Sisters man offers help to former pro athletes

Ken Ruettgers, Players Transitioning Inc.

Ken Ruettgers understands the trauma that an athlete faces after he leaves professional sports, and he is determined to do something to help.

Ruettgers, a Sisters-area resident and former left tackle for the Green Bay Packers, knows what he is talking about.

"Tom Neville was a teammate of mine on the Packers," he said. "When he got out of football, he settled down in Alaska. His wife got a job as a teacher, but he couldn't find work, and he stayed at home with the kids.

"I don't know if the darkness and the Alaskan winters got to him, but he ended up in a psychiatric hospital for a 48 hour stay. While there, he escaped and broke into an office. He was unarmed, but was killed by police, who put seven bullets into him. When I heard what happened to Tom, I thought, 'Does it have to be this way?'"

There are other grim stories.

"Derrick Thomas was an All-Pro football player for the Kansas City Chiefs who spent $100,000 a month," Ruettgers said. "But when he was paralyzed in an auto accident and died a year later, his family had little money left.

"It illustrates a huge problem, because when you're in the game, you have money to spend, and you spend it. But when you leave the sport, you don't stop spending -- you burn it up. And so I wondered is anybody doing anything about this? I called the players' union, and they only have programs for active players. They don't have anything for those who have left the sport."

In business parlance, Ruettgers has identified a need and a market niche he is uniquely qualified to fill.

Ruettgers has started a non-profit organization called Players Transitioning Inc. to help athletes successfully make the transition out of professional sports. The name describes what his mission is all about.

"We've created a web page to facilitate our mission," he said. "Denial is the biggest challenge. Guys in general, and pro athletes especially, don't want to admit weakness. You're trained to be okay, because if you're hurt -- the coach will yank you.

"A web page allows athletes to get help without a lot of public notoriety. They can maintain their privacy, and we offer help in all these areas. I am excited about a mentoring program which will prepare them for a new season in their life."

Ruettgers left Multnomah Publishers last March to embark on this enterprise. The need, he says, is real.

"As I started checking things out and doing the research, the more I saw the need," he said. "It was like I was fly fishing and had hooked a whale.

"For example, 87 percent of NFL players are either bankrupt, divorced, or unemployed within two years after they leave football. That's a 13 percent success rate of transitioning from professional football into the real world. If the San Diego zoo had a program to release animals into the wild, and only had a 13 percent survival rate, people would be up in arms."

Part of the problem is that athletes in American society are treated differently than average folks and don't necessarily learn the same lessons of growing up.

"These pro athletes are often like 17-year-olds. They need help with life skills," Ruettgers said.

And society isn't always sympathetic.

"The perception is that these are guys who have won the lottery and nobody is interested in helping a millionaire who is down on his luck," Ruettgers said. "But 80 percent of these guys will have to work for a living when they retire from professional football. And the remaining 20 percent don't know what to do with their time and their money.

"Fifty per cent have no college degree and no job experience. They are not very employable. Often, they get hooked on addictions, and have poor coping skills," he said.

Ruettgers has identified the top 10 challenges that pro athletes face when trying to transition out of professional sports and into life:

They are: 1. Denial. 2. Finances. 3. Relationship problems (divorce, etc.). 4. Physical challenges (living with the effects of injuries). 5. Anger, bitterness, and jealousy. 6. Isolation and loneliness. 7. Loss of structure (guys who have had everything done for them now don't know how to make a plane reservation or have to stand in line for a hotel room). 8. Loss of identity. 9. Depression. 10. Addiction.

Ruettgers is working hard to get his program off the ground to help the large number of athletes who leave the game each year.

"Right now, our biggest challenge is funding," he said. "The league offers help to active players in the form of internships and continuing education, but there is nothing for inactive players. The league is waiting for the union to help, and the union is waiting for the league. Both know that there is a huge problem."

He will be attending the Super Bowl this year to drum up support.

"If each team would give $18,000 (which is pocket change for an NFL team), we could offer quality help so these guys could successfully make the transition," he said.

Ruettgers' initial focus in starting Players Transitioning, Inc. is football players, but he looks to expand his offer of assistance to include all professional athletes. For information on what help is available, look up the web page at: http://www.gamesover.org.