Colts LB Shaquille Leonard sheds light on his mental health struggles during awareness month - “Knew I needed help”
Indianapolis Colts star linebacker Shaquille Leonard has been a big proponent of mental health over the last couple of years. His voice has been powerful all across the league, and he has now shared a powerful message about his struggles via the NFL Players Association:
"I knew I needed help, and for a long time, I didn't reach out. Once I did reach out, I knew that's what made it better for me. A lot of people have a stigma, specially as men, that you can't show weakness.
"I'm letting the world know as a professional football, a linebacker, one of the most aggressive positions on the field, there's still no weakness because you're having mental health issues."
Indianapolis #Colts All-Pro linebacker Shaq Leonard with an extremely powerful message on mental health
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Over the past couple of years, Leonard has shed light on the issue in different ways. After the loss against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 18 of the 2021 season, which ended the Colts' playoff hopes, he said in an interview with the Indy Star that he didn't feel like himself for more than two months:
“I ask everybody how they’re doing. Sometimes it’s OK to ask me how I’m doing. Don’t ask me just to ask me. Ask me to truly have a conversation with me and to understand that I’m a human, too. I have problems. I go through things that a lot of people are going through.
"Last year, I wasn’t in the right mental space to hold everybody accountable. I felt like I let the team down in that aspect in the last two games."
Shaquille Leonard hopes to bounce back in 2023
An injury-ridden season for the linebacker had him sidelined for all but three games, and he couldn't provide any impact for the Colts in what turned out to be an awful season for the team, resulting in the firing of head coach Frank Reich.
In his five seasons in the league, Leonard has been elected an All-Pro four times and also made the Pro Bowl from 2019 to 2021. He's certainly a superstar in the position.
After years of accepting mediocre seasons with quarterbacks at the end of their careers, the Indianapolis Colts fell apart in 2022, finishing with only four wins. The franchise completely changed its ideology because of it.
When Frank Reich was fired, the idea was to keep the old-school mode with Jeff Saturday. The leadership now is under a completely opposite profile after Shane Steichen arrived from the Philadelphia Eagles with a completely different vision following two successful years.