Sports
Jerome Bettis Says He Sold Drugs and Shot at People While Growing Up in Detroit
Jerome Bettis (Jordan Strauss/AP Photo)
(Bleacher Report) – With his entry into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in August, Jerome Bettis is ramping things up with a media circuit discussing his life and professional career.
The former Pittsburgh Steelers halfback gave an interview to Graham Bensinger (h/t Detroit Free Press‘ James Jahnke), which was posted to Yahoo Sports on Thursday.
In the interview, Bettis spoke on his rough beginnings as a kid growing up in Detroit. He told Bensinger how he and his brother began dealing crack cocaine to make money for their struggling family:
The mind-set was, “We’re in the hood. Mom and Dad, they’re working their butts off. There’s no money around. We need to make some money.” So we said, “You know what? Let’s give it a shot.” And it was one of those moments that you regret, but at the moment, that was the only thing that was really available to us.
