Robinson’s [Young's high school coach] daughter was phoning her dad when she saw Young wander off the wall and into the busy street, apparently unaware or uncaring. Frightened, she waved him into her car and brought Young to the restaurant where her dad was eating. They ordered carry-out chicken from El Pollo Loco for Young and brought it back to Robinson’s house, where the coach got a glimpse of what his former star player had become. “He said, ‘I’m gonna help the Rams out this year. I’m gonna get going,’ ” Robinson says. “I said, ‘Titus, the Rams cut you.’ And he just stared off into space.”
Robinson took to testing Young’s memory. He could no longer remember winning the team MVP award as a senior, or the speech he gave upon receiving it. Young didn’t remember who Jason Robinson was, much less their days in Boise as roommates. He said he had been to a treatment facility in Texas, and somewhere along the road had been told there was a “spot” on his brain.
“When he left I just cried,” Robinson says. “So I called his [player] agent, Kevin Poston, and told him this kid needs some help. He said ‘Coach, I had him in a facility in Detroit, and he just walked out.' ”
