During the sweaty-palm moments of a 17-7 defensive struggle with Miami yesterday, Laveranues Coles scored the Jets’ first touchdown and set up their second. But no pressure the Gang Green wideout faced on the Meadowlands field could be worse than the pressure he felt in dealing with being molested as a child.
Coles revealed in a published report yesterday that he’d been molested from the ages of 10 to 13 by a man his mother later married and then left. It made it difficult for him to trust, but when the Jets, who’d drafted him in 2000, reacquired him from Washington in March for Santana Moss, he was back with people he trusted.
After a tough week of stewing on the season-opening loss in Kansas City, Coles came back with five catches for 68 yards and a seven-yard first-quarter TD.
“This was a long week for me personally. The practices seemed a little tougher. I’m real tough on myself,” Coles said. “Our defense had been carrying us. Until the offense comes in and starts carrying our share of the load, I’ll still think we have a lot of work to do. That’s why we’re pros.”
Coles came into the season with the sixth-most catches in NFL since the start of 2002, and has been everything the Jets remembered – and hoped for. On third-and-goal from the seven, he caught a great fade over shoulder to beat CB Travis Daniels for a 7-0 lead. He set up the next TD with a 16-yard catch – with a roughness penalty tacked on – and a catch to the one.
“We kept our poise,” Herm Edwards said.
Not surprising in Coles’ case, considering what he’d gone through. He decided to speak out in hopes of spurring other children who’ve been molested not to feel ashamed or hide their trauma.
“I haven’t talked about it in forever, but I know holding something like that inside is going to burden you for so long,” Coles said. “For me to be on this platform that I have and having the type of media attention that I have, I think it was something that should be said. If it gets one kid to come out and say this happened to me, I think it’s a plus. I just want to help kids.
“It still bothers you. There’s certain things you don’t ever want to remember. It’s not something that haunts me anymore. I used to wake up in the middle of the night and think about it. Now I’m fine.”