FOXBOROUGH — Jonnu Smith lined up alongside A.J. Brown for two years in Tennessee.
So last week when Brown shared that he’d been battling depression and suicidal thoughts during the 2020 season, his former teammate took notice. Smith said he was impressed by Brown’s “bravery” in sharing his experience and the Patriots tight end is encouraged by the way NFL players are speaking up and getting help.
“Mental health is no joke,” Smith said on Tuesday morning. “I think the biggest misconception is that because we are athletes, because we sit on a certain pedestal that we’re not allowed to show those emotions and everything is just supposed to be easy. Brush it off. I think for a lot of guys that’s the problem. People don’t really deal with the emotions and I think they just continue to weigh them down, weigh them down and put them in a dark place.”
Smith believes the league is trending in the right direction with mental health issues and considers himself an ally to any teammate that may be battling something, along with a number of other players in the locker room.
“(There are) so many people that will encourage a guy: Seek help. Be like, ‘All right man, we’re in this together. You’re my brother. I’m here for you and I can relate with you,’” Smith said. “I think it’s bold, man. It shows a sign of bravery. It’s unfortunate that we’ve got that notion to not show emotions and hide our feelings as athletes because we’re supposed to be the biggest and baddest people on the planet. But we’re humans, too. We bleed just like everyone else.”
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