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Speaker 1: Welcome to the NFL Players Podcast. I'm as Williams. I'm

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Speaker 1: joined today by Stephon Marvis. I'm excited because can you

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Speaker 1: say signa with me? Not only the resources that are

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Speaker 1: available to legends and current players Drew Signer, but also

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Speaker 1: the story of the disappointed expectations, guiney, counseling, coming into manhood.

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Speaker 1: All of those things have covered with Stefan's story. Let's

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Speaker 1: listen in Well, I just want to tell you step

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Speaker 1: On that you've made me feel a lot more wiser

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Speaker 1: when you told me that your dad came to these

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Speaker 1: Southern University on a recruiting trip and I hosted him

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Speaker 1: while playing the Southern man. I feel like I have

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Speaker 1: to I'm not older, I'm wiser. How about that, he

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Speaker 1: said him in this story at least twice a year.

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Speaker 1: So when I told him that you was gonna be

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Speaker 1: hosting the podcast, like, he was just so overjoyed. Tell

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Speaker 1: them telling the story, telling a story that that I

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Speaker 1: met him, any hosted me, see if you remember, So

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Speaker 1: take me through your interfol experience from leaving Penn State

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Speaker 1: and the recent that you had uh International Football League. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: so absolutely prod and Penn State talked to of course

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Speaker 1: a good amount of teams that led to the waiting

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Speaker 1: period of being drafted or not drafted, talking to actually

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Speaker 1: three teams including New England doing a draft that I

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Speaker 1: thought I was gonna be picked up at me and

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Speaker 1: round picks. Well later that didn't come about. Uh. Spoke

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Speaker 1: with of course my agent and trying to identify was

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Speaker 1: the best possible place where I can make the team

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Speaker 1: with that being New Wingland and him knowing Bill having

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Speaker 1: a good relationship with Mr belichat UH, we end up

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Speaker 1: deciding to go to New England. So, I want to

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Speaker 1: say maybe three four days later, I ended up flying

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Speaker 1: out to to Foxborough. We had rookie minicamp, did pretty well.

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Speaker 1: Next thing, you know was regular mini camp and O

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Speaker 1: t A. So I got to learn behind the key

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Speaker 1: to leave at the time Rosalie Darling Uh, that was

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Speaker 1: in my dB room as well as Devin reporting cool.

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Speaker 1: Absolutely just love and try to pick his brain every

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Speaker 1: every day being around Tom graded even though a short

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Speaker 1: period of time. What what did you see? What are

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Speaker 1: some trades you saw the Tom that you know goes

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Speaker 1: into why he's had such a career that he's had.

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Speaker 1: Tom is a pro in all aspects, the way he trained,

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Speaker 1: the way he prepares like Tom is just a pro.

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Speaker 1: I saw that first hand. I remember my first time

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Speaker 1: coming to New England, like he was, as I mentioned

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Speaker 1: already in the Wait for But he was just he

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Speaker 1: was just prepared. He's prepared, and he's he can adapt

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Speaker 1: to Belichick likes to change things on the fly and practice.

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Speaker 1: So we could be in team meetings talk about how

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Speaker 1: we going, you know, stop this or how are we

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Speaker 1: going to disguise this concept and three minutes say that

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Speaker 1: we get the team practice and maybe Thomas killing us boom,

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Speaker 1: Let's try a different way. But Tom is able to

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Speaker 1: adapt and prepare for anything. So I was very confident

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Speaker 1: going into training camp. I already knew what to expect.

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Speaker 1: I was sort of adapting to the Patreon way and

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Speaker 1: end up having a really good early party. Camp messed

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Speaker 1: up my hands in the first time I got healthy.

