the “dark side” of Walter Payton

I’ve been finding this story fairly annoying. It’s been out there for a few days now:

“They called him Sweetness, but Chicago Bears great Walter Payton had a dark side, according to a biography to be released Oct. 4. An excerpt of ‘Sweetness: The Enigmatic Life of Walter Payton,’ by Jeff Pearlman, will appear in the Oct. 3 issue of Sports Illustrated, and describes the Hall of Famer as suicidal, abusing pain medication and dealing with a crumbling family situation.”

Where, exactly, is the “dark side” here? Plenty of people are suicidal at various times. A top running back like Payton was getting tackled hard 25 times per week, and must have been in terrible physical pain that could easily lead to a painkiller addiction. And “crumbling family situation”? I didn’t realize we were supposed to hold that against everyone to whom it happens, and there are many people to whom it does.

If this were a book about Baudelaire or Jackson Pollock, these would simply be interesting little details, not a “dark side.” But superstar athletes are supposed to be un-tortured mainstream citizens. There’s often a “dark side” that goes with greatness, and Walter Payton’s doesn’t sound that dark to me so far. Or maybe they’re just doing a bad job of excerpting from this “dark” biography so far.