Can We Just Talk About How This College Football Player Bravely Announced His Retirement So That He Could Address His Mental Health?
This past March, a college football player made a statement following his retirement from the league due to an issue not often discussed in the sports industry.
A former student and offensive lineman for Ohio State, Harry Miller, announced that he was medically retiring on March 10th, 2022.
“I would not usually share such information. However, because I have played football, I am no longer afforded the privilege of privacy, so I will share my story briefly before more articles continue to ask, ‘What is wrong with Harry Miller?'” he wrote in his official statement on Twitter.
Harry tragically revealed that prior to the football season last year, he told coach Ryan Day that he had intended to end his life.
His coach immediately put him in touch with two doctors affiliated with the team, who supported him as best they could.
Harry continued to try and get through a few football games but was still struggling immensely. He admits to playing games with healing wounds and scars that many Ohio State fans failed to notice at a game or through their television screens.
“There was a dead man on the television set, but nobody knew it. At the time, I would rather be dead than a coward,” wrote Harry.
Being a football player for one of the best college football teams came with its own series of stressors for Harry.
Twitter; pictured above is Harry
Sign up for Chip Chick’s newsletter and get stories like this delivered to your inbox.
In an interview with the Today show, he said that if he made mistakes in games, he would receive a series of hateful messages.
That it wasn’t unusual for the players to be sent random threats, which were difficult to handle on top of all the other stressful factors that come with being a college student.
Harry wrote in his statement about how his terrible thoughts lingered well into the season but that he was too afraid of being seen as cowardly or weak.
He explains how easy it is for college students to often get dismissed when speaking up about their mental health.
“So maybe if somebody’s hurt can be taken seriously for once, it can be mine,” he wrote.
During his interview with the Today show, Harry offered advice to others who may be struggling mentally. He encourages people to have hope, to pretend they’re in a happier state of mind until one day “you won’t have to pretend anymore.”
In his statement, Harry wrote that he is okay and thanked his coach and other staff members for their support.
“If not for him [Day] and the staff, my words would not be a reflection. They would be evidence in a post-mortem,” he wrote. “I am okay. There is help always.”
To read more about Harry’s story, visit the link here.
More About:Uncategorized
Read This Next
