Former New England Patriot speaks to students at Houlton High School

HOULTON, Maine — It is not every day that a former Super Bowl champion from the New England Patriots stops by Houlton to speak with students.
Such was the case Monday, Dec. 12, when Chris Sullivan and his wife Kathi spoke at Houlton High School during a full school assembly for grades 7-12. The event was organized by Tim Tweedie and members of the Student Council.
     The Sullivans were the first of five guest speakers that have been scheduled to speak at HHS on civic and social expectations. The Sullivans were compensated for their appearance at the school through funds raised by the junior and senior high Student Councils, as well as local sponsors.
“I saw Chris and his wife speak this past summer down at Patriots Place during a New England Youth Leadership Conference,” Tweedie said. “I thought they had a really strong message they could bring to the kids about responsibility and making good choices.”
Sullivan, a native of North Attleborough, Mass., attended Boston College and was selected by the New England Patriots in the fourth round of the 1996 NFL draft, the same draft that saw Tedy Bruschi, Terry Glenn and Lawyer Milloy join the team.
A defensive lineman for New England, he appeared in two Super Bowls with the Patriots — 1997 against the Green Bay Packers (a game the Patriots lost 35-21) and 2002 against the St. Louis Rams (a game the Patriots won 20-17). He played for the Patriots from 1996-99; spent one year with the Pittsburgh Steelers (2000); before returning for one final year with New England (2001) before retiring.
It was during his time in Pittsburgh that Sullivan’s alcohol and drug problems increased. He signed a three-year, $5.2 million contract after making league minimum during his first stint in New England. In Pittsburgh, he injured his back and tried to play through the injury through the use of prescription drugs.
“You wouldn’t think one tiny little pill could have such an effect on your body,” Sullivan told the students.
During his time in the NFL, Sullivan earned about $6 million. All of that money is now gone, he said, spent on drugs and alcohol. Fortunately, he still has his Super Bowl ring, but only because his parents took it from him to keep him from pawning it.
“Near the end of my career, I started hanging around with the wrong people,” he said. “I decided after winning the Super Bowl to just stop playing. I had a bunch of money. I had the championship ring, so I gave up playing so I could drink.”
After his retirement, Sullivan’s problems with drugs and alcohol escalated. Chris was arrested numerous times; including the night he was presented with his Super Bowl ring. One of the worst offenses occurred in 2005 in Attleborough. when he was arrested for driving under the influence of drugs and possession of heroin.
“I hung around the right people during my time in college and in New England,” Chris said. “I was a good friend with Tedy Bruschi. We used to be inseparable, but by the time I got back from Pittsburgh, he knew I was screwing up and we went our separate ways. If I had kept my head on straight, and stayed around good people, who knows where my career might have gone.”
Chris said the turning point came when he found himself sitting alone in his apartment, after he lost his house. His heat had been turned off because he had not paid the bill. His once muscular 6-foot, 6-inch 300-pound frame had dwindled to mere 180 pounds from not eating and he wound up in the hospital.
“You always think you’ve hit rock bottom, but then some how you go lower,” he said. “I finally just reached a point where I had enough.”
Kathi met Chris through a mutual friend during one of her speaking engagements. They quickly hit it off and became a couple. They were married in January of this year. She has spoken at about 70 schools over the past three years. Her story brings the dangers of drinking closer to home for high school students.
“My daughter (Taylor Meyer) died out in the woods in 2008 from binge drinking alcohol,” Kathi said. “I started speaking two months after that. I knew there had to be a purpose for what happened.”
Kathi said speaking, for her, is personally rewarding as it allows her to cherish her daughter’s memory, while at the same time driving home a point of how one person’s choices affect more than just that one person.
“It’s extremely emotional, but there is something good that comes out of it,” she said.