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Speaker 1: My very first game, it was against the Giants. It

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Speaker 1: was a play Outland did maybe two million times covering

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Speaker 1: the point punishing ship. I gotta cut back under the

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Speaker 1: devil team told my hamster, and I just knew it's

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Speaker 1: weird because I knew it was over for me. Like

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Speaker 1: I knew. It was a picture that my dad sent

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Speaker 1: me three weeks ago. He sent me physic three weeks ago,

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Speaker 1: and it was on NFL network and he just took

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Speaker 1: a picture of that play and me on the sideline

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Speaker 1: when they showed it. But you can just see it

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Speaker 1: in my face that I knew like that was my

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Speaker 1: last plan. So I still I still kept hoping. Of

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Speaker 1: course I had to get healthy. That's sick some time

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Speaker 1: that played apart mentally and physically. I just couldn't never

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Speaker 1: get over the physical barrow. I think it was more

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Speaker 1: so just it was mental. Did you know I go

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Speaker 1: an attempt to play in the cfilm When did you

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Speaker 1: decided to call in your career? Yep. So I originally

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Speaker 1: didn't want to go to the CFL. I fought my

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Speaker 1: agent on this. I still find my agent on this.

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Speaker 1: Every time we talked. We got a good relationship. I

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Speaker 1: just thought that I was an NFL player. So coming

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Speaker 1: from the NFL and ben in you know, NFL locker

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Speaker 1: room and performing in practice, you know that you should

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Speaker 1: be there. I just felt like the CFL was was

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Speaker 1: kind of beneath me. So my preparation going to the

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Speaker 1: NFL wasn't the same as my preparation going to the CFL.

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Speaker 1: I knew it was over because I asked him to

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Speaker 1: release me. I just don't want to pay foot. I

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Speaker 1: didn't want want them be in a CFIL and that

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Speaker 1: was just a part of I wasn't the man yet.

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Speaker 1: I felt entitled. Going from D one, a big time

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Speaker 1: D one school, to New England to the CFL, I

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Speaker 1: caught entitled, so I asked them to release me. How

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Speaker 1: did you come to terms with the fact that your

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Speaker 1: NFL experience was not going to meet your own expectations.

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Speaker 1: It took me a while, so growing up, you know

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Speaker 1: that was my way out of football. Ass As you

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Speaker 1: may playing this game from six years old, you have dreams.

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Speaker 1: As for Rachels, my favorite player at that point of

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Speaker 1: time was Emma Smith. I wanted to have a career

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Speaker 1: like Emma Smith, but I also watch guys like you

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Speaker 1: and he is both Wishon's broad and Broad and Charles

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Speaker 1: Wudson Dion of course, so I wanted to emulate my

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Speaker 1: game after you guys, and also achieved the amount of

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Speaker 1: success that you guys have put in as well. Thank you.

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Speaker 1: Little did I know that you know that thirteen year

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Speaker 1: career that I dreamed of, and me being financial stable

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Speaker 1: and being able to provide and do everything I didn't

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Speaker 1: dreamed of at the early age that it would end

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Speaker 1: in six months, So me coming to terms with it,

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Speaker 1: I didn't come to terms until I became a man.

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Speaker 1: Even though I was already twenty three years old during

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Speaker 1: that time my career, I still wasn't a man yet.

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Speaker 1: I was still I still identified myself as a football player,

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Speaker 1: step the football player. I wasn't stuff on, but I didn't.

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Speaker 1: I didn't come to terms until I seek help, until

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Speaker 1: I went through, you know, the obstacles of being a

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Speaker 1: dark zone and danger zone. So it it took me

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Speaker 1: almost three years after me being released, three years after

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Speaker 1: my first NFL game, to come to terms with the

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Speaker 1: fact that hey, this is this is real, like this

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Speaker 1: is this is what it is. So it took some time.

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Speaker 1: Now you said something, you said when you became a man?

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Speaker 1: What what do you mean? So when you for me,

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Speaker 1: I thought I knew everything. Not that I couldn't be

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Speaker 1: coach or or taught, that's not the case at all,

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Speaker 1: but having the literally the world on your shoulders, trying

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Speaker 1: to make it for everyone else, trying to be able

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Speaker 1: in a position to financially, um being a position to

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Speaker 1: financially make everyone else happy, make sure they don't have

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Speaker 1: to work. It was a lot mentally, and of course

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Speaker 1: that mental aspect played a part of my my physical

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Speaker 1: traits of me being injured. So what I mean by

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Speaker 1: being a man is I was depressed. I went through

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Speaker 1: suicidal thoughts. I was depressed for almost almost two years.

