By Jim Gehman, Player Engagement Insider
Family first. Few believe that more than Tennessee Titans tight end Anthony Fasano.
“I unfortunately had a family member suffer from addiction,” Fasano said. “It was a scary situation, but luckily enough, he ended up getting the proper help he needed and be committed to it. He’s over two-and-a-half years sober now and healthy.
“He started working at the place where he received treatment and we just talked about the business and the industry and how he’s going to make it his life and work in that industry, and we decided to start an ultra treatment center.”
In December 2015, Fasano, who runs The Anthony Fasano Foundation, co-founded the Next Chapter Addiction Treatment Center in Delray Beach, Florida. Exclusively for males at this point, Next Chapter offers treatment programs for individuals who are struggling with addiction and related disorders.
It utilizes traditional and experiential group therapies, educational groups, individual therapy, extensive family therapy, and a 12-step immersion program. Among the conditions that Next Chapter treats are drug and alcohol addiction, post-traumatic stress disorder, work addiction and internet addiction.
“I don’t have a clinical background nor am I a therapist by any means, but from what I learned from being around it is a lot of these addictions kind of stem from the same root,” Fasano said. “So a lot of times, the therapists that are trained in certain addictions kind of overlaps with a bunch of different other addictions. It helps that we’ll be able to help more people that way.”
Fasano was able to spend a lot of time at the center during the offseason, helping with hiring and marketing. It also allowed him to be able to witness the positive results firsthand.
“That’s pretty much the best part of the job,” said Fasano, who plans to step into a bigger role with Next Chapter following his NFL career. “It’s definitely a struggle and the numbers in history aren’t great, but if you try your best and do what you believe is the best road for these patients and success comes out of it, it’s great. Probably the most proud part of the job is hearing the testimonies from either the patient or their parents or family about what change they brought to their life. Because I don’t know if you’ve ever experienced anything close to an addiction problem in your family, but it affects a lot more people than just the person struggling.
“(Next Chapter’s goal is) to be able to help as many people as possible and be a positive impact on the community that we’re in; And also branch out and grow. We’d like to ultimately end up serving a women’s branch. And I have a soft spot for military veterans and the problems they go through when they come back. But ultimately just having the best success rate as possible and be a positive influence on their lives.”
Now in his second season with the Titans, and his 11th season overall, Fasano, who also played for the Dallas Cowboys, who drafted him in 2006, Miami Dolphins and Kansas City Chiefs credits his success and longevity to knowing his role on a team.
“Every team’s different and every year’s a little different, but I feel like I’ve found a good routine for myself,” Fasano said. “I’m more of a person of action than words, so I just try to help all the young guys figure out their routine, what works best for them, and really just try to lead by example.
“(I think the key to my longevity is) knowing my role, knowing what the coaches want out of me and doing that job as best as possible. And not trying to be someone I’m not. A blocking tight end is kind of a dying breed, but I still believe it’s needed in a lot of offenses. So while the stats are pretty nice and usually get you big contracts, I think blocking is valuable to coaches and it will keep you around for a while.
“I try to put my ego aside in any role I have and just focus on the team and wins. At this point in my career, that’s really what I’m playing for, to be able to make a run in the playoffs and get a Super Bowl ring.”