NFL

Rob Gronkowski promotes CBD, hints about possible NFL return

Frank Carnevale
By Frank Carnevale
3 Min Read Aug. 27, 2019 | 6 years Ago
Go Ad-Free today

Former New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski announced at a news conference Tuesday that he is becoming an advocate for CBD and partnering with a company that produces CBD pain products.

He said he walked away from football because he had to give his body a chance to recover. And CBD pain products, specifically Abacus Health Products, have helped him get healthy.

At the news conference, he was asked several times about whether he was coming back to professional football and the Patriots.

“I want to be clear to my fans,” he said about his retirement. “I needed to recover. I was not in a good place. Football was bringing me down, and I didn’t like it. I was losing that joy in life.”

He got choked up and continued: “I was fighting through it. I knew what I signed up for, I knew what I was fighting through and I knew I just had to fix myself.

“I needed to walk away cause I needed to do what was best for myself at that moment. I truly needed to be selfish for once in my life and walk away.”

After another question about coming back to football, Gronkowski didn’t completely rule it out, but did said it wouldn’t happen soon.

“But as of right now, that is not the case. It could be the case in six months, it could be the case in two years. … But I truly don’t see it in the foreseeable future, in like a week or a month.”

The Woodland Hills product, 30, said that while he was playing, he dealt with a lot of pain, but now he’s in good health thanks in part to a CBD treatment. He said he happy with this new chapter in his life.

But could he possibly come back?

“Physically, I’ll be ready. I could play right now if I wanted to play. Hands down,” he added. “Physically-wise, I could do it. Mentally-wise, desire-wise, it’s not there. My mind, my soul keeps telling me ‘you need more time off.’ ”

Gronkowski retired from football in March. He played nine seasons with the Pats, a career that included five Pro Bowls and three Super Bowl titles, but suffered many injuries.

He has partnered with Abacus Health Products, maker of CBDMEDIC Topical Pain Products, and is advocating for players in all the major sports league to be allowed to use these products for pain relief.

Share

Categories:

Tags:

About the Writers

Frank Carnevale is the TribLive multimedia editor. He started at the Trib in 2016 and has been part of several news organizations, including the Providence Journal and Orlando Sentinel. He can be reached at fcarnevale@triblive.com.

Sports and Partner News

Push Notifications

Get news alerts first, right in your browser.

Enable Notifications

Content you may have missed

Enjoy TribLIVE, Uninterrupted.

Support our journalism and get an ad-free experience on all your devices.

  • TribLIVE AdFree Monthly

    • Unlimited ad-free articles
    • Pay just $4.99 for your first month
  • TribLIVE AdFree Annually BEST VALUE

    • Unlimited ad-free articles
    • Billed annually, $49.99 for the first year
    • Save 50% on your first year
Get Ad-Free Access Now View other subscription options