Reid and his wife Tammy talked for the first time about his sons' troubles with the law and addiction. But, the interview came with a lot of strings attached. Reid's lawyer was present, and in a major departure for the magazine - Reid was allowed to review the article before publication.
Editor Larry Platt says the review was done because this was viewed as a collaboration on a deeply personal story. Platt says he has also agreed to contribute $5,000 to a charity of Reid's choice. Reid had little to say about that.
Reid did tell us why he decided to do the interview now, before the end of the football season, and while his sons will be spending the holidays in jail.
The article details Garrett Reid's long struggle with drug addiction. He was high on heroin when he ran a light and broadsided another car last January. That same day, Britt Reid pointed a gun at another driver in a road rage incident. But, the article says very little about Britt. Reid says he was constrained by pending legal matters. Britt is facing a multi-million dollar lawsuit from the man he pointed the gun at.
Both Garrett and Britt Reid have battled drug addiction and been sentenced to jail terms stemming from Britt's road-rage case and Garrett's heroin-fueled, high-speed crash.
"We've dealt with Garrett's situation for a long time, and we've done it through Super Bowls and championships," Andy Reid told the magazine. "And it's new to a lot of people, but it's not new to us."
"We raised these boys," Tammy Reid said, according to the magazine. "We taught them to pray, taught them to ride their bikes - you see this potential in him, and you're just not going to give up."
In the article, Tammy Reid defends her husband's parenting skills. She says, "He's a great dad. He will drop a meeting. He will drop whatever he's doing if our kids need him. So, it's not like we're competing with his job."
Reid compares parenting to coaching his team. He says, "You teach them and let them go. You blow the whistle and let them play. Sometimes it works out, and sometimes it doesn't."
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