AFL open to prospect of establishing Mental Health Round in wake of Adam Hunter and Troy Selwood deaths

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AFL open to prospect of establishing Mental Health Round in wake of Adam Hunter and Troy Selwood deaths

The AFL is open to exploring a Mental Health Round, following calls by former players for the competition to do more to highlight the insidious issue.

The deaths of Adam Hunter and Troy Selwood last week sparked plenty of talk about the impact of mental health struggles for both current and former players.

AFL head of inclusion and social policy Tanya Hosch says a themed round to highlight mental health was “one of many suggestions we will continue to consider”.

“We have Spud’s Game, which is a really important game and extremely well supported and something that St Kilda holds… I am sure we will continue to build on that,” said Hosch, in Perth to promote Saturday’s twilight Indigenous All Stars game against Fremantle at Optus Stadium.

“What’s is most important is we are having the discussion around mental health in our society, that people in football aren’t immune from mental health issues.

“I have seen enormous progress in the code in the time I have been at the AFL and I am going into my ninth season.

Camera IconTanya Hosch with Stephen Michael in Perth on Tuesday. Credit: Daniel Carson/AFL Photos/AFL Photos via Getty Images

“As a game it is really important we don’t shy away from having these important conversations, but the conversations have to be met with actions.

“I am really pleased to say those programs and approaches and the openness with which these conversations are being had about mental health, about the drastic and extremely sad impact they can have, is being dealt with in the game.”

Spud’s Game, named in honour of late St Kilda great Danny Frawley, is an annual marquee match aimed at raising funds to fight mental ill health in Australia in the wake of his death in 2019.

Former Carlton and Brisbane forward Brendan Fevola was among the AFL and AFLW players calling for the AFL to bring the issue to the forefront with an annual mental health round.

“We see it all the time that players have mental health problems, and I just feel like the AFL aren’t equipped … or doesn’t shine enough light on mental health for men,” Fevola said.

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ND/TheWest

“It doesn’t get spoken about enough … when I was going through some problems, I never told anyone. I thought I was this big footy player, I earn a bit of money, and if I said something I thought people wouldn’t like me.”

Carlton and West *********** great Ken Hunter, who was hospitalised with severe depression in the 1980s, called on AFL clubs to make a key change in player ******** management as the football community emerges from a dark week.

Adam Hunter was found unresponsive at a home near Bunbury early last Thursday morning after training with his South Bunbury club. Selwood died 24 hours earlier.

“As an industry we can do a lot better,” Ken Hunter told The Herald Sun ahead of a past players event taking place at the end of February which will feature a panel of former players talking about their post-football struggles.

“I spoke publicly about mental health in 1999 and I was the first person to do that.

“I think the industry could do a lot better and there should be a full-time ******** person similar to what Gavin Crosisca is doing at Collingwood.

“Mental illness doesn’t have to be a life sentence.

“There needs be a holistic approach. I was able to get through a really tough time and if we could work together as an industry we could do a lot better.”

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Former West Coast Eagle Brayden Ainsworth — who is now a leading men’s mental health advocate and youth wellbeing worker — told The West *********** there were ample resources available to ex-players, but stigmas around speaking up and asking for help meant they were unlikely to access them.

“The stigma still plays a massive role. . . and as much as it’s getting talked about and getting better, I still think there’s that stigma behind it,” he told The West ***********.

“You’re built to be tough, you’re built to be self-reliant, hyper-focused and you struggle to see talking and opening up and asking for help as a strength. We keep continuing to see it as weakness.

“You’re also admitting that you are struggling and that the problem actually becomes real.

“That’s the scariest thing, we push these feelings down — or these emotions down, or the challenges — and as soon as we actually talk about them, that’s when they actually become real.”

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#AFL #open #prospect #establishing #Mental #Health #wake #Adam #Hunter #Troy #Selwood #deaths

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