Isiah Robertson lives with his four children in Garland. He looks like an ordinary guy who’d be out mowing his yard and playing catch with his grandchildren -- well, except for the fact he’s 57 years old, 6-foot-4 and built like a tank. In the 1970s Robertson was a star linebacker for the Los Angeles Rams. But that was before crack cocaine took over his life, and the six-time Pro Bowler found himself almost beaten to death, starring into the barrel of a shotgun wielded by a drug dealer. He’d lost his career, his family, his cars and 14 homes. Robertson lived only because the weapon malfunctioned.
Today, Los Angeles Times columnist Jerry Crowe has a piece on Robertson, who now works with recovering addicts at a residential recovery center he founded in 1989. Located in Mabank, about an hour east of Dallas on the eastern shores of Cedar Creek Lake, the House of Isaiah is a nonprofit, faith-based center for men situated on 180 acres. Robertson told Crowe that since then, more than 1,250 men have come to deal with their demons and out-of-control substance abuse. “On a 10-point scale, I'm a 12 as far as happiness," says the former football star. "I am doing God's will, I'm at peace, and I've been forgiven." --Glenna Whitley
