We’re in the home stretch of the regular NFL season. And as I look back at the last dozen-plus columns I’ve shared with y’all here, there’s one takeaway I want to make sure I drive home:
Asking for help makes you stronger.
If my own story hasn’t convinced you of that, maybe the journey of my buddy Maxx Crosby will. Any football fan out there knows who Maxx is, but for the uninitiated: Maxx is the star defensive end for the Las Vegas Raiders, and a three-time Pro Bowler. He’s revered by players for his talent and strength. He’s a total badass on the field. But what I admire even more about Maxx is how open he’s been about his struggles with substance abuse — and how he and his wife, Rachel, are using their platform to help others.
Maxx will be the first person to admit that he started drinking in high school. He was the party guy who everyone loved to be around. He played college football at Eastern Michigan University, where Rachel played soccer. But even as he starred on the field, he would drink so heavily that he’d often black out. Once he made it to the NFL, his partying only got more intense — so much so that his beloved Rachel, who’d been trying for years to get him help, finally walked away.
That was his wake-up call.
It was March 11, 2020, just as Covid was about to put the world on hold, when Maxx entered rehab in California. He wound up focusing on his recovery for the entire off-season — and he’s been sober ever since. He has a tattoo on his hand that bears the date of his start of rehab, and is now proudly more than five years sober. He says he takes one day at a time, and relies on connecting with others for strength. That looks like leaning on his teammates and his friends and family — and it also looks like giving back, as he and Rachel do with the Maxx Crosby Foundation.
The Crosbys started the Foundation in 2023 with the goal of supporting causes dear to them, like animal rights and youth programs — and central to their work is helping youth who are dealing with substance use disorder. Out in Vegas, where the Crosby family lives, there are schools dedicated specifically to teens dealing with substance use; details will be announced in 2026, but for now I can share that the Foundation is partnering with these schools to share Maxx’s story and help those young people get the support they need.
Maxx also regularly meets with young people through programs like Big Brothers Big Sisters and the YMCA, which provide kids with safe alternatives to getting into trouble. He does all kinds of other great work — he recently brought his entire defensive line out to provide Thanksgiving meals to families, he’s providing holiday shopping sprees for kids in need, he does back-to-school backpack drives and more. He’s always fundraising to support causes that make Vegas a better, stronger place.
Through it all, what Maxx is doing for kids and people of all ages is showing that the way to live our best, most authentic lives — the way to be a true badass — is to be honest about our struggles, and reach out to others to get help.
This holiday season, this is my wish for you, Philly: That you realize you deserve help for anything you may be up against, and that you embrace the reality that asking for help is a sign of strength — and frees us to succeed in what really matters.
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