Drinking and Driving
A word to the wise. If you suffered massive brain trauma in 2001 and spent 3 weeks in a coma, it's probably better to avoid excessive alcohol intake. Bill Johnson, the former 1984 Olympic gold medalist skier, was arrested yesterday in Troutdale. After being pulled over by a sheriff's deputy, he held his gold medal out the window and taunted, "I bet you don't have one of these." He then proceeded to punch the deputy in the face; when being held at the MultCo Detention Center later that day, he tried to attack an officer.
It's sad to see a guy who has gone through so much after reaching the top of his profession fall so far because of alcohol.
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February 13, 2005 |
Brian Wagner | Comments (5 so far)
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Posted by: Edward | Feb 17, 2005 11:39:44 AM
The tv news actually did a good job of illustrating how Bill Johnson has permanent brain damage. This means his brain doesn't work like the rest of ours, whether or not he is drunk or sober.
As far as jumping to conclusions, I'd say another safe bet is that the cops arrested him for drinking solely on the basis that he was acting strangely.
Johnson is in obvious need of help.
My prediction: charges will soon be dropped; or more likely will be used to get him some court ordered help. Unfortunately in our country, we only dole out mental help after a run-in with the cops. Now aren't we forward thinking?
Posted by: Loran Hickton | May 29, 2005 9:12:47 PM
First American Man To Win Olympic Gold Medal In Downhill Skiing Receiving Medical Treatment At University Of Pittsburgh Center For Sports Medicine
At a time when other gold-medal champions would be enjoying business ventures, coaching other athletes, and generating endorsements, Bill Johnson is struggling with challenges bigger than the mountains he once dominated.
May 23, 2005, Portland, OR — Bill Johnson was never one to find the easiest way down the mountain. He was fast and took great pride in his technical abilities on the most difficult mountains. He also gained as much notoriety for his brash and outrageous actions and personality as he did for being the first skier from the United States to win a gold medal in downhill skiing in the 1984 Sarajevo Olympic Games. The United States had never won the gold and 1984 was a time when the United States continued to hold little hope for winning. Along came the bad boy of skiing Bill Johnson. He was brash, he was even arrogant. Bill Johnson claimed he would win the Gold. Bill Johnson delivered on his promise and made us proud. There were movies (Going For The Gold with Anthony Edwards) book deals and endorsements. Post Gold Medal life however was challenging and he suffered tremendous trauma as one of his children drowned in an accident and his marriage failed. Bill Johnson found resolve by becoming competitive again and set out to win another gold medal. The harsh lessons of Bill Johnson continued as he suffered among the most horrific and tragic accidents in sports. During Bill’s attempted Olympic comeback at the U.S. Alpine Championships in Whitefish, Montana in 2001, Bill suffered a traumatic brain injury while traveling 70 MPH. He was in a coma for three weeks and lost six years of memories. Bill has experienced many negative challenges as a result of his injuries. He has suffered immense pain, lost most of his memory for a ten year period. The surgery on his severed tongue has affected his speech. Bill gets frustrated and angry from time to time. These challenges even included public embarrassment as he was pulled over and suspected for drunk driving. Bill became frustrated and was arrested and jailed for assault. The police thought he was drunk because of his brain injury, speech and behavior. Bill Johnson alcohol level test results were”00.0”. The story of the arrest and Bill’s actions were grossly misreported and caused damage to Bill and his family according to a spokesperson for the Johnson family.
Bill Johnson returned today from the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and The Center for Sports Medicine. The doctors in Pittsburgh feel there may be more options to increase the health and quality of life Bill should be experiencing. They are reviewing results of a comprehensive evaluation that took place last week.
The medical team in Pittsburgh is being headed up by Dr. Joseph Maroon, Vice Chairman and Professor of the Department of Neurological Surgery and Dr. Mark Lovell, a nationally renowned sports concussion researcher, Dr. Lovell oversees the neuropsychological testing programs for the National Football League (NFL) and the National Hockey League (NHL) and directs the concussion testing for Championship Auto Racing Teams and the Indianapolis Racing League. He is chairman of the NHL’s Neuropsychology Advisory Board. Dr. Maroon has been the team neurosurgeon for the Pittsburgh Steelers Football Club for the past 20 years and has developed innovated programs for the management of athletes with cerebral concussions. ImPACT© (Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing) was developed by Doctor Maroon and his colleague, neuropsychologist Mark Lovell, Ph.D. It is the first computerized evaluation system used that may help determine concussion severity. Dr. Maroon’s research into brain tumors and diseases of the spine have lead to many innovative techniques for diagnosing and treating these disorders. He has operated on over 1,000 pituitary tumors and now uses an endoscopic/microscopic approach. In 2002, he was nominated a Health Care Hero Lifetime Achievement Award finalist by the Pittsburgh Business Times and has been listed, for 8 consecutive years, as one of “America’s Best Neurosurgeons” in the publication of America’s Best Doctors.
Dr. Lovell’s work involves researching the neurocognitive effects of sports concussion and developing better methods of post-concussion evaluation to determine when it is safe for an athlete to return to sports following a concussion. In addition to working with professional and collegiate athletes, Dr. Lovell and the UPMC team, over the last several years, have made a sophisticated and standardized concussion evaluation program available to high school and younger athletes nationwide.
The purpose of the visit was to have Bill Johnson undergo extensive comprehensive evaluations and testing. The goal of working with the Pittsburgh medical team is to overcome some difficulties Bill has experienced and improve his quality of life. “There will be an extended strategy and care plan developed. Bill, his family and the medical team are all hopeful that improvements are possible and will be realized. This is the next logical step in the long and extended process of recovery of traumatic brain injury. While Bill has been able to work, travel and attend events around the world as a spokesperson for traumatic brain injury and other groups and organizations, there is still more work to do for Bill to improve his life.” according to a spokesperson working with the Johnson family. Bill Johnson, his family and the Bill Johnson Foundation wish to thank the community for the generous outpouring of support that has been shown during these difficult times.
To arrange interviews, photos, video or additional background, Contact: Loran Hickton - 360-910-2636
Corporate and individual sponsors may also call.
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Loran John Hickton
Salmon Creek Public Relations Inc.
15200 NE 25th Court
Vancouver, WA 98686
Cellular Phone: 360-571-5560
Office / Voice Mail: 360-571-5560
www.salmoncreekpr.com
Posted by: T. Caldwell | Jan 16, 2006 8:19:55 PM
Bill Johnson was neither drunk, nor had he been drinking when pulled over for "not having his seatbelt on". Someone thought he had been drinking because his speech is impared. His tongue was fileted at the time of his crash, and sewn back together, which caused it to be permanently swollen. All charges were dropped, including hitting the cop. It was a HUGE mishap and not handled correctly!
It's sad that an update hadn't yet been posted instead of nice folks thinking Bill is such a bad person.
Posted by: Alvin | Dec 29, 2008 3:55:03 AM
I think some good people should donate to help this man. He's an Olympic gold medalist. We need to help him.
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Posted by: Rachael Vorberg-Rugh | Feb 14, 2005 4:31:11 AM
It is also fairly sad that he drives around with his medal in his car. What, is it hanging off the rearview mirror or something?