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The Interview

Tony Adams: How vulnerable are elite sport stars?

The Interview

BBC

News, Government, Politics

4.3537 Ratings

🗓️ 15 May 2019

⏱️ 25 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

When we were kids many of us dreamed of being a professional footballer, a star of the world’s most popular game with adulation and riches on tap. For a tiny few the dream comes true, but then reality bites. Professional sport is a brutal business that can chew up young lives. HARDtalk’s Stephen Sackur speaks to Tony Adams, former Arsenal and England footballer, who fought his own battles with addiction and mental illness and went on to help other top players do the same. Is elite sport honest about the vulnerability of its stars?

Image: Tony Adams at the 2018 Edinburgh International Book Festival (Credit: Simone Padovani/Awakening/Getty Images)

Transcript

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0:00.0

Eagle gets a year ago for landing over.

0:02.2

I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal before this decade is out,

0:08.7

of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth.

0:12.4

A story of breathtaking ambition.

0:14.5

I thought that he was a little premature on making an announcement just in 10 years since we hadn't even gone into orbit.

0:22.1

A story of incredible innovation.

0:24.4

I'm in charge of this stuff called software, but nobody knew what software was.

0:29.9

A story of amazing human endeavor.

0:32.2

It was the lack of fear.

0:33.9

It wasn't the lack of knowing it was risky, but just weren't afraid of it.

0:37.8

A story of triumph over adversity.

0:40.2

As they pitch over and see the moon for the first time, Neil said, we can't land here.

0:45.2

A story where we all know the ending.

0:47.0

That's one small step for man.

0:49.4

But not necessarily the beginning.

0:51.7

Three, two, one, zero.

0:55.9

I'm Kevin Fong, and 50 years on, I'll be telling the story of the Apollo Moon

1:00.0

landings in a brand new podcast from the BBC World Service.

1:03.7

We're about to do something that nobody's ever done.

1:06.2

With the help of the people who made it happen.

1:08.5

We were able to do this impossible thing.

1:12.6

That's 13 minutes to the moon.

...

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