After NFL players Marshawn Kneeland and Rondale Moore tragically took their own lives over the last year, the NFLPA is taking steps to ensure that players have the resources and support they need during difficult times.
“I’ve been on a big push that mental health needs to be a top priority for everybody involved,” Dr. Amber Cargill, the NFLPA’s Director of Player Wellness, told PFSN.
Part of that push includes the NFLPA recently launching a free, evidence-based suicide prevention training for all active NFL players and NFLPA staff. The 60-minute virtual training helps players learn to recognize the potential warning signs of suicide and how to refer individuals in crisis to professional help using three simple steps: “Question, persuade, and refer.”
A Direct Response to a Tragic Year
The players’ union launched this initiative in honor of Mental Health Awareness Month, but it was also a response to the tragic deaths of Kneeland and Moore, as Dr. Cargill explained in an exclusive interview with PFSN.
“I think the efforts you’re seeing are directly related to the tragedies that have happened over this past season,” Dr. Cargill said. “I’ve been in this role for six years and, to my knowledge, we hadn’t had one suicide. To have two happen in one year, I think, is a little bit alarming. What we’re seeing mirrors what happens outside. Our players are not immune from the same life situations and life circumstances that happen outside.
“The mental health crisis, if we call it that, is happening outside, and it will eventually trickle over to our population. I do think the efforts that we’ve seen are certainly an appropriate reaction to us losing folks this season. I’m happy that we are seeing some urgency and that we’re seeing efforts and energy and resources poured into ensuring our players have the support they need.”
Initially, the NFLPA required that its player directors complete the suicide prevention training, but they decided to expand access to all of their members and staffers after receiving positive feedback.
“The player directors had excellent feedback about this training. One, it’s quick; it’s an hour. Two, it’s so relevant and timely,” Dr. Cargill explained. “It takes you through different scenarios. If you answer incorrectly, it tells you why. They had so much positive feedback, so from there, it sort of took off…
“We’ve heard from many players over the years saying, ‘I just want to know what to do when I see something. I just feel very unequipped in order to manage it.’ So, this is one way to get that ball rolling,” Dr. Cargill said. “It’s simple, it’s easy, it’s digestible, and they can do it on their own time.”
The NFL is also taking steps to prioritize mental health. Seven years ago, the league mandated that every team must employ a part-time behavioral and mental-health clinician. This year, NFL owners approved a proposal to expand these services to ensure full-time coverage with clinicians operating out of team facilities.
“The clubs have a team clinician and there will be full-time coverage starting with the 2026 season… I think it shows a consistency and a desire to ensure that both the NFL and the NFLPA are in lockstep with prioritizing mental health,” Dr. Cargill said. “The agreement is still being worked on to ensure that there’s a full-time equivalent and full-time coverage… This is one area where there should be no daylight between the NFL and NFLPA, and I’m working to ensure that.”
Also, the NFLPA has an independent directory of 140 clinicians who have been thoroughly vetted so players can get additional help for themselves or their loved ones, if needed.
“The reason we have this independent clinician directory is so that when players need to seek support, they don’t have to worry about whether this information gets out or into the hands of anyone making decisions about contracts and the like…” Dr. Cargill explained. “The team clinicians are bound by their licensing boards to keep things confidential and the trust is there, certainly from me, that they are doing that. But the perception in the building may be different for whatever reason…
“I think that’s the reason the NFLPA puts so much energy into establishing independent resources that players can do on their own time that nobody’s tracking, that nobody’s talking to anybody inside the building about, so that they can rest assured that they can take care of themselves and still do their jobs effectively without concern about where that information might go or even the perception of where that information might go… We want to make sure the players have the opportunity to get the resources that they need to support themselves.
“The independent clinician director is one of the most important resources that we have because we want to make sure players know they can seek support. They do not have to sit in silence. There’s not an issue too big or too small that cannot be addressed. We want to make sure they know that that’s available to them, and that they have great benefits so a lot of times, at least eight of those sessions will be free. And sometimes all of it can be covered, depending on who the person is and what coverage they have.”
It’s worth noting that those eight free sessions can also be used on family members, loved ones, or really anyone in the player’s life.
“We often get calls from significant others and wives to engage in mental health treatment either for themselves or a family member or their player, and we absolutely, 100% will help them too,” Dr. Cargill said. “Even if they’re not married or it’s not their dependent, the eight free counseling sessions extend to anyone in their household, and we are very flexible with who counts as in their household. What I tell guys is if you’re worried about somebody in your orbit, then that means they’re important enough to us to take care of them. That’s a worry that I don’t want them to have, and we will absolutely do what we can to take care of them too.”
This month, Solomon Thomas, Chris Manhertz, Oren Burks, Malaki Starks, and Josh Ross are among the NFL players using their platforms to share how they prioritize their well-being on and off the field. When players speak out, not only does it help destigmatize mental health for fans and young people, but also for their peers.
“It’s so important. When A.J. Brown came out with his campaign last October, we saw double the number of requests for services from players during that two-week period after that campaign came out. It is absolutely, 100% important for players to speak out…
“They’ll listen when I talk, but they’ll listen more intently when a brother is talking to them. What we try to do is highlight those voices wherever we can and make sure that we at least understand what is going on with players so that we can speak the language they’re speaking around mental health.”
Now, in addition to using their platforms to make a difference, players who complete this training will have the knowledge and resources to help their peers and loved ones who are struggling, which could ultimately save lives.
