Seattle Seahawks defenseman Marcus Smith, 97, leaves the field after an NFL football game against the Tennessee Titans in Nashville, Tennessee.
Marek Zaleski | AP
Six of the country’s largest skilled sports associations are joining forces in May to bring attention to Mental Health Awareness Month.
The NFL Players Association, National Basketball Players Association, National Hockey League Players Association, MLB Players Association, MLS Players Association, and Women’s National Basketball Players Association will work together to raise awareness of the cause and invest resources in improving the mental health of the skilled athlete community.
For the first time, sports organizations have come together to promote mental health.
“MentalHealthisMAYnstream” will speed up the national and global discussion on mental health and wellness and connect it to the experiences of athletes at every level of competition,” reads the organization’s joint statement.
The high stakes, busy lifestyles and pressures of skilled sport have resulted in lots of athletes revealing their very own struggles with mental health lately. With National Alliance on Mental Illness reporting 1 in 5 adults in the United States experience mental health problems every yearathletes weren’t released.
Former defensive end of the Seattle Seahawks Marcus Smith II he even considered ending his life after feeling he didn’t live up to the expectations of a first-round draft pick.
He credited his head coach Pete Carroll and line of defense coach Cliff Hurtt for helping him find the resources that ultimately saved his life.
“If it wasn’t for them, I would not have done what I used to be doing and doubtless would not be here today,” Smith said last yr.
Today Smith sacrifices himself to help other players avoid reaching that tipping point.
“Everyone goes through something we will not see,” said Miami Heat forward Kevin Love as he revealed his own struggle with panic attacks in 2018 in Players Tribune.
The Covid-19 pandemic has created much more isolation for a lot of who were already struggling.
Star Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott Open about his depression in 2020, after the death of his brother and mother. Prescott said self-isolation from the Covid-19 quarantine only added to his anxiety.
“In fact I got the help I needed and was very open about it,” he said at the time. “I feel that is why I used to be lucky enough to recover from it, because not all of us are.”
As athletes of all levels voiced their struggles, many leagues realized that mental health had to be just as vital as physical health.
This recent month-long campaign will aim to normalize mental health by opening up players about their very own struggles, in addition to sports associations providing guidance and resources from health experts.
Sports leagues will even highlight the inspiring stories of athletes and the various mental health activities they lead.