The Arizona Cardinals celebrated a milestone victory on Sunday, December 7th, not on the field but outside the stadium. Before kickoff, several national and local organizations came together to host the Cardinals’ inaugural Raise Awareness for Mental Health activation, featuring mental health advocates, sports psychiatrists, and player development personnel.

This effort was a collaboration between the Maricopa County Medical Society, the American Board of Sports and Performance Psychiatry, the American Psychiatric Association Foundation, and the Steele Family Foundation (W.I.S.E Scholarship Program). These organizations were on a mission to bring conversations about athlete mental health out of the shadows and into the stadium.

Professional sports have traditionally celebrated toughness, especially in the National Football League (NFL), where players are often socialized to “push through” or “man up,” hiding emotional strain to maintain an image of resilience. However, this mindset continues to support harmful messaging that vulnerability is a weakness.

That perspective endangers performance and overall........

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