Bass Pro Tour angler Mike Iaconelli took to social media Friday morning to apologize for his behavior on and off the water at the first two Bass Pro Tour events, and revealing that he is undergoing treatment for depression.
"I’m so sorry for any heartache or hard feelings this has caused," Iaconelli posted on his Instagram account. "I’m not making any excuses for the way I behaved. I’m taking responsibility for my actions and words.
"As you probably know, I have a big personality and am a passionate person, which is great when I’m in a good place," he continued. "But that works against me when I’m not. Believe it or not, my actions were not about missing the cut twice in a row. It’s bigger than that.
"Unfortunately, I’ve had some negative things pop up in my personal life recently, and I brought that with me out on the tournament trail. Instead of just facing these realities, I kind of bottled them up and didn’t really talk to anyone about them.
"I’m a child of the 70s and I’m a guy, and so I’ve always felt embarrassed to talk about it. But truthfully, I’ve dealt with a bit of depression on and off my entire life. It’s very crippling."
At the Bass Pro Tour season opener at the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes, MLF NOW! cameras captured a profanity-laced outburst by Iaconelli at the end of the Knockout Round upon his discovery that he'd been eliminated from the competition.
Last week, after being eliminated from the Lake Conroe Bass Pro Tour, a post was made to Iaconelli's Facebook page containing cryptic hashtags that hinted at his level of frustration. The post has since been deleted.
Iaconelli will next compete at the Bassmaster Classic March 15-17 in Knoxville, Tenn.
Embedded below is Iaconelli's post from this morning:
