Please note: This blog post includes references to self-harm, drug overdose, attempted suicide and depression.
Anyone who has lived in this area for most of their lives knows and loves (maybe) the Chicago Bears. The team is famous for its numerous quarterbacks. I remember many of them through the years, including Erik Kramer, who played for the team from 1994 to 1998.
The person I didn’t know was the man behind the quarterback on the field. In his new book, The Ultimate Comeback: Surviving a Suicide Attempt, Conquering Depression, and Living With a Purpose, he recounts his career and his personal struggles with depression that led to a suicide attempt.
Erik Kramer’s home life was distant. He didn’t have a warm relationship with either parent, who themselves did not have a great marriage. Kramer says his mother seemed to have “an aversion” to him, possibly as he must have reminded her of his father. His father was the ultimate “sports” dad who coached him and his sister in numerous sports. Kramer proved to be a natural athlete, excelling in football. This might have made father and son closer, but it did not.
Despite his difficult childhood, Kramer found success at the college level, winning the Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year award in 1986. After school, he entered the NFL, first with the New Orleans Saints and then with the Atlanta Falcons, where he set four franchise rookie records. He played with the Canadian Football League for a time before coming back to the NFL and joining the Lions, where he became the starting quarterback when the starter, Rodney Peete, was injured. He was so good that he caught the eye of the Bears.
Kramer continued to put up impressive numbers, but his mental health challenges from childhood had grown into something more sinister, and his game performance began to suffer. Kramer brings up an interesting point about this in the book. People understand if a player has to take time off for a physical injury. But what about when it’s related to mental health? Not so much. He mentions how Simone Biles was raked over the coals when she took some time off during the Olympics. Unfortunately, his depression wasn’t going away, and after just five years with the Bears and after being demoted to backup quarterback, he left for the San Diego Chargers in 1999. That didn’t last long, however, because he was forced to retire mid-season due to a neck and back injury.
In retirement, Kramer went into broadcasting and had a cameo on the popular sitcom Married With Children. (If you want to watch him on the show, he was on season 11, episode 21, “Damn Bundys.”) For all intents and purposes, he seemed to be getting by. Then, his eldest son, Griffin, died of a heroin overdose. After that, both of Kramer’s parents passed away. He had finally gotten close to his mother and had a good relationship with her.
The antidepressants were no longer effective. His marriage, while never strong, ended. Kramer saw one solution: suicide. Everyone would be better off without him. On August 18, 2015, he rented a motel room, took out a gun and shot himself in the head.
He survived the incident but had extensive physical injuries. As those healed, he had to relearn things as his mind was not working normally. In this incapacitated state, he was taken advantage of by someone who posed as a friend, entering a marriage that he was in no mental shape to agree to. It was a disaster, with financial fraud and claims of abuse. After about 2 years, charges against him were dropped, and the marriage was annulled. The woman was charged with several felonies. Kramer’s name was cleared, and he was able to resume life.
He talks about chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), which is caused by repeated head trauma. Several football players committed suicide and were later found to have had CTE. One of those being Dave Duerson, who played for the Bears in the 80s. There are symptoms of CTE, but it can only be diagnosed after death. Kramer has had some of these mild symptoms and believes he has the disease. He devotes an entire chapter to CTE. In 2020, Kramer, after receiving intense rehabilitation for his mental health, feels that he “woke up” and is now cured of his depression. At this point, he leads as much of a normal life as he can.
Kramer says he wrote the book as part of his mission for those suffering from depression, that there is always hope. Despite the lowest of lows, there can be a way out. He found it. I highly recommend this book regardless if you follow football or not. Erik Kramer is a survivor, and the title of the book holds true. I came away from it really liking the man and wishing him continued success in his life.
If you are thinking about harming yourself or attempting suicide, tell someone who can help right away.
- Call 911 for emergency services.
- Go to the nearest hospital emergency room.
- Call or text 988 to connect with the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.