As we continue to highlight Black athletes open about their mental health for Black History Month, we want to also talk about the strives the other team that made it to Super Bowl LVII is making towards bettering their players’ mental health.
Understanding the importance of mental health, the NFL and NFLPA announced a joint agreement that every NFL team must have a Team Clinician on staff before the start of training camp in 2019. However, the Chiefs, were already well down the road of bringing in someone to fill this important role a year before this announcement.
Dr. Shaun Tyrance was hired to serve as the team’s first in-house clinician, only the second full-time team clinician hired by an NFL team. As a licensed therapist who specializes in working with athletes, Tyrance joined the Chiefs with years of experience helping players and coaches perform at their highest levels personally and professionally.
“We are thrilled to add Shaun [Tyrance] and his unique experience in counseling to our team,” Chiefs President Mark Donovan said. “We pride ourselves on providing a complete package of resources to our players, coaches and staff for success both in the workplace and in life outside of work.”
Tyrance added. “I’ve talked to other professional sports organizations and clubs over the years, and this was probably the first opportunity where I said, ‘They see the value in the role, and it’s really fully integrated across the organization. That was truly the thing that really caught my eye about this position. They wanted to be on the frontend of what we’re doing in the mental health space across the NFL.”
Tyrance’s main duties are to support the Chiefs players, families and friends included. “If they’re important to our players, they’re important to me. My job is to support them with any challenges, any issues or anything that they face on and off the field. I can’t be a face that they only go to when something is wrong – that’s not how I work. I’m always around and guys are in my office all the time, even when times are good. That’s a big thing for me.”
“To me, this is an opportunity that I think makes sense for the long haul. I think this is something that we can really build on and do something special with it.”
One of the Kansas City Chiefs’ players who has been open about his mental health is linebacker Willie Gay, Jr.
In 2021, he tweeted:
And in interviews he has shared with reporters that he’s had issues that have dated back to high school and college.
“I was going through some things in life, and people think these NFL players are bulletproof or whatever,” Gay told reporters. “We were taught growing up to hold it in, just go on about your day and keep distractions away, but sometimes – I got to the point where I was like I can’t shake this, and I had to tell my coaches, I had to tell people that I work with. That’s when I Tweeted it, and it was just a lot weighing on me at the time. I just had my baby boy, he’s finally here, doing good, and it was just a lot going on at the time. Sometimes you just have to let that stuff out so you can move on.”
“Coming to the NFL, man, people think everything’s perfect,” said Gay. “I’m still human at the end of the day. I still have feelings. I still get angry. I still get stressed. I can [make] 10 tackles and still be stressed. You’ve just got to be sure you balance it out, man.”
Though Gay’s journey with his mental health is ongoing, his tweet was met with support from Chiefs teammates and personnel. “Everybody was checking in on me from coaches to training staff, equipment staff, of course, all my teammates just making sure I was good when I was here. They know me well. They know when I’m having one of those days, and I feel like I’m a guy that when I’m having a good day, you’re going to know, and when I’m not, you can definitely tell. But they did a real good job with just keeping me on the right track and helping me out. A simple ‘you good bro?’ it goes a long way, and they did a real good job with that.”
Gay’s situation reminds us that it doesn’t matter what level of success you achieve in life, everyone still needs proper emotional support and understanding.
If you would like to speak to someone about better managing your stress and anxiety, or to make an appointment, please call (717) 782-6493 for more information.
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