from Luke DeCock of the News & Observer at Yahoo,
The gambling ads are everywhere. On the boards. On the ice. During the commercials. In the middle of the broadcasts. When the Carolina Hurricanes played at PNC Arena during the playoffs, there were advertisements for three different online sportsbooks on the playing surface.
The ads have become overwhelming. They are ubiquitous, and for Aaron Ward, they’re a constant reminder of how he lost everything. He gambled away a life and career he has been trying to rebuild ever since.
Gambling wasn’t the only cause of Ward’s downfall, but it was his primary vice, his addiction, his escape from reality, until reality came crashing down on the former Hurricanes defenseman.
He lost his marriage, his prominent job on Canadian television and his place in the hockey media. He had to build entirely new relationships with his three children, whose childhood he scarred. His 2015 arrest after getting in an argument with his then-wife at their Cary home was the proximate cause — the charges were later dropped and expunged, which didn’t come with the same international headlines — but it was also the rock-bottom moment that led him to accept an offer of help.
“My agent, over and over, made attempts,” Ward said. “I’ve gone back to those people and reconciled: In retrospect, years later, I appreciate you. I just wasn’t in a place where I could recognize and understand what you meant by it. I just felt like I had everything under control. I was just completely hiding that I was out of control.”