O’Leary: CFL, CFLPA starting discussion on mental health

It’s a conversation that’s become more prevalent in our day-to-day lives and naturally, Kevin McDonald says, it’s made its way into the world of football, too.

The chatter hits its highest volume on Bell Let’s Talk Day, at the end of every January. Just as Bell’s campaign — the company donates five cents to mental health initiatives for peoples’ use of the #bellletstalk hashtag and Facebook frame and Snapchat filter — has sparked Canadians to be open about their mental health, that conversation is becoming increasingly frequent in the sports world.

McDonald, the vice president of football operations and player safety with the CFL, has had a front row seat to that.

“I think the player wellness profile has paralleled society,” he said.

“I think where we’re at is that we need to get a better understanding of how our athletes are affected and that we truly understand the types of issues that our players deal with.

“They might have some different pressures, from being a professional athlete to being from a country other than Canada, maybe speaking a different language. How do some of those things manifest themselves into other possible issues? As it becomes increasingly important in society, it’s equally as important to the overall wellness of our players.”

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In an effort to break down stigma, BC Lions quarterback Mike Reilly opened up about mental health in 2019 (CFL.ca)

Leading into the 2020 season, the CFL will conduct a mental health seminar for the athletic therapists for all nine of its teams. They’ll be provided with training to recognize and address mental health issues in the players they treat.

“It’s to arm our medical staff with the tools to be the front line for anyone that’s having issues and challenges,” McDonald said.

“We want to make sure that they’re equipped with the right skill sets to address any immediate issues and get them the proper support and help that they need.

“It’s an increasingly important part of everyone’s day-to-day. It’s something we’re all dealing with and learning about. It’s about people educating themselves, understanding the issues and then having some tools to support and properly address those frontline concerns.”

In partnership with the CFL Players’ Association, players across the league will be canvassed this year to gauge the mental health issues that they may deal with on a day-to-day basis.

“Professional athletes may seem superhuman but the truth is we are all just human. And every human, no matter how big or strong or talented, can need support sometimes.”

CFL commissioner Randy Ambrosie

“It’s important that we all work together on this, to understand the issues and how we can best support them.” McDonald said.

“We already have programs in place that advance total player wellness but we recognize that more can be done to help,” CFLPA executive director Brian Ramsay said.

“We’re hopeful that because we expect the player survey will have the best interest of all CFL players in mind, the feedback will inspire more positive action and valuable programming, by all those connected to the game who have the power to affect change, in order to address these challenges faced by players.”

While as people we all face similar challenges, McDonald acknowledges that playing a sport for a living will put athletes in unique situations as well. He’d like the league and the Players’ Association to find a way to help on that front.

“Being a professional athlete comes with things that are unique to the profession. There may be pressures associated to being a public figure, being a role model,” he said.

“We need to better understand, as similar as they might be to the general population, are there unique differences in things we need to address?”

“Thanks to Bell, their leadership launched an important global conversation about the stigma of mental health,” Ramsay said.

“While it raised overall awareness within society, it brought forward important questions about how we recognize these challenges within our game and what supports must be available to players and how the approach to wellness must change. It flipped the playbook for CFL players who are suffering quietly because their mental and emotional well-being is absent.”

“We are learning, throughout society, that many of us face mental health challenges,” said Randy Ambrosie, Commissioner of the CFL.

“Professional athletes may seem superhuman but the truth is we are all just human. And every human, no matter how big or strong or talented, can need support sometimes.”