Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2016 | Indiana Daily Student | idsnews.com
FOOTBALL
Former player writes book
IDS
Former football linebacker tells tales of adversity By Jordan Guskey jguskey@indiana.edu | @JordanGuskey
Matt Mayberry’s drug habit began when he was in eighth grade. It only snowballed from there. It wasn’t just underage drinking or smoking marijuana. The only drug Mayberry hadn’t tried was heroin. His mother has seen him use cocaine five times. His high school guidance counselor told him at age 16 he would be dead or in jail by his 18th birthday. When Mayberry finally attended a drug treatment facility his sophomore year of high school, it wasn’t because it would keep him from getting expelled. “I went because my grandparents offered me $500 if I went,” Mayberry said. “And, as a true addict, I started to think of all the things and drugs I could buy with that $500.” Two weeks later while eating dinner with his family, his father broke down in tears. His parents asked him what they did wrong, and Mayberry said he had an epiphany. “That caused me to look at myself in the mirror,” Mayberry said, “and for the first time in three years I was very clearly able to see what a disgusting human being I’d been.” Soon, Mayberry would be getting his life together and starring at linebacker for IU. He’d earn a shot at making it in the NFL, and although adversity would strike again, Mayberry’s path would lead him to public speaking and writing — and it would set him up to steer others in the right direction. * * * All but a handful of Matt Mayberry’s IU football teammates were unaware of the path he’d taken to get there. Even fewer on the Chicago Bears, who picked him up as an undrafted free agent in 2010, knew why he had worked so hard for a shot at playing in the NFL. If not for a left ankle injury in the 2010 preseason opener against the San Diego Chargers, they all might not have. The injury kept him out for nine months instead of six and led to an injury settlement that ended his dream of playing in the NFL. Then, another door opened. Stedman Graham, who ran a nonprofit called Athletes Against Drugs, called to ask Mayberry to speak about his life experiences at an event. Mayberry said no to Graham at first, but then he changed his mind soon after hanging up the phone. “Within five minutes I started to realize that I was feeling sorry for myself,” Mayberry said. “My circumstances were really getting the best of me. I was thinking about my injury and making it to this point in my life and overcoming a teenage drug addiction when I was 16 years old.” Mayberry said he knew he wanted to be a motivational speaker for the rest of his life after the first event. Now 29, he speaks regularly and writes for Entrepreneur Magazine and Fortune Magazine. * * * Mayberry pulls from his teenage drug addiction, NFL Draftday disappointment and careerending injury to show people how SEE FOOTBALL, PAGE 10
HAIL
to the ALE
NOBLE GUYON | IDS
Motorcycle enthusiasts watch as Dean Bordigioni parks his vintage motorcycle at the Harley-Davidson dealership in Bloomington. Bloomington is an overnight stop for the group of motorcyclists, traveling from Atlantic City, New Jersey, to Carlsbad, California, a distance totaling 3,304 miles.
Hoosier pitstop Transcontinental motorcyclists spend the night in Bloomington By Lindsay Moore liramoor@indiana.edu | @_lindsaymoore
Lynn Cowles said she heard the 100-year-old bike before she saw it. After calling in sick to her bartending job in Medora, Indiana, she and her husband Brad rode up to Bloomington on their 1999 Harley Davidson Dyna Low Rider. Four hours of sitting in the sun later, she spotted the first motorcyclist rounding the corner on Old State Road 46. “Sounds like a tractor engine,” Brad said. Mark Zuber of Seymour, Indiana, leaned over to look through the trees in the HarleyDavidson parking lot. “Or like a sewing machine,” he said. The first few pre-1916 motorcycles trickled into the Bloomington dealership Tuesday afternoon as part of the Transcontinental Motorcycle Cannonball Century Race. The 17-day ride started Saturday in Atlantic City, New Jersey, and will continue to Carlsbad, California, and register approximately 3,304 miles. The service team and all 95 riders will stay overnight in Bloomington, the only Indiana stop on the route, before eventually heading to Dodge City, Kansas, for a day of rest and festivities in the Western-era cattle town this Sunday. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime thing to see this many 100-year-old bikes in one spot and to see them actually working,”
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime thing to see this many 100-year-old bikes in one spot and to see them actually working.” Lynn Cowles, motorcycle enthusiast
Lynn said. The crowd made a pathway for the bikers and cheered as they came in groups of twos and threes. “I’ve never seen anything like this outside of a museum or TV,” Brad said. The antique bikes with their leather seats and exposed engines don’t look much different than the motorcycle Bill Brogon of Daytona, Florida, made when he was a teenager back in New Jersey. When he was 17, Brogon attached a lawn mower engine on his bicycle and got his drivers license. He hasn’t stopped riding since. Brogon has followed the Cannonball race with three friends for the past four years. They set off before 5 a.m. Saturday to beat the motorcyclists to their first stop in Pennsylvania. By the end of it Brogon said he and his friends put on more miles than the actual racers, but they try to stay out of the way and keep their distance. Brogon has never entered the race, but he’s keeping his options open, he said.
