He believes the culture of professional football places a high stigma on mental health, making players feel they need to suppress their emotions and just man up.

“in football there's a lot because there's a stigma in football of um you know it's very Macho and you have to you know you have to be um you have to man up you know like you you have to there's this stigma”

Ryan Leaf believes the biggest barrier to athletes seeking help for mental health is the stigma that makes them fear being perceived as weak.

“the fear of someone known knowing that you are hurting is worse than than getting the help that you need and that's the bigger problem in all this”

Acknowledging and sharing struggles with mental health is important for athletes.

“Lane Lane kind of paved the way for that. I think mental health because I tell people all the time it's like wiping your ass with your other hand. Or another one people can relate to using a mouse with your left hand. Like if you're sitting at a desk all day use your mouse in your left hand.”

He emphasizes that athletes should vocalize their struggles and seek professional assistance to properly manage their mental well-being.

“I would say first you go talk to somebody, get help. Um, you know, I I I would tell them that in my experience with a therapist, it's amazing to me how they can walk you down this path and lead you to different answers on the way um just about yourself that you might not know.”

He believes that athletes sharing their mental health struggles humanizes them and helps others in the sports community.

“I think it humanized a lot of athletes that are often just seen as these high-performing beings and then you don't realize that they have a conversation in their mind.”

Athletes should avoid thinking about their mental health and instead focus on using their minds solely as operating systems for their physical performances.

“their body is their temple and their mind only works as the operating system of their body their mind should not be this uh you know flourishing and important part of what they do their mind should be uh simply like taking order giving orders to their body”

Teofimo Lopez views personal struggles and obstacles as essential parts of his journey that help him understand his own potential and limits.

“I think that's like part of the journey is like you learn with struggle, you learn with um obstacles, and you also learn within yourself what you can and cannot do.”

The speaker argues that excessive focus on training as a way to avoid fear is counterproductive and actually sustains the cycle of anxiety.

“interestingly enough by feeding that fear with all the reassurance whether it be hours and hours and hours upon of kicking or training that's telling me you know giving me the greatest guarantee i could possibly hope for which was no guarantee at all never did anything but it never sort of fulfilled”