When was the last time your workplace talked about mental health out loud?

The Green Bay Packers and Indianapolis Colts just did. At a joint practice, they paused the football and joined forces for the Colts’ Kicking The Stigma campaign. Players and coaches wrote thank-you notes to clinicians and packed Narcan kits for the community. You can read more about the story here.

It wasn’t a side activity. It was the message: mental health matters, and getting help is normal.

The NFL has been built on toughness, and toughness sometimes has a cost. The old script says push through, keep quiet, get back up no matter what. That script makes players heroes on the field and prisoners off it. Silence is still the most common play, and stigma keeps winning.

What is changing in the NFL 🏈
In 2019, the NFL and NFLPA required every team to have a licensed behavioral health clinician on staff for 8 to 12 hours a week. Some clubs have gone further, hiring full-time clinicians to support players, coaches, and staff. Campaigns like Kicking The Stigma build on this progress, showing that honesty and care belong on the field.

One of my former professors actually held this job for a while with one of the local professional sports teams, and she deeply enjoyed the work. It seems that some of these league changes really are starting to make a difference.

But even with improvements, stigma hasn’t disappeared. Athletes still wonder if speaking up will cost them playing time or respect.

Some of you probably remember when Simone Biles, historic Olympic gymnast and mental health advocate, pulled out of the Olympics a few years ago due to mental health concerns. Some people criticized her then, which only increased the stigma.

Some people stood up and cheered for her, including me. 📣🙌

Other athletes began to speak out. Some of my clients felt freer to talk about depression and anxiety after that.

As a result of Biles speaking out, Olympians have more access to mental health resources. You can read more about that inspiring ripple effect here.

Well done, Simone. You are a stigma crusher at the highest level. 💪

I believe that there is a ripple effect happening in some circles among professional athletes. More and more are speaking out about mental health, and when role models and people who have a large following do this, stigma is crushed.

Stigma cannot grow when the silence is shattered by a voice. The light and truth always overcome the darkness.

Breaking stigma doesn’t always take a campaign or a press release.

It takes us choosing not to stay quiet. Like Simone, the Packers, and the Colts.

Will you be one to speak up about mental health?

One Way to Speak Up

• Begin to normalize mental health into normal language. For example, saying phrases like “Mental health is health” and “It’s ok not to be ok” can reduce stigma in everyday conversations.

Thank you all for coming along this journey.

Until next Friday morning, come back…be here.

Keith