Jerod Thomas grew up in what he calls a "house of horrors" — two alcoholic parents, a father who drank a fifth of vodka a day and turned violent, and weekends spent walking on eggshells. He was dyslexic in an era when no one caught it until his second year of eighth grade, bullied relentlessly, and told by his own father that if he didn't learn to fight, he couldn't stay in the house. Football became the one place the chaos made sense — fast, loud, and violent, just like home.
Against every odd, Jerod became a college football star at Marshall, playing under future NFL head coach Rex Ryan, with a real shot at the pros. Then, weeks after his final college game, his father died — and a bartender at his dad's old bar handed him cocaine. Within weeks it was crack. He tried out for NFL teams while secretly smoking it, showing up 45 pounds underweight and unable to explain why. The football dream collapsed, and everything else went with it: two marriages he torched, restraining orders from his own mother, and years cycling between homelessness and prison. By the end he'd been charged with 12 felonies and convicted of four, all drug-related.
What turned it was a conversation with his grandmother in jail, where he listed every reason he couldn't get sober — and she gently told him that a man who could find a way around all those obstacles would be valuable to the world. That night he started writing a program. Today, 18 years sober, Jerod has built treatment programs inside prisons across the country — including the largest in-prison treatment center in the United States — turning the exact system that once held him into the place he now saves lives.
Jerod Thomas grew up in what he calls a "house of horrors" — two alcoholic parents, a father who drank a fifth of vodka a day and turned violent, and weekends spent walking on eggshells. He was dyslexic in an era when no one caught it until his second year of eighth grade, bullied relentlessly, and told by his own father that if he didn't learn to fight, he couldn't stay in the house. Football became the one place the chaos made sense — fast, loud, and violent, just like home.Against every odd, Jerod became a college football star at Marshall, playing under future NFL head coach Rex Ryan, with a real shot at the pros. Then, weeks after his final college game, his father died — and a bartender at his dad's old bar handed him cocaine. Within weeks it was crack. He tried out for NFL teams while secretly smoking it, showing up 45 pounds underweight and unable to explain why. The football dream collapsed, and everything else went with it: two marriages he torched, restraining orders from his own mother, and years cycling between homelessness and prison. By the end he'd been charged with 12 felonies and convicted of four, all drug-related.What turned it was a conversation with his grandmother in jail, where he listed every reason he couldn't get sober — and she gently told him that a man who could find a way around all those obstacles would be valuable to the world. That night he started writing a program. Today, 18 years sober, Jerod has built treatment programs inside prisons across the country — including the largest in-prison treatment center in the United States — turning the exact system that once held him into the place he now saves lives.
Sponsored by Caron Treatment Centers
My recovery journey began at Caron Treatment Centers, and the care I received there changed the course of my life. That's why I'm proud to partner with Caron.
If you or someone you love is struggling with addiction, Caron has been helping individuals and families find hope and lasting recovery for nearly 70 years. They are in-network with all major insurance providers, and same-day admission is available.
➡️ Learn more: https://www.caron.org/lp/rise-above
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