W.hen the Buffalo Bills scored a late field goal against the New York Jets on Monday night to drop the victorious Jets to 2-4 in an all-New York state matchup and deal a powerful blow to their hopes of winning the AFC East title star linebacker Solomon Thomas kept it up. Yes, it's a setback, but it's not a big one.
He may be a hugely successful sports star and billionaire, but Thomas knows adversity better than anyone. Born seven weeks premature and weighing four pounds (he has since weighed almost 300), the Texas college student became one of the best linebackers in the country in two Pac-12 seasons with Stanford. He left the final year of his communications degree to enter the NFL Draft in 2017 and was selected third overall by the San Francisco 49ers. He was that good. He missed the 2020 season with an ACL injury and was released by the 49ers, but losing a year of your life is nothing when you lose a sister.
With a nation of sports fans focused on his impact, Thomas made his NFL debut just days after his 22nd birthday. He was paid around $7 million a year (about £100,000 a week) but was very unhappy with anxiety and depression. A few days into his rookie season, his older sister Ella committed suicide at age 24. It would have ended the lives of many young people. It almost cost Thomas his life, but instead opened up a whole new world for him.
Solomon told me during World Mental Health Week: “I'm very lucky to have good support from the Niners. “At that time they helped me and my family and put me in treatment, which really saved my life. It was huge. I am so grateful for your support in getting me out of the dark place I was in and starting to see the light again. Since then, I have learned more and more about coaching and have become an advocate for mental health.
Along with his parents Martha and Chris, Thomas launched The Defensive Line, a mental health charity in 2021, working with schools, clubs and businesses across the state. Three years later he won the Heisman Humanitarian Award.
“We teach mentors how to manage an educational service, a company, a classroom or a locker room in a mentally healthy way,” explains Thomas. “When your loved ones, your colleagues, your team members, your students are in a situation, they know how to deal with it, how to create a safe mental health environment so that they know how to speak freely and know the appropriate language and communication. resources. You can get professional help in that area. We teach any guide how to have a crisis action plan in case that situation arises.
In the seven years since he hit rock bottom, Thomas has seen support for player mental health grow significantly in the NFL, as in other sports. Thomas appreciates that he will have more support now than when he needed it most.
“If there had been a better environment around me, I would have gotten over it faster and wouldn't have reached a point where my back was against the wall when I started treatment.
“It has improved a lot. The NFL had a mental health initiative a few years ago that required a professional coach to be there twice a week, which gave our families and ourselves more access to mental health outside of the building and made it more important. The environment is now more accepting of help and obtains it quickly.
The day before I met Thomas, I was in Lancashire talking about the player welfare programs Rugby League Cares offers in Super League. A team of former players and coaches, turned qualified trainers, works with the club's welfare managers to move from crisis management to prevention programs. With tiny resources compared to the ocean of the NFL, British Rugby League does a fantastic job of being upside down.
“We still have a long way to go,” admits Thomas. “Teaching guys how to take care of themselves in a high-pressure environment, in an environment where the game leaves you; How to practice those things and manage your mental health, find a therapist or psychiatrist; If you need medications, how to get them and which one is appropriate, your insurance. All these things have to work.”
Positive life experiences are the most important elements. Coming to London this month with the jets was another experience. “Playing abroad is special,” Thomas said. “A lot of the guys had never left the country before, so I was really happy for them. It is very important for them to see a new place and understand that there is more than America, a way of doing things, a culture.
Tomas needs to know. A strong 2021 with the Raiders in Las Vegas led to one player moving to the East Coast and spending five years as a child in New South Wales, Manly Sea Eagles territory, thanks to his father's job at Procter & Gamble . In a reverse move, American stars do not need helmets, and Thomas, who went from playing soccer at Stanford to rugby league in Sydney, moved from Sydney to Stanford to play soccer.
“We used to go to the beach there all the time; it was really nice,” Thomas says. “It's wonderful, special. Little by little my family has returned but it has been a while. We loved our stay there, the people and their beautiful country. I definitely miss it and would love to go back, it has a warm place in my heart.
This positivity is central to the Rugby League Cares approach. In an effort to support those who are unwell, they use a wellbeing maturity model where players self-assess where they are, while academy players complete a youth wellbeing heat map which assesses their own wellbeing. physical, emotional and mental. Spiritual health prior to individual meetings with wellness managers. It is important to prevent poor mental health and increase the positive aspects of veterans' lives. The defensive line follows a similar path.
“We implement safe mental health practices (meeting room, locker room, anywhere) where everyone can be themselves, build each other up, know how to ask the right questions, how to listen, and know where to go when they need help.” says Thomas.
A prime example of how financial wealth does not equal emotional health, a key aspect of Thomas' work is encouraging his teammates to start planning for life after football.
“They need to understand that American football is not forever; The NFL is not forever; Create an identity outside of sport. You are more than a footballer: you are a man, father, brother, son, husband, whatever. You have more to offer the world than football, start preparing for it, explore yourself and understand what you want.
“That's what therapy is for: you learn what you like, your weaknesses, your strengths, what motivates you. 'What interests me outside of sport, what inspires me, what motivates me and gives me the same feeling outside of it?' Players should ask. It's huge to discover that when you're in the league, so even if he's gone, you still feel who you are when he leaves you.
At 29 years old and with seven seasons under his belt, Thomas knows that he could already be reaching the autumn of his career. What is your next move?
“I don't know what's next for me. I am interested in many things. I love mental health and will always tell the truth about it and encourage others – it will never die. But I didn't always feel like it was my calling. I see what motivates me. After this, I'm excited about my career, whatever it may be.
This month, Martha and Chris shared the stage with President Biden, Prince Harry and Matt Damon while being praised for Defensive Line at the Clinton Global Initiative. “I'm very proud of all the work they do and how much they give,” says his son. “That was really cool.”
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