Pills for pain put BYU star in a tailspin

Bryant Atkinson felt the push to return to the football field at Brigham Young University after each of his three knee surgeries.

Repairing a torn meniscus is a rather routine operation nowadays, and players are expected to jog within a day or two and run sprints in about a week. Atkinson followed the prescribed workouts, though his knees didn't feel right.

"You really don't have a choice but to get in and start running," he said. "I knew I shouldn't be doing it, but there's so much pressure to get on it and practice."

Atkinson also followed the prescribed dosages of Lortab or Percocet he was given, at least after the first two injuries. It wasn't until his third surgery that he started swallowing pain pills for more than pain.

"You know what it does. You know that it can be a problem," he said. "You don't think it's going to be a problem for you."

But opiates did become a problem for him, eventually leading to a heroin addiction, an arrest and jail time.

Once teammates were aware Atkinson had narcotics, he became a magnet for other players seeking painkillers as did his wife, Mindy, who always had pills on hand due to chronic back problems from high school soccer and basketball.

"There were so many players abusing it. Players would call me on the phone (saying), 'What did you get? Can I have some?"' Mindy Atkinson said.

To those who read the court briefs in the newspaper or caught a 15-second TV news story complete with Atkinson's mug shot, he appeared to be another self-indulgent athlete hooked on drugs.

But there's more to the story of how an Eagle Scout from a good family got engulfed in drug addiction.

A 6-foot-3, 230-pound linebacker, Atkinson was the state's most sought-after player coming out of Timpview High School in 2001. His prep coach believed he would become a college star. BYU won the recruiting war for him over Utah, Oregon, Arizona State and Texas Tech.

Atkinson, 24, the grandson of former BYU coach Chick Atkinson, redshirted his first year but saw a lot of action the next two seasons. He earned Academic All-Mountain West Conference honors in 2002 and 2003 and was BYU's special teams cover player of the year in 2002.

Things were lining up for him to be a starter his junior year under second-year defensive coordinator Bronco Mendenhall. At the same time and unbeknownst to anyone, Atkinson began losing his passion for football.