Four days after the Milwaukee Bucks officially bought him out of a $44 million contract, Larry Sanders opened up at length for the first time since a Dec. 23 interview with OnMilwaukee.com in a video message.
The 26-year-old former Bucks center said he was admitted to Rogers Memorial Hospital for for a "program for anxiety and depression, mood disorders." The hospital has branches in Oconomowoc, Kenosha, West Allis, Brown Deer, Madison and Tampa, Fla.
Sanders said he loves basketball and "will always be playing basketball" but felt that the commitment required to be an NBA player was not healthy for him.
In the nearly 5-minute video, Sanders admitted that the money he received for playing basketball did not bring happiness, but rather contributed to his anxieties and fears.
"There's no one really trying to guide and teach you what you should do and what you shouldn't do. You get lost. You get your money stolen."
Sanders said he began using marijuana to self-medicate and deal with his off-court issues.
As for the Bucks and the fans of the team, Sanders said:
"I wish I could've said goodbye formally to the Bucks at the arena, at the Bradley Center. I wanted them to know it was never about them. It was never about the fans or how they treated me, because that was awesome. These decisions are for my family."
Jim Owczarski is an award-winning sports journalist and comes to Milwaukee by way of the Chicago Sun-Times Media Network.
A three-year Wisconsin resident who has considered Milwaukee a second home for the better part of seven years, he brings to the market experience covering nearly all major and college sports.
To this point in his career, he has been awarded six national Associated Press Sports Editors awards for investigative reporting, feature writing, breaking news and projects. He is also a four-time nominee for the prestigious Peter J. Lisagor Awards for Exemplary Journalism, presented by the Chicago Headline Club, and is a two-time winner for Best Sports Story. He has also won numerous other Illinois Press Association, Illinois Associated Press and Northern Illinois Newspaper Association awards.
Jim's career started in earnest as a North Central College (Naperville, Ill.) senior in 2002 when he received a Richter Fellowship to cover the Chicago White Sox in spring training. He was hired by the Naperville Sun in 2003 and moved on to the Aurora Beacon News in 2007 before joining OnMilwaukee.com.
In that time, he has covered the events, news and personalities that make up the PGA Tour, LPGA Tour, Major League Baseball, the National Football League, the National Hockey League, NCAA football, baseball and men's and women's basketball as well as boxing, mixed martial arts and various U.S. Olympic teams.
Golf aficionados who venture into Illinois have also read Jim in GOLF Chicago Magazine as well as the Chicago District Golfer and Illinois Golfer magazines.
