Fans, drug experts react to Jolly sentence

GREEN BAY - For some Packers fans, on the outside Johnny Jolly had everything going for him.

“I loved the guy. He always seemed to knock everything down at the line, knocked down a lot of passes,” said Jacob Fannin, Appleton.

But repeated drug violations have taken the former player from the field to a prison cell. After a judge sentenced him to six years, Jolly's mother screamed out in devastation inside the courtroom.

On the field, Jolly was a strong defensive lineman. But off the field, his struggles with substance abuse caught up with him, leaving many fans not remembering him as Johnny Jolly the football player, but as Johnny Jolly the addict.

“He brought it on himself. I mean, he knows he's got a problem he should have been able to get counseling or corrected his problems,” said James Staudt, Manitowoc.

Some of FOX 11's Facebook fans say Jolly had every opportunity to sober up. Kevin says Jolly “Was given a number of chances but chose to be a drug user. Sometimes you try to help people but can only do it if they want to be helped.”

Others like Megan say it's a “Sad waste of a once talented player.” But drug addiction specialist Wendy Mayr says it's easy for people who don't understand addiction to be critical of those who can't get clean.

“Their life becomes drug centered. They become very dependent upon not just the drug but everything that goes with it,” said Mayr.

Mayr did not treat Jolly, but says prison is rarely a successful treatment to addicts. But when it comes to substance abuse, even if an addict has failed to sober up time and time again, there is still hope.

“I believe when a person is willing and they're also willing to make the sacrifices that are necessary for recovery, that they can recover,” said Mayr.

For those fans who do remember Jolly fondly as a talented former defensive lineman, they say they hope this sentence is a wake up call.

“Hopefully he gets through that and the league gives him another chance and he gets another go with us 'cause,(he's a)great player,” said Fannin.