New Stay in the Game Network will advance mental wellness
On Tuesday, June 11 more than 100 leaders gathered in New York for the inaugural Stay in the Game Forum - Beyond Sport’s first-ever convening of leaders from across the US sport, healthcare, social change, business, academia and development sectors to explore sport’s potential as a platform and a catalyst to promote mental wellness.
Hosted at MLB's offices and held alongside Headline Partners, the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention (Action Alliance) and Centerstone, Official Partners, the Citrone 33 Foundation and USA Cycling, and Beyond Sport’s Founding US Major League Supporters -- MLB, MLS, NBA, NFL, NHL and the WNBA -- the new initiative prioritises a public health issue that affects over 40 million Americans.
“Mental wellness is something that touches all our lives and sport has an opportunity to lead - through the athletes that speak openly, through creating the right environment for openness and through the benefits of participation. To bring the leagues together with such knowledgeable partners means we have the opportunity to grow a valuable network that allows us to break down barriers and encourage positive change within the industry around this vital issue," said Nick Keller, Founder and President of Beyond Sport.
Building on themes of collaboration, inspiration and education, the Forum opened with remarks from the Action Alliance to set the context, followed by an expert panel on ‘Sport’s Opportunity’ to address mental health issues featuring representatives from the Citrone 33 Foundation, MLB, Everton in the Community, the Positive Coaching Alliance and the NFL.
Attendees were then inspired by a powerful talk from Beyond Sport Ambassador, NFL Hall of Famer and Impact Foundation President, Brian Dawkins, who shared his own experiences and challenged the room to make sure the conversations went beyond the day.
“Pressure builds in silence when you allow it. Collaborative forums like Stay in the Game are what we need to be doing going forward, but we have to make sure to take the discussions out of the room. We need to challenge ourselves to think outside the box and figure out the actionable things we can do with the expertise of the partners we have. I refuse to settle. Our cerebral wellness is worth it,” he stated.
To increase the collective knowledge base and to stimulate ideas for other organisations, researcher, league and team case studies from The New School, the NBA and the Vancouver Canucks were presented to showcase national and international best practice examples of how sport has been used to address mental health.
Activity