Cowboys QB Dak Prescott is a hero off the field for tackling stigma around depression
Even if he doesn’t throw a single touchdown pass in the new NFL season, Dak Prescott has earned MVP status.
The Dallas Cowboys quarterback has openly discussed his brother’s suicide, his own depression that followed and the treatment he sought. He talked about how he struggled with loneliness amid the isolation of the coronavirus. And he urged others to get help.
“I don’t want to sit here and dwell on the things that were a struggle for me when I know I’m very fortunate and blessed and other people have it much more worse,” Prescott told reporters Thursday. “But just to be transparent about it, that even in my situation, emotions ... can overcome you if you don’t do something about it.”
His comments, which echo an upcoming talk-show appearance in which he details his struggles, signal an important message, particularly during the pandemic: It’s OK to be vulnerable. It’s OK to need help. And it’s OK to ask for it.
Health officials and mental-health advocates have been warning about the pandemic’s impact for months. The additional stress and uncertainty of the coronavirus and the economic calamity that continues are taking a heavy toll. A recent survey found just over half of respondents had felt the impact in their mental well-being.
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It’s noteworthy, too, that Prescott was willing to discuss his brother Jace’s suicide and the effect it had on him. It can’t be easy to air such personal details to the entire world. But the need to talk about it is urgent. Reports of suicidal thoughts are on the rise with the pandemic, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and acutely so among young people and Black Americans.
Prescott has drawn a lot of deserved praise for his forthrightness. But of course, there are always detractors, particularly those who like to think of football players as tough enough to eat nails and ask for seconds. One despicable sports media hot-take artist described what the quarterback did as a show of weakness.
Such talk is the relic of thousands of years of stigma surrounding mental illness. No one (well, few of us) would question Prescott’s toughness if he was talking about a knee injury. And all of football has made huge strides in taking concussions seriously. Mental health is a medical condition, not a choice or something one can control.
There is no shame in struggling, particularly right now. Young men, and particularly those of color, need to hear that and know that help is available.
Prescott is a better messenger to reach those groups than most. It’s been said that the quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys is one of the most iconic positions in sports. And we sometimes speak of the men who hold such positions in reverent tones. We call them heroes.
For Dak Prescott’s show of vulnerability and demonstration that seeking help is the right thing to do, the label is apt before he even steps on the field this season.
If you have thoughts of suicide, please call the national hotline at 1-800-273-8255, any time, day or night.