Grant Hackett a danger to himself, family struggling to cope, brother says
Updated
The brother of Grant Hackett says his family is at the "end of the road" in their struggle with the Olympic swim star's deteriorating mental health and is pleading for help.
Craig Hackett was speaking shortly after his brother's arrest over a disturbance at his parents' house on Queensland's Gold Coast yesterday.
The swimmer was released without charge after being arrested and taken to the Southport watch house.
This morning, he posted a photo on social media of his bruised and bloodied face, hours after saying outside court that he thought he needed help.
It is unclear when the photo was taken.
His father Nev Hackett said they were forced to call police when Hackett became agitated.
"He just became abusive and aggressive verbally and didn't make any sense," he said.
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"He stays here for a couple of days at a time for Mum's cooking."
The two-time Olympic 1,500m freestyle champion has been battling demons for some time.
In October 2011, Hackett trashed his Melbourne apartment in a drunken rage while his kids and now ex-wife Candice Alley were present.
Hackett admitted then he had become reliant on sleeping pills.
Early last year, he was forced to apologise for clashing with a passenger on a domestic flight, notoriously known as the nipple-tweaking episode.
The Olympian denied suggestions he had struggled without the structure of elite swimming.
But Craig Hackett said it was clear to the family his brother needed help.
"Nobody can do it — we can't do it. We're pleading for people to help us, we really are," he said.
"This is now a chronic problem and it looks like it's not really going to go away in a hurry so from a mental health perspective I hope something can be done, I really do."
Craig said he and his parents had tried for years to help, but had not gotten to the bottom of what was troubling him.
"We've got to get an actual medical diagnosis, until that happens we're just guessing," he said.
"But we all know, the community knows, everybody knows that there's something that needs to be done.
"It's coming to the point now where he's dangerous. At times he is dangerous.
"He's a danger to himself, he's a danger to the community and poor Mum and Dad have tried to look after him so much I'm concerned for their welfare.
"If there's anybody out there at all who can help him, you know we're all for it. But I think we've reached the end of the road at this point."
Australian Olympic Committee president John Coates has extended support to Hackett, who he was involved with at the 2000 (Sydney), 2004 (Athens) and 2008 (Beijing) Olympics.
"We are concerned for Grant's welfare," Coates said in a statement.
"This is not the Grant we know and respect. Grant is a great Olympic champion, one of the greatest swimmers of all time, and his contribution to the Olympic Movement and to sport in general should not be forgotten.
"He inspired many young Australian children to get involved in swimming. We hope he can overcome his current challenges and we have offered him any support he needs".
End of career help needed for athletes
Olympic swimmer Julie McDonald said the sports world was becoming more aware it needs to support stars like Hackett after their careers end.
McDonald said high achievers could experience extreme lows when they are no longer involved in elite competition.
"There is a lot more information out there now, obviously a lot of people are starting to learn, but at the end of the day the athlete has to admit they have got a problem."
Nev Hackett said his son would now receive help from the best doctors they could find.
"We've got a long road ahead of us, Grant's got a long road ahead, but we'll support him the whole way," he said.
"It is alcohol and I suspect, perhaps from time to time, there could be prescription drugs, but I wouldn't know that for sure.
"We'll do anything to help him, anything at all. But it's hard for people with this sort of problem, not just Grant but across the board.
"I was a police officer for 40 years and I've seen this sort of thing but it's entirely different when it happens at home."
Topics: swimming, olympics-summer, mental-health, alcohol, sport, southport-4215
First posted
