I know he's technically not our #3, since he's on the practice squad. But he's essentially #3. Anyway.... This involves Broncos WR Kenny McKinley, who you might recall committed suicide on Sept. 21. All we knew was that he was depressed about getting hurt again and landing on IR (again). But it turns out that he had some big gambling debts and spoke with three different friends about ending it all. Though he was no longer a member of the team, Brandstater tragically lost a friend in Denver. Just like Brandon Marshall did the night Darrent Williams died by bullets intended for Marshall. http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.co...-indicates-kenny-mckinley-had-gambling-debts/
Well, I think it is clear that he is a high character guy, loans between teammates rarely work out very well, iirc Reggie Roby owed several teammates money, but Brandstater loaned him the money anyway.
Hmmmmm. So the guy was a chronic gambler...so you lend him 65k? Some odd judgement on that one. That is like giving a heroin addict...heroin. Hopefully is on field decision making is better than his money management decisions. All kidding aside, he seems like a nice guy.
Well he probably loaned him the money to pay off a debt, not to gamble. The mistake he made probably was to give the money to the gambler, instead of going to the debtor and paying them off directley, making sure the money went for a debt, not for more gambling which is what I see implied in the story.
If you want to lose a friend loan him some money .Of course I dont mean it literally as happened in this tragic case . In my experience I have never been paid back by friends or family members .Its better to consider it a gift if you dont want to have a strained relationship with that person.
Well he is a young guy with means. Brandstater was smart enough to have a contract drawn up. But I'm sure he's learned these arrangements generally aren't the best idea going forward. Still, we don't know if it were just casinos McKinley owed money to or someone(s) more dangerous. In that case, you can understand Brandstater not wanting to be directly involved. The fact that McKinley ultimately chose to end his life says that Brandstater could feel he did right by his conscience. While he probably didn't know how bad things could end up, he can take some solace in the fact that he did a lot to help save his friend's life, whether he knew it at the time or not. Money comes and money goes. You can't take it with you. Relationships and deeds are ultimately what's important in this life. Brandstater put his faith in a friend. It ended badly, but somehow I don't think it's the loss of money that stays with him.
Addiction is just bad news. I don't know much about this story but I know about addiction. The only thing I could ever advise someone dealing with an addict is to tell them that it's "the addiction or me - something has got to go." Everything else you would attempt to accomplish finds a way to just add fuel to the fire.
I believe I've heard Brandon Marshall state that he was also very close with McKinley and while they were in Denver together he considered him like a little brother. I don't think Brandstater's the only one on our team hurting over this one.
