Aaron Rodgers is back with the Packers after an extended holdout from the franchise in the offseason. Now, we are just a few weeks away from NFL action and Rodgers fully intends on playing for the team he has spent his whole career with. After this season, Rodgers' contract stipulates that he can choose to leave the team if he wants and that the Packers will not argue if he demands a trade. Regardless, this season is going to be interesting for the Packers, especially as Rodgers looks to prove himself.
Over the past couple of weeks, Rodgers has spoken out about mental health and how it relates to his career. He even spoke passionately about the Simone Biles situation and how athletes just need to do what's right for them, no matter the circumstances. In a report from Kevin Clark of The Ringer, Rodgers spoke about mental health and how every player can make a difference by speaking on these topics openly and freely.
Stacy Revere/Getty Images
“Well, we should keep talking about it,” Rodgers said. “Keep talking about ways that we individually deal with stress and deal with anxiety and deal with pressure and deal with depression or loneliness. I think that would really help. Because we, whether we like it or not, have a platform to influence people. And our words are often listened to more than the person who’s not in the public eye as much. So we have an opportunity—not an obligation, an opportunity—to maybe share some of our own ways of dealing with things and break some of the stigma around mental health.”
Mental health is especially important in football which is a sport that is oftentimes brutal on one's psyche. Numerous players have succumbed to mental health-related problems, and it's good to see such a massive star being an advocate for those who have suffered and are still suffering.
Stacy Revere/Getty Images
[Via]