Increasing Mental Health Awareness among Student-Athletes

Morgan’s Message:

Increase Mental Health Awareness among Student-Athletes

By Gary E. Fendler | Photographs provided by Morgan’s Message Some stories shouldn’t end. In the two-and-a-half years since Morgan Dupé Rodgers died by suicide in her college apartment in Durham, N.C., on a warm mid-July evening in 2019, the strength and support of friends and supporters throughout the greater Virginia community has been instrumental in sustaining the growth of a nonprofit organization, Morgan’s Message, whose goal is to increase awareness about the mental health challenges that affect studentathletes at the high school and collegiate levels. Morgan was a senior at Duke University and played on the D1 women’s lacrosse team. She sustained a career-ending knee injury in her sophomore year. One year after Morgan’s passing, her family, friends and former teammates gathered and decided to create Morgan’s Message. Co-founders include Dona F. Rodgers, Morgan’s mother; Morgan’s twin sister, Aberle Rodgers; Meaghan Birnie; Clare Kehoe; Elise Koehl; Maddie Roberts and Kat Zempolich. “We launched an education program (Morgan’s Message Education Program) built around studentathlete ambassadors on high school and collegiate campuses,” said her mother, who is the co-founder and president of the Gainesville-based nonprofit. “Sharing stories in safe environments is critical to eliminating the stigma and normalizing the conversation about mental health issues. Morgan suffered in silence and she lost her battle. That must change.” Fifteen months after “signing” its first campus ambassador, Morgan’s Message now has 505 ambassadors on 265 high school and collegiate campuses in 32 states, the District of Columbia and Canada. And, it grows each week. Unsurprisingly, Morgan’s Message has student-athlete ambassadors on more Virginia high schools and colleges and universities than in any other state – 30 at high schools and 19 at the collegiate level. High school ambassadors established chapters on campuses at numerous schools around the state, including Prince William and Fauquier counties. Rodgers expects even more counties will get involved, too. In Prince William, thriving high school chapters are established at Battlefield, Brentsville District, Charles J. Colgan, Patriot and Unity Reed. “We don’t recruit ambassadors,” Rodgers said. “Our ambassadors self-identify and volunteer by visiting our website and applying. We can be found at morgansmessage.org.” Rodgers said this rapid growth reflects two realities: 1) mental health challenges among student-athletes is a larger issue than commonly acknowledged and 2) using peer-to-peer conversations as a way to connect with students and encourage them to speak freely is a successful approach. “Morgan’s Message was built by and for studentathletes,” Rodgers explained. “Peer-to-peer contact puts

students at ease and allows them to share stories, to talk about their fears and concerns so they understand that they are not alone, that their feelings are valid and that it’s ok to not be ok sometimes.” Morgan’s Message hosts a weekly podcast called “The Mental Matchup” (TMM), which completes its second season in late December. Two TMM hosts, co-founder Zempolich and Schuyler DeBree, former professional soccer player and Duke classmate, interview student-athletes, coaches, administrators and medical professionals about their mental health experiences, helping to widely broadcast stories that previously were never shared or only spoken in whispers. Raising awareness among students, coaches and family and friends involves more than one conversation, Rodgers stressed. Campus ambassadors agree to conduct at least one group meeting each month with fellow athletes to discuss various topics including anxiety, depression, stress, eating disorders and injuries, among other topics. Based on attendance numbers the ambassadors share, approximately 9,000 attendees participate monthly across all campuses. In addition to monthly meetings, Dedication Games are organized between competing teams. Ambassadors from each team contact each other and agree to conduct a joint pre-game sideline presentation or broadcast a scripted message on jumbo scoreboards to spread mental health awareness among spectators, Rodgers explained. This past fall, Battlefield and Patriot High Schools’ field hockey teams held these games. We anticipate even more of these games in the upcoming spring sports seasons as well. Morgan’s Message will host the Inaugural Mo Madness Youth Lacrosse Tournament at Fauquier County’s new Central Sports Complex in Warrenton Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 1-2. It’s a twoday event for class years 2027, 2028, 2029 and 2030 and honors Morgan, who was a standout lacrosse player at Highland School, Kettle Run High School, Cardinal Girls Lacrosse and Duke University. Morgan may have lost her silent battle with the mental health challenges that afflict so many, but her passing was the catalyst for Morgan’s Message, a student-athlete-focused organization dedicated to increasing awareness of and leading the conversation about mental health.

Morgan’s story continues. For more information on Morgan’s Message, visit morgansmessage.org and/or @morgansmessage.