Tre Mason's Offseason Has Been Frightening

Where is Tre Mason? Not with the Rams, who said they hadn’t heard from their second-year running back since the end of last season, and placed him on the Reserve/Did Not Report list when he failed to show up at training camp on July 29. In recently released dashcam video from the Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office, Mason’s mother frets that football has ruined her son’s brain.

The video, first published by TMZ, chronicles Mason’s run-in with Palm Beach County (Fla.) sheriff’s deputies on July 27. Deputies spotted Mason allegedly riding his ATV at more than 80 mph, and he fled when they turned on their lights and sirens. Mason drove back to his mother’s house, and hid inside while deputies tried to coax him out.

A deputy tells Tina Mason her son should be playing football.

“No, actually he shouldn’t,” Tina Mason says. “There’s CTE and this head-injury thing. You can say he should be playing football, but this is not what it is.”

Tina Mason tells deputies that her son’s mental state took a turn for the worse after the 2015 season.

“Clearly, we could see the change,” Tina Mason says. “Like, completely.”

“He’s 22 in a 10-year-old’s mindset right now,” Tina Mason told a deputy. “Tre’s not himself at all.”

Mason was not arrested in the ATV incident, but he was arrested on March 5 and charged with with resisting arrest, marijuana possession, and reckless driving, after being pulled over and tasered.

Mason’s offseason points to some very real, scary problems. Police have visited his home at least five times, in response to calls from his family about his strange behavior. In one of those visits, on July 23rd, Mason was transported to the hospital and “admitted for evaluation”, after his mother reported he was “making irrational statements.” When police arrived, Mason accused them of teaching Al-Qaeda to fly planes, and said he would call the White House and have them lose their jobs.

There’s no indication that Mason is heading back to Rams camp, which doesn’t bode well for him going forward: the NFL doesn’t have the best track record of looking after the well-being of its players after their usefulness has expired.

[ Palm Beach Post]