The Daytona riders know some of the racers and mechanics on the service team. The four of them carry spare tires and extra fuel to help out. On the trip up from Ohio, Brogon helped one of the Cannonball riders with an electrical connector but other than that he stayed a good 100 feet behind them. Brogon rides in Florida every day, which is one of the reasons he moved there. He has an old truck, but he uses it so sparingly he has to charge the battery before he goes, he said. The four friends take turns leading the route every day. Brogon’s favorite spot is in northwest Florida in a suburb of Jacksonville called Saint John. Just 10 miles from the Atlantic Ocean, he takes leisurely rides on his 2014 Harley-Davidson Road King around winding, tree covered roads. On average, they do about 300 miles a day, Brogon said. Tuesday was a short trip — only 270 miles, he said. With that much time on the road, Brogon said he’s often left alone with his thoughts. He thinks about everything, he said, but mostly his two sons, who also own and ride antique bikes. The crowd at the Harley-Davidson pitstop is a predictable depiction of motorcycle enthusiasts: long beards, leather pants and skull bandanas. But the bikers are excited and friendly. They compare SEE MOTORCYCLE, PAGE 10
Event aims to reduce mental health stigma By Kate McNeal khmcneal@umail.iu.edu | @katemcneal11
Participants stood in a classroom and moved to either side as words were called out. Psychotic. Personality disorder. Feeling hopeless. Life of the party. Risk-taker. People moved to each side based on whether they thought the description fit mentally well or unwell as part of an event by Alpha Kappa Alpha and therapists from Counseling and Psychological Services on Tuesday evening. The event dealt with mental health stigma as part of Elimination of Prejudice Week, sponsored by Pi Lambda Phi, a fraternity founded on inclusiveness. Other events in Elimination of Prejudice Week include discussions on gender, religion and mental health. Students have also been able to write words they feel are prejudicial on a wall that has been moving around campus. On Saturday, the wall will be broken down. “The main goal was decreasing the mental health stigma and having a more open conversation about mental health disorders,” said Laura Conner, a presenter at
the event and therapist at CAPS. AKA makes it a goal to be the host of or participate in events that raise mental health awareness as part of their initiative as an organization, said senior Justus Coleman, president of the IU chapter of AKA. “It’s my hope that the takeaway is thinking through those stigmas and working to eliminate them,” Coleman said. The presentation identified signs of distress and response skills, including how to have a conversation with someone in distress. Tips include naming the signs you have observed, expressing concern and using active listening skills. Toward the end of the presentation, participants were given a scenario about someone in distress and discussed how to handle the situation. “It helped me have a better understanding of how to deal with someone that has a mental health issue,” Coleman said. The event was also a way to put a face to CAPS and encourage students to visit CAPS if they needed help or to talk to someone, Conner said. “It’s a big barrier coming into
ANDREW WILLIAMS | IDS
Alpha Kappa Alpha senior Tenisha Howard practices active listening by acting out scenarios with other AKA sisters Tuesday evening in Ballantine Hall. The event, hosted by Alpha Kappa Alpha, Pi Lambda Phi, and Counseling and Psychological Services, is aimed at ending stigmas present in society against mental health.
our office, and the stigma hinders students from being able to advocate for themselves,” Conner said. CAPS also has other outreach opportunities in the effort to erase stigma, said Kellen Fox, presenter and therapist at CAPS. These include peer counseling, informal counseling conversations and professional counseling.
“It’s important to realize everyone struggles at some point and it’s normal. It’s okay to reach out and get help,” Fox said. Conner also said having a mental health issue is common and if it’s not talked about, the stigma will grow.
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