Suicide is the second leading killer of adolescents and teenagers. It needs attention." Story on the personal background that's led OSU coach Ryan Day to become a mental health advocate. https://t.co/xUv059zVQG pic.twitter.com/hKyvKf9vV4
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) August 27, 2019
Ryan and Nina Day spoke at length with Pete Thamel on why they chose to be advocates for mental health. See below for some highlights of the article, but make sure to check out the full story. Really proud to have him represent OSU
on his father's suicide:
Ray Day died by suicide in 1988. Ryan Day was 9 years old at the time and had two younger brothers, Chris (7) and Tim (5). That singular moment shaped his life more than any other.
Over the years, Ryan Day’s emotions over the suicide of his father evolved through phases of anger, resentment and confusion. He recalls occasional playground teasing and being upset watching his youth basketball teammates run to their fathers at the conclusion of their games. “I’d get pissed,” he said. “How come I can’t have a father? I used to get angry that way about it.”
on choosing mental health as a cause he wanted to bring attention to:
Ryan Day was visiting a high school coach in Massillon, Ohio, on a weekday last spring when he asked why school was shut down. The coach told Day there’d been another suicide at the high school, part of a tragic wave in Stark County recently.
A few days later, while driving to work, Day heard an advertisement on the radio for On Our Sleeves, a movement from Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus that focuses on transforming the conversation about childhood mental health. Around the same time, Shelley Meyer, the wife of former Ohio State coach Urban Meyer, texted Nina Day about the On Our Sleeves movement, which has a motto of “Because We Don’t Wear Our Thoughts On Our Sleeves.” The movement’s goals include de-stigmatizing talking about the emotional and psychological well-being in American youth.
on how he's incorporated bringing awareness to the team:
That stigma has already been lifted on the Ohio State football team. In the wake of the mass shootings in El Paso and Dayton earlier this summer, Buckeyes senior Robert “BB” Landers revealed his own struggles with mental health, which he called “an uphill battle on a day-to-day basis.”
This year, Ohio State has gone from three part-time staff members dedicated to mental health to four full-time in the athletic department, more than doubling the available help. That includes a clinical psychologist, counseling psychologist and two mental health counselors, all of whom have experience in the athletic space. In his nearly eight months as full-time coach, Day has attempted to foster an environment where his players feel comfortable talking about mental health. He saw Landers’ video, which was viewed by nearly 135,000 people, as a sign of that.
