Wildcat fans subscribing to Sports Illustrated were surprised to find in the July 27th issue a featured article about Rex Chapman. Those fans might also be suprised to read Rex and his family candidly detailing his struggles with depression & pain management through his life.
Sports Illustrated has now made Seth Davis’ article viewable on their web site. The whole article is Rex opening up his private struggles that led to his addiction and his current recovery process. In particular, Rex speaks for the first time about the pressure he felt by some racist folks in Lexington:
Chapman was also troubled by the backlash he endured for spending so much time with his high school girlfriend, an African-American woman who was enrolled at Kentucky. Chapman recalls coming back to his car after a game to find “n—– lover” keyed into his door. Even worse were the meetings Chapman says he had with members of the Kentucky coaching staff and athletic administration, who tried to dissuade him from interracial dating. “It wore on me,” he says. “It was hateful.” Eddie Sutton, the Wildcats’ coach then, says, “I don’t remember that happening. It was a long time ago, but I just don’t remember that.”
It wasn’t until December of 2014 while he was being treated for his drug addictions at The Brook in Louisville that Rex found the psychiatric counseling he needed to help process issues like being pressured against dating a black woman. I wrote this tribute to Rex at the time, having seen him in a Lexington mall and hoping to encourage him in the recovery process. He still has to settle his debt with society for stealing from the Apple Store in drug-induced hazes. Once that is complete, hopefully Rex can jump back into the never-ending funtimes that is Kentucky basketball coverage.
