I Needed a Team | An Interview with Max Hall

Leading Saints Podcast

Max Hall is a former quarterback for Brigham Young University and played in the National Football League for the Arizona Cardinals and in the Canadian Football League for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Over the course of his football career, Max sustained multiple concussions as well as other injuries that led to an opioid addiction. Today he is the varsity offensive coordinator at American Leadership Academy High School in Queen Creek, Arizona, and co-owner of Victory Recovery, an addiction recovery program. Highlights 2:15 Max Hall played as a quarterback at BYU. Later he played professionally for the Arizona Cardinals. 6:20 Max felt his faith was strong and his testimony grew at BYU. But he began to be consumed by his identity as a football player. He began to lose focus on his callings as a husband, father, and in the Church. Football became his focus and his identity. In his first few games, he was knocked out twice with concussions. A few games later he dislocated his shoulder. Dislocating his shoulder changed him. He felt that his NFL career was over, and consequently that he was losing his identity. At the same time, he was given a 30-day supply of percocet to manage the pain of the shoulder injury. The Percocet made him feel better. He took the 30-day supply in three days. The drug hooked him, and he became physically addicted. 9:30 Max started losing focus on everything other than the drugs. The drugs became more important than recovery and than being a good father. 10:15 Max had previously tried Percocet in high school. He gave in to peer pressure and tried some with friends. It was an amazing feeling. In high school, he didn't get addicted to it. He'd try it on weekends for fun. After his shoulder injury, when he finished his 30-day supply in three days, he called up his high school friend, who supplied him with oxycontin. 12:00 The following year, Max played again. But he dislocated his shoulder again. His addiction continued to grow. He turned to other drugs - heroin, cocaine, meth. Over the next five years, Max did have times of sobriety. He failed an NFL drug test, and a doctor put him on suboxone. Max started coaching at BYU, and it started out well. But come spring, he started using again. He played for two years in the CFL, where he didn't use hard drugs. When he came back to Arizona, he had a bad relapse. He was arrested for possessing cocaine. When it hit the press, he considered suicide. His mom called him, he entered rehab, and he started on his path to sobriety. 17:45 Addiction is hell. It takes your soul. It makes you a different person. He was a manipulator, a liar, and a cheater. He would do anything he had to do to keep his addiction going. It takes the soul of the addict and breaks the hearts of those around them. In rehab, he was wondering how he could ever fix everything that was wrong. He's been fortunate to have a strong support system. 18:40 Max does EDD's (every day drills) to keep himself right. He gets up with the alarm, goes to the gym, does meditation, and reads a book to set himself up for the day. He's been doing it for over 8 years. Without a program and discipline, it won't work. A lot of recovery is the things you do on a daily basis to make yourself a better person. 20:30 During his addiction, Max could not look up. He had lost his connection with the Spirit and with Christ. It got to the point where he was mad at God - "Why did this happen to me?" It took a lot of searching and prayer and relying on the Savior to regain that connection. Without Christ, Max wouldn't be where he is at. 22:00 Max considers getting arrested to be a blessing. His secret was out. He wanted to die. He wanted to disappear. But he had to make a decision to own it and to fight. Max's wife told him that if he was willing to fight, she would fight alongside him. 23:00 Max's wife learned of his addiction about a year into it. He lied about being sober and he convinced her to keep it quiet.