A new documentary tells the story of the wife of a former football player for the Green Bay Packers and her struggle with alcohol.
“Champion: The Legacy of Jackie Nitschke,” premiered in Green Bay this week. The late Jackie Nitschke was married to Lombardi-era Packer Ray Nitschke. The film’s executive producer, Jim Rivett, said that Nitschke was the first “Packer Wife” to publicly acknowledge her alcoholism.
“They couldn’t live with each other and they couldn’t live without each other,” said Rivett. “So it was a volatile relationship.”
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Rivett says up to 14 people can live at the Jackie Nitschke Center for a month while they get sober.
“They’ve been kind of the best-kept secret in Green Bay for a long time,” said Rivett. “Their success rate is like 78 percent.”
Proceeds from the documentary will help fund the center and provide two free scholarships each month.
Watch the trailer for the documentary below:
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