Johnathan Walton Media
EP 3 – The Quarterback and The Con Artist
Episode Title: Somebody's Someone
Date: September 17, 2025
Host: Johnathan Walton
Overview
This poignant episode of "The Quarterback and The Con Artist" tells the tragic but profound story of former NFL quarterback Eric Kramer’s son, Griffin, whose lifelong struggles with social connection, mental health, and ultimately drug addiction culminated in his death at just 18. The episode delves deeply into the familial, psychological, and societal factors that led to Griffin’s overdose, using candid interviews with Eric, family members, and friends, as well as powerful reflections on the enduring pain of loss and the complexities of addiction. Walton weaves Griffin’s journey into a moving narrative about the universal longing to belong, the impact of neurodiversity, and the consequences of missed interventions and misunderstood struggles.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
1. Eric Kramer’s Survival and the Catalyst for the Story
- [01:29-02:29] The episode opens referencing Eric Kramer's own suicide attempt and miraculous survival, setting the stage for an exploration into what brings a person to the brink.
- Quote: “The question always is at this point is, when we save him, if we can save him, will his brain be intact? And the answer … is not so clear.” – Jonathan Walton [02:19]
2. The Death of Griffin Kramer: A Parent’s Worst Fear
- [03:26-05:29] Eric recounts receiving the call from police informing him of his son’s death due to a heroin overdose.
- Quote: "All I remember feeling or thinking was, there's no way to turn that back. There's no way to turn back what you just said." – Eric Kramer [04:41]
3. Griffin’s Early Life: Medical Trauma and Rare Survival
- [06:08-09:09] From birth, Griffin was beset by adversities, nearly dying of a rare infection as a newborn, surviving what seven of eight LA county cases did not.
- Quote: “Eight. Seven of them had died ... and one of them was an amputee.” – Eric Kramer [08:59-09:02]
4. The Griffin Everyone Knew: Humor, Inquisitiveness, and Complexity
- [09:09-15:45]
- Friends and family recall Griffin as energetic, deeply curious, sometimes brutally honest, and fiercely loyal.
- Anecdotes about his directness and unique sense of humor, sometimes leading to social isolation.
- Quote: “He'd be in the backseat, we'd be driving down the road. He's like, you know, who do you think would win in a fight? The head or the heart?” – Eric Kramer [11:07]
5. Struggles with Neurodiversity: School, Relationships, and Isolation
- [15:45-19:04]
- Griffin’s difficulties at school were eventually traced to executive dysfunction—his brain wiring prevented organization and focus.
- This led to struggles making friends and accidental social offenses.
- Quote: “He had no awareness for how he would sabotage the very relationships he was seeking ... Think how painful that would be when you think you have friends and no one's calling. But I could see why they weren't calling. Everybody else could see, but him.” – Eric Kramer [16:51]
6. The Search for Connection: Loyalty and Desperation to Fit In
- [19:04-21:01]
- Griffin’s brother Dylan remembers his fierce loyalty (e.g., defending a coach) and tragic inability to build close friendships until shortly before his death.
- Dylan observes the profound loneliness and describes Griffin’s longing: “He just wanted to be somebody, somebody.” – Dylan Kramer [22:01]
7. Descent into Addiction: Drugs as a Means to Numb Pain
- [21:01-24:40]
- Griffin began using drugs to cope with feelings of alienation and to bond with peers who shared his struggles.
- Quote: “You want to be connected to people ... Other people who also have their own struggles ... So now I've got a little group of people here that I don't really have to look over my shoulder.” – Eric Kramer [22:31, 22:45]
8. Rehab, Relapse, and Parental Hopes
- [27:47-29:14]
- After mounting addiction issues, Griffin attends a high-end rehab facility and briefly thrives, but is unable to remain sober.
- Quote: “The relapse rate is like in the high 90%. My good God.” – Eric Kramer [29:04]
9. Griffin’s Last Night: Making Amends
- [30:05-35:06]
- The night before he died, Griffin had seemingly candid, apologetic, and hopeful conversations with his brother, family friends, and others—an unusual outpouring.
- Quote: “It was so strange. It was like he was saying goodbye, dude … all these people that were there ... he went around to all these people and apologized, made amends.” – Dylan Kramer [33:41, 34:49]
- Quote: “Now, you have to understand, Griffin didn't talk a bunch of around this time.” – Eric Kramer [33:06]
10. The Overdose: A Tragic Chain of Events
- [35:42-38:21]
- That night, Griffin sought out a group he hadn't seen in a while; a 19-year-old acquaintance shot him up with heroin after Griffin, scared of needles, couldn't do it himself.
- Griffin fatally overdoses; friends fail to get him help, worrying more about consequences than saving his life.
- Quote: “I think he was more concerned about getting in trouble because he had heroin than he was saving Griffin’s life.” – Anna Durgan [38:21]
- Quote: “Right when it went into the bloodstream, he asked for his mom, just take me to my Mom's.” – Dylan Kramer [37:51]
Notable Quotes & Moments
-
On irreversible loss:
“There's no way to turn back what you just said.”
– Eric Kramer [04:41] -
On early adversity:
“Seven of them had died ... and one of them was an amputee.”
– Eric Kramer, on necrotizing fasciitis cases [08:59] -
On neurodiversity and social pain:
“He had no awareness for how he would sabotage the very relationships he was seeking.”
– Eric Kramer [16:51] -
On belonging:
“He just wanted to be somebody’s someone. That’s all he said. I just want to be somebody, somebody. And he didn’t feel like he had that.”
– Dylan Kramer [22:01] -
On the dangers of relapse:
“The relapse rate is like in the high 90%. My good God.”
– Eric Kramer [29:04] -
On Griffin’s final night:
“It was so strange. It was like he was saying goodbye, dude.”
– Dylan Kramer [33:41] -
On misguided priorities in a crisis:
“I think he was more concerned about getting in trouble because he had heroin than he was saving Griffin’s life.”
– Anna Durgan [38:21]
Important Timestamps
- [02:07-02:39] The aftermath of Eric’s suicide attempt and “resetting” his brain/life
- [03:26-05:29] Eric receives the devastating phone call about Griffin’s death
- [06:08-09:09] Griffin’s miraculous survival as an infant and early childhood challenges
- [15:01-15:45] Stories that illustrate Griffin’s unique social outlook
- [16:46-17:57] Diagnosis of executive function disorder and its social/academic consequences
- [22:01-22:11] Griffin’s longing to be “somebody’s someone”
- [33:06-34:49] Griffin’s heartfelt apologies and the eerie sense of farewell on his final night
- [35:42-38:21] The sequence of events of Griffin’s overdose and the fatal lack of timely intervention
Tone & Storytelling
Walton and the guests share Griffin’s story with warmth, honesty, and a sense of tragic inevitability. The tone is intimate and reflective, marked by candid admissions of guilt, loss, and the complex nature of love and suffering within families battling addiction and neurodiversity. The account is unflinching yet compassionate, balancing moments of humor, nostalgia, and heartbreak.
Conclusion
This episode stands as a memorial to Griffin Kramer—a bright, complex, loving young man whose internal battles went largely unseen or misunderstood, illustrating both the cruelty of addiction and the desperate human need for belonging and understanding. Through interviews, personal stories, and realistic discussions about brain health, neurodiversity, and addiction, the episode offers a sobering glimpse into the high stakes of intervention, the finality of loss, and the enduring impact of a life gone too soon.