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UW soph Isaiah Renfro retires from football - courageous

Buffnik

Real name isn't Nik
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We have talked a lot about mental health in threads about gun violence and other things. But I wanted to use this forum to post this story. Renfro would have been a sophomore next season. He missed spring ball for undisclosed personal reasons and then it was announced that he would not be returning. Petersen protected his privacy (kudos - he's one of the good ones... and **** Art Briles for trying to throw him under the bus on the vetting of the rapist transfer).

Renfro chose to release the following statement, which received a lot of twitter support from teammates and - hopefully - will help to shed more light on mental health while also reducing the societal stigmas.

- Tweet from Isaiah Renfro account @WaveGodZay -

"Before anything I want to thank the doctors and my close friends for getting me out of a dark place before it was too late. This year has been one of the toughest times I've ever had to endure in my life," the tweet read. "While going through this year I have struggled with and have been diagnosed with depression and anxiety. Everyday it's very hard for me to do just a simple thing like get myself out bed in the morning. This entire year I have pushed through and gave it my all, till I had none left. I hate failure so I felt like I'd be cheating myself by quitting. But I started to see myself changing...I wasn't the same, I lost love for the game I've been playing ever since I could walk, and it seemed more like a job to me than fun. Waking up in the morning got harder and harder, till it got to the point where I didn't want to wake up at all. I missed spring practice because I was checked in the hospital. I was in a special program for people like me, that taught me how to cope with my problems and what to do when I hit the lowest of lows. I didn't know how bad I got until it was almost too late. But coming out of the hospital, I have a better outlook on life, I'm more and more happy each day I wake up, because I'm able to wake up. I feel that for me to continue my process of getting healthy again I need to step away from the game of football. I will no longer be playing football and will no longer be attending UW. I want to thank Coach Pete, Coach Bush and all the rest of the coaches and staff, for the opportunity and for the continued support. I also want to thank my teammates for allowing me to be a part of the brotherhood that is the football team. And for all the dawg fans out there for making me feel like I was worth something every time I put on that jersey and stepped on the field. This isn't the end for me, just the end of a certain chapter. I will conquer this, and not let this situation conquer me. I'm on a journey to find my happiness again."

There's a more complete article on Rivals: https://washington.n.rivals.com/new...ens-up-about-anxiety-depress-retiring-from-uw
 
We have talked a lot about mental health in threads about gun violence and other things. But I wanted to use this forum to post this story. Renfro would have been a sophomore next season. He missed spring ball for undisclosed personal reasons and then it was announced that he would not be returning. Petersen protected his privacy (kudos - he's one of the good ones... and **** Art Briles for trying to throw him under the bus on the vetting of the rapist transfer).

Renfro chose to release the following statement, which received a lot of twitter support from teammates and - hopefully - will help to shed more light on mental health while also reducing the societal stigmas.

- Tweet from Isaiah Renfro account @WaveGodZay -

"Before anything I want to thank the doctors and my close friends for getting me out of a dark place before it was too late. This year has been one of the toughest times I've ever had to endure in my life," the tweet read. "While going through this year I have struggled with and have been diagnosed with depression and anxiety. Everyday it's very hard for me to do just a simple thing like get myself out bed in the morning. This entire year I have pushed through and gave it my all, till I had none left. I hate failure so I felt like I'd be cheating myself by quitting. But I started to see myself changing...I wasn't the same, I lost love for the game I've been playing ever since I could walk, and it seemed more like a job to me than fun. Waking up in the morning got harder and harder, till it got to the point where I didn't want to wake up at all. I missed spring practice because I was checked in the hospital. I was in a special program for people like me, that taught me how to cope with my problems and what to do when I hit the lowest of lows. I didn't know how bad I got until it was almost too late. But coming out of the hospital, I have a better outlook on life, I'm more and more happy each day I wake up, because I'm able to wake up. I feel that for me to continue my process of getting healthy again I need to step away from the game of football. I will no longer be playing football and will no longer be attending UW. I want to thank Coach Pete, Coach Bush and all the rest of the coaches and staff, for the opportunity and for the continued support. I also want to thank my teammates for allowing me to be a part of the brotherhood that is the football team. And for all the dawg fans out there for making me feel like I was worth something every time I put on that jersey and stepped on the field. This isn't the end for me, just the end of a certain chapter. I will conquer this, and not let this situation conquer me. I'm on a journey to find my happiness again."

There's a more complete article on Rivals: https://washington.n.rivals.com/new...ens-up-about-anxiety-depress-retiring-from-uw
That's a great story and really resonates a lot with me. He's a very courageous man to acknowledge the problem, seek help and ultimately make a tough decision in order to focus on overcoming his mental illness. Kudos to Mr. Renfro, and good luck to him in his recovery.

Mental illness is a serious problem in this country and is often overlooked in certain aspects of life, one of which being both amateur and professional athletics. It's important to remember that athletes are humans too and deal with the same emotional and mental issues that the rest of us deal with.
 
Courageous and impressive young man.

Thankfully he was able to get help and support. To many similar situations end up with a suicide or other less than positive outcome.

His willingness to go public with it may just save another life, the contact I have had with people with depression and related mental illnesses frequently includes them feeling they are the only one or that nobody will support them if they do seek help.

Also those coaches and teammates have taken a step up in my view. Great to see them putting the person ahead of the player.
 
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Great story, thanks for putting it here. Too many young adults get there first major mental health downturn at this age and commit suicide, implode or heavily self medicate with drugs or alcohol. The pressures of being a student athlete are not minor. It is great that he sought help and that he got excellent support from the coaches and his team mates. Best wishes for him.
 
Good for him and yes it's a very serious thing. Football is just a damn game, your life isn't.
 
Good for him and yes it's a very serious thing. Football is just a damn game, your life isn't.
Disagree.

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A lot of pressure is put on 18 year old kids who play P5 football. The kid is correct when he says the game is more like a job. Good for him.
 
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