New Los Angeles Clippers guard John Wall has confessed about the personal conflicts he endured for the past two years.
He admitted in an interview with NBC Sports’ Chase Hughes that the death of his beloved ones, his Achilles tear, and the lingering impacts of COVID-19 pandemic took a huge toll in his mental health, revealing that suicidal thoughts eventually appeared in his mind.
“Darkest place I’ve ever been in,” Wall said. “At one point in time I thought about committing suicide. Tearing my Achilles, my mom being sick, my mom passing and my grandma passing a year later. All this in the midst of COVID at the same time. Me going to the chemotherapy and sitting there. Me seeing my mom take her last breath. Wearing the same clothes for three days straight and laying on the couch sobbing.”
Frances Pulley, Wall’s mother, died due to cancer at age 58 last 2019.
From the recent years, Wall has struggled being healthy upon battling a series of injuries, more notably his torn Achilles. With that, only managed to play a total of 105 total games for the past five seasons.
But his departure from the Houston Rockets offers a new and promising start, this time with the contending Los Angeles Clippers.
This offseason, both Wall and the Clippers have agreed on a two-year deal, creating a much-anticipated trio with Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. Though their availability remains yet to be seen, the club’s chances to compete for a title is sky high due to their loaded roster.
The former All-star guard is optimistic on the upcoming stage he will embark on and the experiences he had to face more challenges in the future.
“I’m looking at all this and I’m like, if I can get through this, I can get through anything in life,” Wall said.
“For me to be back on top where I want to be, and to see the fans still want me to play, having support … (it) means a lot.”
