering a fumble in his first game against the Arizona Cardinals and finishing the season with 45 tackles and 3 interceptions. In an unfortunate turn of events, Delvin suffered a fractured Fibula during his first game of the 2016 season, which sidelined him for 6 games and in 2017 endured the same injury again. Despite the constant hurdles, Delvin Breaux Sr. persevered against all odds, heading back to Canada to dominate the CFL with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and the BC Lions, becoming the league’s highest-paid cornerback before retiring in 2022.
Today, Delvin Breaux Sr. is using his platform to share his journey with mental health, wellness and the pivotal role cannabis played in his career. He’s also a best-selling author and in 2020 released “Un-Breaux-Ken” a book he’s written to inspire others to push forward regardless of any obstacles placed in front of them.
Moving the conversation forward, Delvin Breaux Sr. joined Jay Morzaria of Sports Cannabis to take a deep dive into his athletic career, mental health, wellness as well as changing the landscape on and off the field with medical cannabis.
Jay Morzaria
Last year was your final year as a professional athlete, congratulations on an incredible career. For you, the entire journey started with Football. What was it about the sport that ultimately hooked you and made you want to make a career out of it?
Delvin Breaux Sr.
“My football dreams started as a kid. My dad introduced me to the game. I enjoyed the game, made tackles as well as made touchdowns. Every time I touched the field I was in the zone, I was happy and it was really love at first sight for me. As I kept growing, it became a huge passion of mine, I kept getting better and realized this was something I could see myself doing for the rest of my life. I was dealing with a lot of trauma that was going on behind closed doors, I wanted to commit suicide at nine years old as a kid. Being able to have football as an outlet for me was perfect for me, it provided an opportunity to unleash the pain I was going through.”
J M
You’re dealing with mental health hurdles early on in your life and have started using football as an escape, and continued on a straight path toward success. However, early on in 2006, you sustained what many medical professionals would consider, a career-ending injury; fracturing your C4, C5, and C6 Vertebrae during a kickoff return in a high school game. How did an injury of that magnitude early in your football career impact your mental health?
Delvin Breaux Sr.
“Suffering from that injury impacted my mental health severely, I was depressed, I was having these anxiety issues and didn’t know if the game was ever going to come back to me. On top of that, I wasn’t sure if LSU would ever clear me to play football again. It impacted my mental health tremendously and I ended up falling into depression. There was a point during that time that got really dark and I tried to commit suicide because I wasn’t able to do the things I loved or even play a game that had given me so much. It got worse as time passed until I finally found the light to go back and play. From there, the rest is history…”
J M
Despite everything you’ve endured, how did you mentally stay on track?
Delvin Breaux Sr.
“What kept me mentally on track throughout the injury was my doctor. I’ll never forget what he told me; “Make sure you send me Super Bowl tickets when you make it to the Super Bowl” as I was getting discharged from the hospital. That right there was the motivation I needed. I told myself, I have to go make it, I need to get tickets for this doctor that ultimately saved my life and fixed my neck. He helped me walk again and it was on me now to return the favour and get him those tickets…”
J M
Something you touched on was having a team around you to lean on. How important is it to have a strong team around you?
Delvin Breaux Sr.
“Having a great support team and a great doctor was something I was really grateful for. Because of the people around me, my dream was still alive. All I had to do was outwork everybody else. My dad, who has been instrumental to my success, always told me I had to outwork everybody in order to be at the top. I couldn’t go home, lay on a couch or become a college bum and have life pass me by. I had to keep grinding by any means necessary. Having a team like that, having a doctor and a family that truly believed in me and stayed with me every step of the way was amazing…”
J M
Despite the injury, you’ve always had this hunger, an appetite to succeed and knew you were destined to play on the biggest stages across the globe. You continued to persevere, and went on to play for the GDFL and were named an All-Star in 2012. Shortly after you took your talents north to the CFL, where you played two seasons for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and were named to the CFL All-Star Team. What was that moment like for you, to see your career come full circle?
Delvin Breaux Sr.
