KC Chiefs’ Willie Gay Jr. speaks for 1st time about cryptic October mental health tweet
Chiefs linebacker Willie Gay Jr. addressed the media Saturday for the first time since tweeting about his mental health on Oct. 8.
Not only did Gay say he felt supported by coach Andy Reid during that time and the days that followed, the second-year pro out of Mississippi State also said he also has heard from numerous teammates, members of the coaching staff, fans and others from around the organization who’ve expressed their best wishes, too.
The tweet, posted Oct. 8, was cryptic and left some downright worried about Gay’s mental state: “I love you all just know my mental health is F’d up,” Gay’s tweet said.
“Everybody was texting me,” Gay said Saturday about what happened after his tweet. “Everybody was checking in on me, from coaches to training staff, equipment staff, and of course, all my teammates, just making sure I was good when I was here.
“They know me well. They know when I’m having one of those days, because I feel like I’m a guy that, when I’m having a good day, you’re going to know. And when I’m not, you can definitely tell. They did a real good job of keeping me on the right track and helping me out.”
Gay revealed Saturday that he’s been dealing with stress since he was in high school. And then it became more of an issue while he was at Mississippi State, he said.
“I still remember since college recruiting, when the real stress actually started,” he said. “And it hasn’t stopped since then.”
The Chiefs used a second-round pick to select Gay in the 2020 NFL Draft. Gay said he eventually felt the need to talk to the team about his situation, and to say something about it via social media — hence the tweet.
“I was going through some things in life,” he said. “People think these NFL players are like bulletproof or whatever. We’re taught growing up to hold it in and just go on about your day and keep distractions away, but sometimes I got to the point to where I was, ‘I can’t shake this.’ I had to tell my coaches and tell people that I work with, and that’s when I tweeted it.
“There was just a lot weighing on me at the time. I just had my baby boy, and he’s finally here doing good. There was just a lot going on at the time. Sometimes you’ve got to just let that stuff out so you can move on.”
Since his social media post in early October, Gay said he has met with the Chiefs’ in-house team clinician, Dr. Shaun Tyrance, to address his mental health.
Gay said Saturday that things have “been going up so far” on his path to metal well-being. He said his teammates and other members of the Chiefs organization continue to fully support him.
“A simple, ‘Are you good, bro?’ it goes a long way,” Gay said. “They did a real good job of that.”
Mental health has been identified as an issue of importance in the NFL for at least several years now, as players have become more open about the struggles they face off the field.
