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Former NHL No. 1 Pick Now Homeless, Suffering from Mental Health Issues

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The 1986 NHL entry draft produced nine All-Star players, including Hall of Fame defenseman Brian Leetch.

But all of those players were taken after Joe Murphy, who went first overall to the Detroit Red Wings. Murphy was drafted out of Michigan State and became the first NCAA player ever selected first overall.

While Murphy enjoyed a 15-year NHL career and earned over $13 million, however, he has struggled with mental health issues since hanging up his skates and is now homeless.

Jeff Seidel of the Detroit Free Press chronicled Murphy’s issues in a column published Wednesday, which was World Mental Health Day.

Murphy said he has been homeless for more than a year and has spent this summer sleeping on a small patch of grass at a gas station in Kenora, Ontario.

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“It’s crazy,” he said. “But I love my life and this place.”

Murphy has been estranged from his family for years, and even though many former teammates have tried to reach out to him, he doesn’t seem to want their help.

He admitted to battling drug problems but said a series of concussions he suffered while playing in the NHL is what’s led him to this current state. Murphy said he has displayed several symptoms associated with CTE.

“I’ve had some depression and I’ve had some anxiety,” he said. “I think it’s a combination of things that have happened to me. Maybe, a brain injury from concussion, for sure, and from some other things that have happened to me in my life, and I think it’s affected me emotionally with anger. I’ve gotten very good. … The anger is a sin, and in the temple, Christ displayed how he got rid of the anger and how you cannot sustain the anger.”

Murphy was living in Costa Rica in 2017, but he was deported back to Canada.

“When he did go to Costa Rica, he was homeless, living on the streets,” Rick Kozuback, Murphy’s junior hockey coach, told Seidel. “We worked with the consulate, trying to get him help, getting him out of there. He didn’t want to at the time. But he ended up being forced to leave.”

His problems continued in Canada; he was arrested on assault charges in April after he got into a fight in the small Ontario town of Sioux Lookout.

Murphy’s court appearance was in Kenora, and that’s where he’s been ever since.

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He’s one of many homeless individuals in Kenora, but police there said they’ve never had a problem with Murphy.

Just as he practiced at hockey, Murphy said he practiced at being homeless and is now good at it. He has learned how to bounce between different locations, whether they be shelters or churches, and can always find a way to get a meal.

Murphy is unsure of how many concussions he suffered in his career, but he knows that they became more frequent after the first one. He also said he has two brain tumors and he knows that he needs help, but he has to be willing to accept help that is offered.

“He is a survivor,” his daughter, Krystal Murphy, said in an interview with TSN. “He will survive this too. But he has to fight, and he has to take help, too.”

Murphy’s family started a GoFundMe page to raise money for him, and they have received more than $5,000 in donations. However, Murphy has yet to see any of the money.

“Any donation received will be kept safe and used solely for the long-term care and assistance of my father, Joe Murphy,” Krystal Murphy wrote on the page. “In the event of unforeseen circumstances, all donations will be directed toward CTE and concussion research, and to foundations in place that directly support athletes and their families following the devastating effects of head trauma.”

Danton Cole, a former teammate at MSU, knows that Murphy needs help but said he is the one who has to initiate that process. “He has to ask for that help first,” Cole said.

There was a breakthrough in September when two former NHL players visited Murphy’s location and refused to leave until he was in a better situation.

“I need help,” Murphy told Adam Graves and Glenn Healy. “I’m tired.”

The two former players got Murphy a warm place to stay and some new clothes with winter approaching. That will help him prepare for facing a judge as he has to work his way through mental health court for the assault charge.

“I just got off the phone with the caseworkers, he’s on schedule to see a psychiatrist in early November for part of his diagnostic assessment,” his attorney, Greg Iwasiw, said. “That’s the first step.”

That’s actually the second step. The first step was Murphy accepting the help offered to him as he tries to get his life back on the right path.

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Ross Kelly has been a sportswriter since 2009.
Ross Kelly has been a sportswriter since 2009 and previously worked for ESPN, CBS and STATS Inc. A native of Louisiana, Ross now resides in Houston.
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