Pats Pulpit
As wide receiver Mack Hollins arrived for the Patriots Thursday night football game, he did so in a shirt that read “988” — the phone number for the suicide and crisis lifeline. On the back read “You Are Worth It!!!” with words including “alone, scared, tired, strong, loved, joyful” and more on both sides.
During November, which is recognized as Men’s Mental Health Month, Hollins’ explained the importance of men speaking up.
“9-8-8 is a suicide prevention hotline. I think that this topic is something that, especially as a male, can often get pushed aside and brushed under the rug as not for men, not for tough guys, not for I guess our gender, sex — whatever you want to call it,” Hollins said after the game. “But it happens more than people want to admit, it happens. Whether it’s older men, younger men, successful men, poor men, or rich men, whatever you want to call it. It happens to all men and it gets pushed under the rug too much, and hat’s not to say that female suicide isn’t a thing as well.
“But I think especially in this month of November, if I can bring attention to something that is happening way too much, because even one person committing suicide is too much, then I will gladly stand behind it and try to bring attention to it. And that’s not to bring attention away from anyone else or any other cause. That’s just in hopes that somebody that may have had a rough evening says, ‘there’s some guy in the NFL that cares.’ Even if I don’t know you, I care, and hopefully that can change any decision you thought of making.”
Hollins’ stance for men’s mental health is especially timely in the NFL, as last week saw Dallas Cowboys defensive end Marshawn Kneeland take his own life at just 24 years old.
“I think that goes along with what I was saying. It doesn’t matter if you’re successful or you make plays or everybody thinks you’re in the best place in the world. You don’t know what somebody is going through on their own — between their ears,” Hollins said. “Sometimes it’s more than just ‘Well, I checked in on him.’ You really don’t know what somebody might be going through. Especially as men, he’s in a locker room in a very alpha sport, where saying, ‘Hey, I’m not doing alright’ can get looked at as you’re weak. Or I need tough guys as teammates. And, unfortunately that’s kind of been the history of men in general.
“But I think to anybody who’s listening, more men are willing to hear what you have to say than you think. That tough guy persona that we all put on, isn’t as real when it actually comes down to it. And it’s unfortunate to see somebody lose their life. And you never know why. You never know what was the trigger or the straw that broke the camel’s back.”
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