Joey Julius reveals details of binge eating disorder on Good Morning America
‘If I would have continued down this path, I might not be here right now’
This morning on Good Morning America, current Penn State student and Nittany Lions number 99, Joey Julius, opened up about his binge eating disorder.
He said: “I was always calling myself fat, disgusting, lazy, ugly.”
His team, and Penn Staters as a whole, have stood by his side, finding his statement to be very brave, human, and moving.
However, on the field, he has gotten some heat from opposing teams. Other players have been targeting hits on him, even resulting in a Maryland player being ejected from last weekend’s Homecoming game and was later suspended from this week’s play.
Last spring, Julius said he left the Nittany Lions to enter a treatment for eating disorders after “my team physicians started to notice not only a change in my overall happiness but also my performance as a normal human being.”
The team supported his decision enter treatment, recognizing that Julius’s happiness and overall health needed to come first.
Thankfully, after treatment, Julius returned to Beaver Stadium for the 2016 season. Julius said, “If I would have continued down this path, you know, I might not be here right now….I had the people who saw.”
Of course, we always have our Lions back. Julius helped to open a conversation about one of the most stigmatized illnesses, proving that there is more to every football player than just the game.