Terry Bradshaw has admitted that he worked as a people pleaser a couple of times in the past. While that puts the former Pittsburgh Steelers legend in a good light in public, it hampers his professional side, especially when he needs to lay some people off.

Last year, during his appearance on the To The Point – Home Services Podcast, Bradshaw revealed that he had to fire three people directly. One was his uncle, and another was his long-time employee who was apparently stealing from him. The other was someone who was nice to Bradshaw, but toxic to others. However, his people-pleasing nature held his decision for a bit too long.

“I don’t want you to disappoint me. Because I like you and I don’t want to disappoint you,” Bradshaw told famed author Rich Roll on his podcast. “I’ve fired my uncle after 19 years. 19 years and I had to fire him. I wanted to fire him 10 years ago. I fired a manager of mine after 18 years. And I should have fired him earlier. But I didn’t. I stayed on. I stayed on till he finally ate at me so bad it was a cancer, and I had to get it off my chest. I fired a lady that ran my business after 15 years. Same thing. It ate at me. Now, I’m the one that came.

“I don’t want to hurt you. I know [when Rich told him that people-pleasing is a disease]. It s**ks. It’s a terrible disease, being a people pleaser.”

Bradshaw used ‘disease’ metaphorically to describe the psychological toll, not a clinical diagnosis. Thankfully, he has made an important decision to handle the administrative responsibilities, as he handed over the responsibility of firing personnel to his significant other, Tammy.

“I don’t like people to be upset with me,” Bradshaw told Business Traveler USA back in 2023. “I like people to like me.”

But that aspect of his personality has started to change. Back in 1999, Bradshaw found out that he was suffering from clinical depression. When he took up the broadcasting job and became a football pundit, he was bound to make mistakes in his talks. And those talks invited a lot of people to criticize him. Well, it also forced Bradshaw to learn how to deal with public scrutiny.

“The depression thing for a man is very difficult because society has, in the past – not necessarily now –looked upon it as a weakness in who you are,” Bradshaw said according to the Irish Star. “I went through three years of therapy and learned a whole lot about depression and a whole lot about me, and I was able to handle whatever the public threw at me.”

Bradshaw’s admission about waiting nearly two decades to fire toxic employees, including his own uncle, exposes the hidden toll of being a lifelong people-pleaser. By embracing therapy and letting his wife, Tammy, step in as the enforcer in his business affairs, the Steelers icon has finally learned how to draw boundaries and put his own well-being first.

The post “I’ve Fired My Uncle After 19 Years”: Steelers Legend Terry Bradshaw Says It's ‘Terrible’ Being a People Pleaser appeared first on EssentiallySports. Add EssentiallySports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.