Earl Thomas reveals he has ADHD, credits Pete Carroll for helping him: “I’m not weird”; says some Seahawks need a realization

Earl Thomas was at his revealing and genuine best Thursday.

First, the Seahawks’ All-Pro free safety disclosed a fact regarding his behavioral health most all-star players wouldn’t bring up on their own in the middle of a game week in any professional sport.

Thomas said when he was at the University of Texas through the 2009 season he was diagnosed with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). He said that determination came as a relief after two-plus decades of him battling self-esteem issues. He is still getting treated for ADHD today in suburban Seattle while as one of the best at his position in football.

“It’s something I’ve battled my whole life,” the 26-year-old Thomas said while answering a question about an initiative with his foundation. “And I’m finding out more and more about it as I keep getting help.

“I didn’t find out until college. I always wondered why everything was so hard, why I was always day dreaming. My teachers always told me, ‘You can do it. You can pay attention a little harder.’ And it was always something was wrong.

“I’m glad I’m getting help for it now.”

I asked Thomas how the diagnosis in his late teens/early 20s changed his life. He credits Pete Carroll for really doing that.

“At the time at Texas, I mean, I didn’t think two things of it. I just kept going -- and kept struggling,” said Thomas, who majored in education while at UT for three years; he left following his redshirt-sophomore season to become the Seahawks’ 14th-overall pick in the NFL draft.

“But Coach Carroll introduced me to a doctor named Ted Mandelkorn. He’s been helping me out a lot.”

Dr. Mandelkorn practices at the Puget Sound Behavioral Medicine clinic on Mercer Island.

How has the ADHD diagnosis and Mandlekorn’s help set up by Carroll helped Thomas on the field?

“Just understanding what I have. I’m not weird,” he said.

“A lot of self-esteem issues and frustrations.”

Then Thomas talked about what needs to change with the 4-5 Seahawks, specifically how they view themselves now after consecutive Super Bowl appearances and a championship in February 2014.

“It’s an attitude, a mindset: You’ve got to give it up for the next guy,” he said. “It’s not showing up all the time like that. ... People have got to get out of their own way and give it up for the team.

Thomas said that message has “been sent.”

“But you are talking about grown men here,” he said. “They’ve got to make it up in their own mind so they can bring their best to the ball club.”

I asked Thomas if he’s seen this need to be more selfless in the past and the Seahawks have gotten through it, or if this was new during this struggling season that began with his partner at safety Kam Chancellor holding out for the first two games, both losses.

“I just think it’s kind of tough, you know, when you have so much success that we’ve had (and) you’ve been known as this type of player and that type of player.

“You know, sometimes you’re not who you think you are, in some cases.

“But I just think overall we’ve got to give it up for each other.”

Thomas has started an initiative inside his charity, the Thomas Sports Foundation, to target children and teenagers with ADHD in Seattle and in his hometown of Orange, Texas.

“This is the first year I’ve kind of put my hands on it, put my rhythm into it,” Thomas said.

A common treatment for ADHD is Adderall, a stimulant that includes amphetamine salts. The NFL bans Adderall unless it grants a player a waiver for a prescription and/or documented medical condition that requires the drug.

My News Tribune colleague Dave Boling asked Thomas if that league policy has been an issue in his ADHD treatment.

“I don’t know. I think you still, with me, I’m still going through it and seeing what’s out there for me, within the game,” Thomas said.

This story was originally published November 19, 2015 at 3:20 PM with the headline "Earl Thomas reveals he has ADHD, credits Pete Carroll for helping him: “I’m not weird”; says some Seahawks need a realization."