Dr. Brian Hainline,

This letter is being written following another tragic loss of a student-athlete, Lauren Bernett. Lauren’s story adds to a growing series of college athletes unable to bear the weight of their circumstances: Sarah Shulz at the University of Wisconsin, Katie Meyer at Stanford University, Robert Martin at Binghamton University, and unfortunately too many more that deserved a better life. We’ve heard the importance of mental health, but have not seen the remedies.

A myriad of data points create a picture of anxiety and depression trending upwards in college athletics. Even with counseling, sport psychology, and other mental health resources rising to meet the occasion, it clearly isn’t enough. As healthcare providers who have already endured a pandemic, we see another epidemic coming to the forefront.

College athletics should be an environment where young adults can grow and develop to become the best version of themselves. Instead we are seeing lives cut short by circumstances far too common: multiplying pressure to meet unrealistic expectations, limited safe spaces to raise concerns, lack of a comprehensive support system, athletic environments that perpetuate trauma, and a lack of accountability and transparency to issues brought forward. It’s well past time to recognize these incidents are not isolated, and the impact of their losses is devastating communities across the country.

Solutions can occur at a number of levels: federal, state, and local governments, conferences, universities, programs, and even individuals have the ability to make a difference. As the governing body for hundreds of member schools, the NCAA should be championing these solutions. Systemic dysfunctions require systemic solutions. Today we are calling on the NCAA to organize a task force of independent experts associated with the various fields in college athletics to investigate the rise of suicide and self harm cases happening at our institutions. Experts should include: sport psychology, athletic training, sports performance, sport coaches, dieticians, physicians, compliance, and title IX. Additionally, an executive summary of their findings should be made available to the public, and a full report made accessible to member schools. The NCAA has taken steps in the past to assemble groups to address mental health and advance best practices. We need to go further by understanding why these resources provided by this organization have not changed the overall outcome for these victims.

Before we can solve a problem, we must first finally recognize it as being a pervasive problem. This is a step incumbent upon our responsibility to those lives we have dedicated to serve and to understand how to do it well. No young adult should feel like pain is endless and to feel the only way out is to end their life. College athletics has no place to self promote transformative growth  while also fostering intense suffering. It is time we take this challenge head on and make concerted steps towards saving lives. We cannot afford to lose time and more lives to this crisis.

Very Respectfully,

Michael Avey, MS, LAT, ATC, PES