Ricky Williams reflects on the NFL’s growth in mental health awareness
This week, Ed Easton Jr. of Chiefs Wire spoke with retired All-Pro running back Ricky Williams.
In his interview with Easton Jr., Williams discussed his partnership with Panini America after being hosted with several other NFL players and legends at the Panini Prizm VIP lounge in San Francisco during Super Bowl LX week. He also acknowledged the NFL’s changing approach to mental health awareness.
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“A couple of events that are memorable for me after I started playing college and then professional football. The first was getting into a video game. That’s probably the first and the second closest was getting my own card and then the third was starting to sign cards.” Williams said, “Because when I was a kid, it’s like if you signed a card, the value was going down and it’s changed dramatically since then, since I was a kid, and now that’s what people want the Plus, these are signed cards, signed and so it’s beautiful because the cards have become a piece of memorabilia, something that the athletes have to sign.
Williams boldly stepped away from football to focus on his mental health at the height of his career in the early 2000s. He has noticed the league’s positive approach since retiring in 2012.
“I like to be proud to think that I had something to do with this change in the NFL,” Williams said. “I think over the last 20 years there’s been a change, pretty much everywhere, people are more open to discussions and providing more support when it comes to mental health. But the nature of the NFL is that they didn’t have to follow the trend, and they did, and I commend them for that.”
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Players such as former Kansas City Chiefs 2020 first-round pick Clyde Edwards-Helaire have sought help for their issues in order to continue their NFL careers.
“It’s difficult because football is a very tough sport; it took a while for mental health to set in,” Williams said. “So I think the NFL does a great job of providing players with the support they need when they need it.”
Panini is the exclusive trading card partner of the NFL. You can get Panini NFL Trading Cards at Walmart, Target, hobby stores nationwide and atwww.PaniniAmerica.net.
This article originally appeared on Chiefs Wire: Ricky Williams reflects on the NFL’s growing awareness of mental health.
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