ST. JOSEPH, Mo. — In four seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs, and again during training camp recently, running back Clyde Edwards-Elaire has missed practice time with what the Chiefs are calling an illness.
Edwards-Elaire recently posted on her X account that the reason for her absence was post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and on Thursday shared her experience.
“Sometimes I’m admitted to the hospital and I feel like I’m vomiting and I can’t stop. [don’t] know [anything] “It was to prevent that,” said Edwards-Elaire, the Chiefs’ first-round pick in 2020.
“Really bad dehydration… but mentally it’s just not there. It’s one of those things that people who are paying attention like Travis experience early on. [Kelce] And Kadarius [Toney]Sometimes, you can tell in advance, ‘Okay, Clyde doesn’t laugh, he doesn’t giggle, he’s not like he usually is. ‘”
Edwards-Elaire provided a precise date when his PTSD began: December 22, 2018. He would not give any details other than to say he and a friend were in a “self-defense situation.” At the time, Edwards-Elaire was a college student at LSU.
Police in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, said two LSU football players were trying to sell electronics that day when one of them fatally shot an 18-year-old man who was trying to rob him. Police did not identify the players, but the Associated Press reported that Edwards-Elaire was one of them.
“I would say that’s where most of it comes from,” said Edwards-Helaire, 25. “I wouldn’t necessarily say that it all comes from. I have close friends who died at a young age from gun violence, and I just wasn’t in the right place at the right time, and I know that people close to me or people around me … could be in the same place that I am.”
Edwards-Helaire was the first to publicly discuss her PTSD. His post about X.
“For the first couple years, I just tried to block it all out and think, ‘Oh, I’ll get over it eventually,’” he said. “And then I started to realize that it just doesn’t happen. As I got older, I realized, ‘No matter your age, no matter the person, no matter the situation, everyone needs help at some point.’ It took courage to talk about it, to have PTSD and to deal with it when people bring it up. I didn’t always want to talk about it. I never know how my body is going to react, how my mind is going to react. You never know exactly what’s going to happen, you never know exactly what’s going to happen.
“I think having conversations is a big thing, but personally, it’s important to get through that hurdle and know that honestly, everyone is going through something good. [and] Bad… It’s a stepping stone. I’m only 25 and I’m trying to live the rest of my life healthy.”
