And it many ways it was, at least from Cousins’ point of
view.
The fallen AFL star was here to take another step in
reclaiming his life. As he put it – to be saved from himself.
With the support of the others (Mundine frequently put a
brotherly arm around his shoulder) and Olympian Nova Peris, Cousins walked down
Sydney’s
notorious Eveleigh St to face his demons.
The supporting cast numbered around 100 – reporters,
photographers, camera crews – and some bemused residents who stood on their
doorsteps in this run-down inner-city suburb wondering what all the fuss was.
“It’s The Man. Hey, Choc,” one of them called out.
“See you in rehab, Ben,” said another, and was
quickly shooshed for his lack of respect.
Somehow the entire cast and crew then managed to jam
themselves up a narrow staircase and into Mundine’s gym, strewn with weights
and smelling of sweat, to hear what Cousins and Mundine had to say.
“For Ben to come here … shows the courage that he
has, his manhood, and that he wants to get better, that he will strive to get
better and eventually will be the man that he wants to be,” said Mundine,
a long-time campaigner against drugs and alcohol in Aboriginal communities.
To illustrate his point, Mundine read out a quotation from
slain black American activist Malcolm X:
“Children have a lesson adults should learn. It’s not
to be ashamed of failing, but to get up and try again.”
Cousins’ body language betrayed his nerves. He shifted
uneasily in his seat as the time came for him to speak.
But once he got the microphone in his hands he started to
relax.
Publicly silent for so long, the words now started to gush
out of him.
“I am not ashamed or embarrassed to say I have had a
drugs problem because for a lot of people they don’t choose to do it, in a lot
of ways it chooses them,” he said.
“I deep down don’t think I really had a choice … the
very things that make me a great footballer are some of the things that lead me
to fall into those sorts of traps.”
He also spoke of the pain and ruination the addiction had
wreaked on his life.
“I am someone who has lost my livelihood, the thing
that I enjoy doing most and probably more so than that, I have lost a lot of
the people who are close to me – family and friends.”
The four of them posed for pictures inside the ring where
Mundine is training for his next world title defence.
More brotherly embraces followed.
And then Cousins was down the stairs, into the back of a
waiting black Mercedes, and was gone.
Source:
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,23169014-661,00.html