New Orleans Saints fans probably don’t have many fond memories of Junior Galette, the former defensive end and team captain whose Saints career ended in disgrace. But Galette has plenty to look back on in New Orleans: his football success, personal struggles, and plenty of regrets. The once-star pass rusher spoke with SB Nation’s John Butler in a wide-ranging discussion at Canal Street Chronicles. It’s an in-depth conversation that’s well worth the read, but here’s where Galette gets to the heart of the matter:
“To get to the top of the hill and then get shot down for doing something that I felt… At that time, I was not prepared mentally for them to release me. I had too much attachment to New Orleans. I was not ready mentally to handle that type of rejection. I loved New Orleans. I got it tatted on me. But the video came out and it was just too much.“I definitely have regrets. I was on (expletive) near a $50 million dollar deal and was captain of the Saints. Right now, I don’t have a job. So for me to sit here and say that I don’t have regrets is crazy. I’d be insane to sit here and say that I don’t wish I was on New Orleans still. I feel like leaving New Orleans, my life has been on a downward spiral since.”
Galette goes into detail about his difficult upbringing, immigrating to America from French-speaking Haiti as a child and learning English so the neighborhood kids would let him shoot hoops with them. It’s clear that the weight of his off-field actions, social media tirades, and ugly locker room behavior rests heavily on him, though he’s still holding out hope for getting another chance in the NFL.
But the coda to Galette’s emotional story is what may be most interesting. When discussing the tedium of flying in and out of NFL cities, working out for one team after another and trying to stay right, he mentioned one name as a positive influence still trying to help him out:
“What’s crazy is, you know who’s helping me through this whole process? Sean Payton. It’s really good. I feel like we can patch things up. He says that there are no hard feelings.”