Packers’ Charles Martin Admits Alcohol Abuse

Charles Martin, Green Bay Packers nose tackle who drew national attention last season for body-slamming Chicago Bears quarterback Jim McMahon, says he is a changed man after spending 28 days in an alcohol treatment center.

Martin says he checked into the center at Birmingham, Ala., where he lives, in December. During that time, Martin says, he put God into his life.

“I think I can help the team a lot better by just having God on my side because I know I’m a good ballplayer,” he said. “I can play the game.

“Except that I’ve got to know which way I’m going as far as boozing it up and trying to see how many broads I can be with and stuff like that. That’s not going to be a part of me this year.”

Martin’s third season with the Packers in 1986 was a stormy one. Besides the McMahon incident, which brought Martin a two-game suspension without pay in November, he was accused of grabbing a woman indecently in a Green Bay bar in October. He apologized to the woman and reportedly paid her $500.

“I had alcohol in my life last year and it was a problem for me,” Martin said in an interview with the Milwaukee Sentinel.

Martin said he didn’t know if the McMahon incident was alcohol-related. “I feel like my mind and body were just drained from the way I had been treating myself during that time,” he said. “It would be hard to say if it was related to alcohol. It happened. If I could take it back, I would. But I can’t take it back.”