Panthers are spreading awareness of the importance of mental health for student-athletes by teaming up with Morgan's Message, a national program named in honor of a young lacrosse player who took her life.
The buzz at Motamed Field on April 12, 2023, had to do with more than the lacrosse games played that day. Athletes of our nationally ranked men’s and women’s lacrosse teams dedicated both games to a greater cause鈥攁wareness of mental health issues in the athletic community.
As of mid-April, 50 student-athletes representing each of the Panthers鈥� athletic teams have used their platform to spread听. The foundation is named in honor of Morgan Rodgers, a Duke University lacrosse player who struggled with mental health challenges before she died by suicide in 2019 at the age of 22.
鈥淪o many people don鈥檛 know how to deal with mental health issues because they don鈥檛 recognize the signs that there could be a problem,鈥� said Panther softball player Courtney Wengryn. Wengryn, a junior majoring in marketing, helped start the 成人影片 chapter in April 2022 after she read about Morgan鈥檚 Message on social media.
成人影片鈥檚 women鈥檚 basketball team supporting Morgan鈥檚 Message
Breaking the Stigma of Mental Health
The Morgan鈥檚 Message website says it 鈥渟trives to eliminate the stigma surrounding mental health in the student-athlete community and equalize the treatment of physical and mental health in athletics.”
Nineteen 成人影片 student-athletes serve as official Morgan鈥檚 Message ambassadors. The list includes basketball player Andrew Delaney, who will earn degrees in finance and economics in May and then return as a graduate student-athlete. He said the monthly chapter meetings have provoked open dialogue on how others view athletes and how athletes perceive themselves.
鈥淭here鈥檚 strength in vulnerability,” said Delaney, who also serves on 成人影片鈥檚 Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a sign of mental toughness for a student-athlete to express vulnerability and reach out for help. Athletes are seen as entertainers and as invincible at times, and to hear us talk about mental health challenges may seem out of the ordinary. But we鈥檙e only human. So, it鈥檚 important that athletes receive the same level of support and encouragement when they鈥檙e dealing with a mental health struggle as when they鈥檙e dealing with a physical injury.”
Support鈥攁nd Understanding鈥攆or Simone Biles
For even the most celebrated athletes, that level of support and encouragement still is not guaranteed. At the 2021 Summer Olympics, for example, legendary gymnast听听after she withdrew from several events, citing mental health issues.
鈥淎s an athlete, I understood what she was going through,” Wengryn said. 鈥淏ut the media seemed split鈥攈alf the people said we need to talk more about mental health and the other half just didn鈥檛 get it. Hearing so many people say, 鈥橶hy can鈥檛 she just perform?鈥� angered me. We need to make the attitude and the stigma it causes go away.”
鈥淲hat we鈥檙e doing by advocating for mental health could change the way coaches connect with athletes,” added Delaney, 鈥淓very reason an athlete has for not being able to perform is different and every athlete鈥檚 experience is different. So, coaches should not expect every one of their players to recover in the same way.”
Mental Health Awareness at 成人影片
Wengryn and Delaney say they are thankful to 成人影片 administrators for their support. Emily Dorko 鈥�13, MBA 鈥�15, associate athletic director for external relations/senior woman administrator, helped form the Morgan鈥檚 Message chapter and has consistently championed its mission alongside Jessica Roque, associate athletic director for compliance and administration. Danny McCabe, director of athletics and campus recreation, has attended dedication games. Meredith Whitley, PhD, associate professor of health and sport sciences, taught a seminar this year on mental health and college athletics, and Tobie Langsam, PhD, MSW ’22, serves as a part-time sports psychologist and therapist for Panthers teams. The department has opened up to making this part of the conversation as it can impact the student-athlete experience for everyone in its own way.
鈥淚t would be great if more colleges and universities devote more resources to mental health issues as a preventative measure, rather than get involved in a reactive manner,” Delaney said. 鈥淚f more coaches connect their athletes to the resources that can help them, then that will make the coach-athlete relationship stronger and make the student-athlete experience better.”