Detroit Talking about mental health can be difficult.
Former local sports stars Calvin Johnson, Darren McCarty, Brylon Edwards and Andre Rison — among a whole host of Detroit athletes at The Eastern in Detroit Thursday night — don’t want that to be the case.
Dozens of local athletes and health experts gathered at the opening of “Walk & Talk of Detroit,” a charitable event set up by the Hall of Fame Health and Fund Recovery and Caring Ways to benefit mental health and addiction, as well as behavioral health therapy.
Hall of Fame Health, an affiliate of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, aims to provide behavioral health resources to former football players. Johnson was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2021 after a nine season run with The Lions (2007-2015) and has spoken a lot about mental health and behaviour.
“It has been very popular with professional athletes, so it really only comes naturally to use this platform to spread awareness and educate wherever we can,” Johnson said.
“The focus is on knowing the science of neuroplasticity, and that’s really the science that depends on the brain’s ability to change. If you can imagine being in the weightlifting room, your brain can do the same. You have the same kind of gains, mentally.”
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“The ability to find solutions, that’s why I’m here.”
Funds raised from the event benefit Detroit recovery centers, including event sponsor Skywood Recovery and the Hall of Fame Recovery Fund.
Johnson said that while the stigma surrounding mental health conversations has improved over the years, there are still ways to go.
“People fear retaliation at work, and people may not understand what is going on with themselves,” Johnson said. “It’s really just an education for both the business owners and the entrepreneurs who hire (people), and in fact everyone.
“Family members – understanding the different types of mental challenges people face. They are everywhere. They are in everyone’s family.”
Johnson spoke on a panel alongside McCarty, Rayson, Edwards, and Letha Atwater, Denver Broncos’ ex-wife Steve Atwater.
Edwards has worked closely with Shawn Jordan and his sports marketing agency to conduct talks like these at local high schools since 2018.
Part of breaking down stigma, Edwards said, is acknowledging when someone needs help and offering a helping hand. He remembers having an unnamed teammate who the team joked about was “kinda crazy,” only to get arrested shortly after he retired from the league.
“I was able to look back… and say, ‘He was suffering.'” He was screaming for help. “But I didn’t know how to help him at 24, 22, 23, 27,” Edwards said. “To be able to have that conversation now, to be able to have that ability to help… It’s like, ‘I have to do more and more.'”
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“When you start doing that, when you start helping kids, you’ll also notice that individuals — whether it’s a substance use disorder protocol, or mental health — respond to athletes. They respond to artists.”
“So I said, You know what? I’m off.”
Some current lions are beginning to get a sense of the mental health situations that athletes deal with. The wide reception was attended by newly acquired DJ Chark and defensive lineman Jason Cornell.
In 2021, Cornell was suspended for three games for violating the league’s drug policy. Cornell was convicted of misdemeanor driving while disabled in Minnesota.
“What people don’t understand is, being athletes, we all wear that base,” Cornell said at the event Thursday. “When you get all these cameras and things around you, you’re trying to be yourself, but at the same time, we have a lot of things that people don’t understand.
“Sometimes you have family issues or issues at work or issues at home, and then the mental health aspect … you can control it sometimes, and sometimes you aren’t.”
Former Lions quarterback Eric Heibel spoke on the previous board at the event. Hebel used drugs and alcohol and was convicted of drunk driving after his son’s death in 2000 by suicide. Hebel said that men and athletes in general find it difficult to deal with mental health issues for fear of appearing weak.
“I think, first of all, men in general…we are ‘fixed’ people. If something breaks, it will be ‘Oh, I’ll fix it,'” Hebel said.
McCarty, who has been open to several bouts of alcohol abuse during and after his 15 years in the NHL, said making people feel they won’t be judged is the biggest step toward starting to see positive change.
“I think once people have confidence that they are not going to be judged, the numbers will become more realistic,” McCarty said.
Nolan Bianchi is a freelance writer.
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