After Rondale Mooreās death, A.J. Green is calling for better mental health resources: āIām not an expert on mental health. Iām a former football player, and Iām writing this as Rondaleās former teammate, and ā more importantly ā his friend. So please have that in mind when I tell you, in my opinion, Rondale wasnāt planning on any of this. To me? He was just a kid. And he was a kid who was struggling a lot with the idea of losing his identity as a football player. Itās two major injuries ⦠two long rehabs ⦠two seasons away from being part of a locker room ⦠two years of not knowing if heās ever gonna have more NFL checks coming through. So you add that all up, and it probably doesnāt take an expert to think thereās a good chance Rondale was depressed. But I could also see encouraging signs. Like ā he was talking about the future. He wasnāt just on one of these downward spirals. If anything, he seemed to be slowly pointing back in an upward direction. The thing is, though, that upward directionā¦ā¦. Itās not a straight line. Thereās gonna be dips. And when those dips come, for whatever reason, you need to be able to manage them in time before your shit hits the bottom....
To me thereās a lot that could still be improved in the NFL, as far as how the league is helping its players with their mental health. And one way I would start is by making it mandatory, if you have a major injury, that you see an independent mental health counselor as part of your rehab. And by also making it mandatory, if you have a second major injury, that you see an independent mental health counselor for an extended period of time, even after your rehab. And the reason I say this ā itās because Iām not an expert. You know what Iām saying? Like, Rondale, he had a support system. He wasnāt alone. He had friends who loved him, family who loved him. But those relationships can be complicated. And while those people can give you love and support ⦠what they canāt give you is professional help, and what they canāt do is equip you with tools so that, if you ever do have a mental health crisis, or even just a really bad day, you know how to handle it. And you donāt go and do something you can never undo.
In my opinion, if Rondaleād had those tools, he might still be alive today. And I want to make sure weāre never saying that again about a young NFL player. Because I keep coming back to this one part about it ā and it may be the part thatās most heartbreaking to me: Rondale was 25, man. He was so damn young. He really was just a kid.
And then thereās one more thing I want to say about mental health in the NFL ā and I hope that everyone who needs to read this is reading it. All the rules ⦠all the initiatives ⦠all the public statements about awareness ⦠none of that means anything if the people who are making the football decisions, in private, are viewing mental health issues how I feel like a lot of times they still get viewed: as a red flag. Thatās the truth. No one in any front office will ever say it out loud. No scout is ever gonna put it in a scouting report. But thatās how itās viewed in this league by a lot of people.
And as long as thatās the case? Stories like Rondaleās will probably keep happening. Because it means weāre telling players that having a mental health issue is gonna fuck with their money. And if weāre telling players that, then weāre creating an incentive for them to lie about their mental health. And if players lie about their mental health, then theyāre going to feel shame about their mental health. And theyāre not going to get the help they need ā and whatever issues theyāre facing are not going to get better, and are probably going to get worse. So thatās one of the big reasons I want people to read this. I want to celebrate Rondaleās lifeā¦ā¦ā¦ but I also want to make sure weāre having the realest conversation possible about his death. And the way I see it, while Rondale didnāt necessarily die because of NFL culture ā NFL culture also didnāt do him no favors. It didnāt HELP him. And I just hope we can get to a place where, for the next young player going through a mental health crisis, it actually does help him. Or it even saves him.ā https://t.co/MyNSl7yiGp
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