“I’ve always been the guy with a ton of enthusiasm and energy, that’s just who I’ve always been. To get the chance to play football again and to make it to the highest level was absolutely golden for me. At the time I was willing to do anything to make it. I was sleeping in cars, skipping on rent sometimes just to make sure we had the money for the camps. I sacrificed everything to have a football career and to see my career come full circle and dominate… It was nothing short of incredible”
J M
We spoke earlier about your perseverance, work ethic and hustle-first mentality. All of those attributes have now allowed you to get to where you wanted to be, and in 2015, you signed with the New Orleans Saints. In your first game, you recovered a fumble against the Arizona Cardinals and end your first year in the NFL with 45 tackles, 3 interceptions and were voted the team’s defensive MVP. Why was it so important to stay laser-focused, positive and push relentlessly for your dreams?
Delvin Breaux Sr.
“It was important for me to stay laser-focused to complete my dreams because I have someone looking up to me. I have other people that are watching me and I have kids that have grown up behind me following my moves. I wanted to set this path and build a foundation for them to be extraordinary. It was about making sure that they could believe in the journey, in the process and do anything that they put their mind too. When you can see it, see someone that’s done it, it makes it easier for them to believe in it. I want them to speak it, believe it and then go achieve it. Ultimately, I wanted to pave a path for them. That’s why I work so hard every day and post messages on my whiteboard on my social media handles. I want to inspire them, and I want to motivate them to have and live that same positive mentality that helped me get to where I’m at today. I’m tired of seeing negatives, we have too much of that and we see it all the time. For me, it’s always been important to be laser-focused on the mission at hand, because of the people I have looking up to me, listening to my guidance and I do not want to see them fail. I’ve failed too many times to keep on failing, I’m gonna be successful one way or another and I want others to believe that philosophy and apply it to their lives. Keep going always.”
J M
In 2016 you sustained another setback and fractured your Fibula and were initially ruled out for 6 weeks, and due to a misdiagnosis ended up missing the rest of the season and being placed on IR for the remainder of 2017. We’ve spoken about the highs and lows you’ve experienced, what was that moment like during your career and how did that injury, in particular, affect you?
Delvin Breaux Sr.
“Going through that moment and how the injury affected me, during that time in 2016, no player wants to get hurt especially when you’re putting in your blood, sweat and tears. One day you’re watching film, you’re doing everything right and then boom, a freak accident happens. There was a setback but I kept telling myself “It’s going to be ok”. I looked at it as a delay, a speed bump in the road to destiny. God was trying to tell me something and I had to ask myself what am I not learning. What message am I missing? I knew it was a test and I had to just grind and get back on the grid because I knew I had a hot 2015 rookie season and I knew the fans wanted to see me out there. I kept my head down and kept running because I knew eventually I’d overcome this delay in front of me. When I eventually got back on the field, my thought process shifted to becoming a top-five player again, and that’s what I did…”
J M
We’ve spoken to past athletes that have endured season-ending and career-ending injuries. During that time, what were the prescribed modalities?
Delvin Breaux Sr.
“The medications that were prescribed to me at that time were an array of painkillers. I was on maybe five to six types of medications to assist with what I was going through. They were not all pain pills, but it was a lot. I had a pill box similar to what my grandmother had, which had the dosages needed per day. It felt like regardless of how many pills I took, the healing process was never fast enough and unfortunately every time I got back, I endured another setback. I finally had to stop myself and question the recovery process, question why I was taking all these pills and what they were really doing for me… It was wild and I wasn’t a fan of the process…”
J M
When did you ultimately partner in cannabis for recovery and relief and what was your ah-ha moment?
Delvin Breaux Sr.
“I want to say that I experienced my ah-ha moment in 2017 when I broke my leg again with the New Orlean Saints. I started to really question why I wasn’t able to stay healthy. What made it worse was that it was the same leg as my Fibula and I couldn’t understand why it kept happening. Fast forward and I ended up going back to Canada where Cannabis had just become legal in 2018. My teammates were consuming cannabis for recovery and relief at the time and the scene was still very new to me. They helped me understand the holistic education behind the cannabis plant and despite being a skeptic, eventually, they were able to get me to consume it. I still remember the experience like it was yesterday, I slept for nine to ten hours and from there I was sold on the benefits and the medical abilities the plant had. It sent me down a rabbit hole, I started doing research on it and realized I should have been using this while I was in the NFL playing. It made me feel better, it helped me recover, it helped with sleep and most of all I felt alive. Cannabis helped me get my life back, and it allowed me to move in confidence. From there the rest is history, the plant and I were intertwined and I knew this was the path forward.”
