Choose What Team You Play For: Addiction vs. Sobriety with Vance Johnson

Choose What Team You Play For: Addiction vs. Sobriety with Vance Johnson

How do people find strength in their journey to sobriety? This conversation between Coach Blu Robinson and former Denver Broncos wide receiver Vance Johnson gives a raw, honest look at that question, especially for anyone juggling sport, trauma, faith and addiction. The chat moves quickly from NFL glory to childhood pain.

Vance talks about growing up with a violent, alcohol‑fuelled father, saying sport became his escape: it was “the only place I found my happiness.” He shares how success in track and football built his identity, yet left deep emotional cracks untouched. You’ll hear how Vance went from a late start with substances—first drink at almost 23—to full-blown addiction to alcohol, weed, painkillers, sex and relationships, even playing games drunk and hiding behind fame.

He describes multiple marriages, domestic incidents, life-threatening car crashes, and the heartbreak of his son’s death, which he links to his own absence and using. The episode is especially aimed at people in addiction or early recovery, their families, and anyone who believes success somehow protects you from collapse. Coach Blu keeps things relatable, tying Vance’s story to wider patterns he sees in clients and in the Addict II Athlete community, with sport used as a metaphor for rebuilding life.

Vance’s coma, out-of-body experience, and later treatment stay form the turning point. He frames recovery as a spiritual calling, saying his “transparency and brokenness” are now tools to help others choose their team: addiction or sobriety. There’s strong faith language, but also plenty for those who just want straight talk on accountability, forgiveness, and showing change through action, not promises.

If you’re weighing up which side of that line you’re on—or you support someone who is—this story might have you asking: what team are you playing for today?