"I started experiencing emotions I’ve never felt before": When Dak Prescott shared his battle with depression
Quarterbacks are expected to be leaders on the field, executing the team's strategies at the highest level. They are expected to be mentally strong in addition to their physical attributes. However, they are still human and can succumb to all the pressure surrounding them.
Prescott, earning $60 million per year, is the highest-paid athlete in NFL history. But things weren't all smooth for the Cowboys QB, especially when he joined the big leagues in 2016. After being picked in the fourth round, he battled other internal struggles from time to time.
Dak Prescott revealed in a 2020 interview on "In Depth with Graham Bensinger" that he struggled with anxiety and mental depression during quarantine.
"All throughout this quarantine and this offseason, I started experiencing emotions I've never felt before. Anxiety for the main one. And then, honestly, a couple of days before my brother passed, I would say I started experiencing depression.
"Mental health leads to the health of everything else. Before I can lead, I have to make sure my mind is in the right place to do that and lead people to where they want to be. I think that it's important to be vulnerable, to be genuine and to be transparent."
Later that year, Dak Prescott shared with reporters how he managed to get help and overcome depression, explaining the importance of communication:
"As I explained, it creates new emotions -- emotions that I've never felt before but obviously dealt with," he said. "And I obviously got the help that I needed and was very open about it. I think that's why I was fortunate enough to get over it, as not all of us are.
"I think it's huge to talk. I think its huge to get help. And it saves lives."
Skipp Bayless caught flak for his take on Dak Prescott's 'vulnerability'
Dak Prescott was confident about opening up on the issue and wanted to inspire others to do the same, but Fox commentator Skip Bayless criticized Prescott's behavior since he felt a QB is the ultimate leadership position in football.
"You are commanding an entire franchise," Bayless said on Undisputed. "They’re all looking to you to be their CEO, to be in charge of the football team. Because of all that, I don’t have sympathy for him going public with, ‘I got depressed. I suffered depression early in COVID to the point where I couldn’t even go work out.’ Look, he’s the quarterback of America’s Team.”
Bayless caught a lot of flak online for what many perceived to be an insensitive and irresponsible take on psychological health, and he later explained himself on "Undisputed":
“This is the final point — one that I’m told was misconstrued by many: The only Dak depression I addressed on yesterday’s show was from an interview he taped with Graham Bensinger. Dak said that depression happened soon after the pandemic hit, early in the quarantine.”
"I want to reiterate some points I made (Thursday) on the show about Dak Prescott and the depression that he discusses. As I strongly stated, I have great compassion for anyone suffering clinical depression, which is very real. If you are suffering from any form of depression, please seek help."
The general feeling from the public was very positive for Dak Prescott, who many felt was doing great work to promote well-being among men.