J M
You headed back to the CFL in 2018 coinciding with when Cannabis became legal in Canada and experienced a serendipitous moment. One that ultimately opened and changed your mindset to natural clean healing modalities. Did you continue to use cannabis throughout your CFL career while you played? And, what did your regiment look like?
Delvin Breaux Sr.
“Once I found cannabis in 2018 I fell in love with the plant and continued to use it throughout my entire CFL career. It allowed me to feel amazing, sleep well and feel refreshed in the mornings. Prior to partnering in the plant, I suffered from constant pain because of my neck and leg injuries as well as the pains and aches from playing football for my entire life. I found after a long practice, an edible really helped, something that wasn’t super potent but just enough to put me in a good place. It allowed me to wind down after practice and feel great which in turn allowed me to practice harder which translated into phenomenal gameplay. It was simple, I felt great, my body felt amazing and it gave me the confidence to go out there and make plays and fly around like I had at the start of my career before the injuries. It was in the CFL that I found myself wondering; Why hasn’t cannabis been in my life since I was a child? Why haven’t we been using it, when it’s been such a positive experience in my life. At the same time, my CFL career took off and in 2019 I became the highest-paid cornerback in the CFL. This all happened because I was using cannabis which allowed my game to elevate and allowed me to dominate the field. It allowed me to feel whole.”
J M
Amidst everything that was going on you released a book entitled “Un-Breaux-Ken”. Talk to us about that book and what inspired you to share your story with the world and what readers can expect?
Delvin Breaux Sr.
“I decided to talk about my story and write my book Un-Breaux-Ken in 2020 because I felt it was time to share my story and inspire others to keep going. I wanted to be able to motivate other people who are going through adversity, whether it’s on the field, in life or at the workplace, to read about what I had endured and know that if I could get through it, they could too. I almost died on that field, breaking my neck doing something that I loved and despite the roadblocks, bumps, hurdles and delays, I still made it. It gave me a chance to lay down my thoughts as well as talk about my childhood traumas, dealing with suicide, and the experiences I faced alongside some of the wins I accumulated as I pushed forward. I hope it allows others to see that there’s always a light at the end of the tunnel and the key takeaway is to keep pushing forward, stay positive, surround yourself with a great team and above all, believe in yourself. Kids often see the highlights, and the end product, however, very rarely are they exposed to the road travelled to get there. I just want to be able to help others, inspire the youth and make sure they know they have someone that’s been where they are at. I wanted to let them know that with a strong mindset, determination and perseverance you can overcome any obstacle in front of you.”
J M
Looking forward, what’s next for 2023?
Delvin Breaux Sr.
“Today and going forward I’m working on building football camps for the youth, giving back to the community and spreading awareness around the book I wrote. My focus is giving back, I’ve endured so much and was lucky enough to have a strong team around me and I wanted to be able to give that back. Our first camp was held on February 18, 2023, in New Orleans. The camp is so much more than just football, it’s about mental health, awareness, and helping provide kids with the outlets they need to succeed. Outside of the camps, I’m also looking to move the Sports Cannabis conversation forward, break the stigma and normalize plant education so that others can learn from my experiences and partner in natural healing modalities for a better quality of life. 2023 is going to be a special year and I’m excited to be starting the next chapter…”
J M
For other athletes following your lead, what advice can you offer them?
Delvin Breaux Sr.
“Follow my lead and believe in yourself. Never give up. Every day is a new day to make something happen, to make a change or an impact on your life or someone else’s. We’re all in this together, have faith, and remember God is watching over you. Enjoy the moments, enjoy where you are at and do not worry about the next five, ten minutes or hour, because what you’re doing at that moment is important. Give it the attention it deserves and like I said; believe in yourself…”
Sports Cannabis
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
BREAKTHESTIGMA
Sports Cannabis 