Mental Health in the NFL

Mental health is an extremely avoided topic. To overcome mental health, you have to start by creating the conversation. Starting this conversation is something many NFL players have a hard time doing. We are slowly seeing more and more players discuss the mental issues they have dealt with and how they overcame these situations.

In a recent interview on the In Depth Show with Graham Bensinger, Dak Prescott opened up about his struggles with anxiety and depression during the quarantine lockdown and after he lost his brother to suicide.

“All throughout this quarantine and this offseason, I started experiencing emotions I’ve never felt before,” the Dallas Cowboys quarterback stated. “Anxiety for the main one. And then, honestly, a couple of days before my brother passed, I would say I started experiencing depression.”

When asked about being a leader, and how his mental health has affected people looking up to him , Dak mentioned, “being a leader is about being genuine and real. You have to have the right mindset and your mental needs to be in check to be able to make a positive impact on others and lead them into the right direction.”

Following Dak’s interview, Green Bay Packers quarterback, Aaron Rogers, was asked about mental health and what he thinks about his role, along with Dak’s role, in talking about mental headspace at the level they are at.

“I saw what Dak said. I applaud him. I think it’s phenomenal, speaking out, because that’s true courage and that’s true strength,” Rogers said. “It’s not a weakness at all. Other people’s opinion of ourselves have really nothing to do with us. That’s their own insecurities.”

Five-time Pro Bowl athlete, Brandon Marshall, has also previously come out as an advocate for Mental Health in the NFL. Marshall was diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder in 2011.

BPD affects approximately 1.6 percent of adults in the US, every year. There are 88 million Americans suffering from some type of mental illness. With every one person suffering, there is 6-8 people affected from that one person. This includes family, friends, and anyone that this person is relatively close to.

Marshall did an interview with Inside the NFL, where he talked about his experience with mental illness and how he dealt with it in the NFL. Marshall would meet with the mental practitioner provided by the league in the weight room, and cafeteria to show the other players that it is okay, and not seen as a weakness to stay on top of your mental.

“They say the game of football is 80% mental, but they don’t practice it like that’s the case.” Marshall said. “The benefits and programs that the NFL provides is phenomenal, but the players don’t take advantage of it as much as they should.”

In 2019, the NFL announced that every team will employ a mental health professional to work in its buildings.

The more players that come forward about their mental health, shows other players who are suffering in silence, that it is okay to get the help they need to overcome these illnesses.

America seems to forget that these guys are more than just people that play football on Sunday. They’re humans too, who experience the same problems and situations that you may be going through.

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255

National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI): 1-800-950-NAMI (6264).