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Speaker 1: I went through suicidal thoughts for six months, and every

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Speaker 1: day during those six months I thought about a different

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Speaker 1: way of trying to kill myself. Right, So doing them

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Speaker 1: doing those six months to thought process is who's gonna

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Speaker 1: temp my frienal? These are things that's coming to my head?

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Speaker 1: Who's gonna be at my criner room? Are they gonna

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Speaker 1: miss me? Am I going to have a big funeral?

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Speaker 1: Like just those type of thoughts, deep thoughts. So month

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Speaker 1: I was able to say it again, were you alone

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Speaker 1: than anybody? Did you ever want? I wasn't alone. I

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Speaker 1: was alone. When I wasn't alone, I didn't see to help.

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Speaker 1: I had help. I have my dad, who that's my everything.

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Speaker 1: He doesn't raised me since I was the infant, So

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Speaker 1: I had help, but I didn't know how to seek it.

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Speaker 1: So At that point in time, mental health wasn't I

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Speaker 1: wouldn't say it wasn't as big. A lot of people

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Speaker 1: didn't come out about it like the guys do now

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Speaker 1: in the Kevin Loves of the world. It wasn't being

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Speaker 1: spoken about. So my dad, actually he's the He's one

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Speaker 1: of the reasons for me seeking help. He's one of

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Speaker 1: the reasons. Yeah. So I remember we had this program

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Speaker 1: with the NFL Players Engagement. This is right after maybe

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Speaker 1: six months after I got released from the wind Man

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Speaker 1: and we're going on this trip, right we're head of

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Speaker 1: the Claytland. I remember this day. So I'm not so

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Speaker 1: what I said or what I did, but my dad

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Speaker 1: was with me and he said, you're okay, like you

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Speaker 1: know what I mean, schedule a counselor. At that point

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Speaker 1: of time, I'm like, I'm good, Like I'm fine. I

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Speaker 1: don't need it. I don't need a shrink. That's a

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Speaker 1: week bick. That's what weak people. That's what I said.

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Speaker 1: That was my thought process at that point in time.

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Speaker 1: I'm strong, I guess, you know. I felt like you know,

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Speaker 1: men wasn't supposed to cry. They had to handle their

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Speaker 1: own issues. They didn't seek anything. I felt like that

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Speaker 1: wasn't being a part of a man. So I ended

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Speaker 1: up seeking help through Troy Benstin. Troy Benstin and my

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Speaker 1: dad are really tight. They talked almost every day. He

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Speaker 1: just saw me just transpired, going in a direction that

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Speaker 1: I wasn't that wasn't needed, and that direction was I

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Speaker 1: was lashing out, not physically, but more so emotionally. It

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Speaker 1: was times where I could be sleep and I was

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Speaker 1: like wake up, just swinging like I was really in

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Speaker 1: just like a dark place. Around that time too, my

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Speaker 1: birth momstar started coming around. I haven't seen her, I

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Speaker 1: haven't talked to her, and now she just now coming around.

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Speaker 1: So I was just lashing out as so many things.

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Speaker 1: I didn't know how to cope. I grew up. I

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Speaker 1: came up on the time where social media medea was

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Speaker 1: just now starting to be be huge, right to Twitter, Instagram,

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Speaker 1: and people don't know like the current players, the players

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Speaker 1: that recently transition off the game. We look at, you know,

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Speaker 1: how many lights we have when we're playing versus how

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Speaker 1: many lights we have when we don't when we're not playing,

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Speaker 1: Like you can see those signs where they paid go

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Speaker 1: from being open to now become a private social media

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Speaker 1: for me, that was I was doing things where I

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Speaker 1: knew I was done, but I'm still posting a little

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Speaker 1: videos like I'm working out just to get the love

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Speaker 1: from those fans, to get people that I haven't even met,

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Speaker 1: just to get that approval. So social media played a

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Speaker 1: huge part for me as far as just my my depression.

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Speaker 1: I was able to seek help through Troy. Troy got

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Speaker 1: me in place with my account manager. Now as sting

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Speaker 1: that her name is Balie Featherston. I've probably don't remember

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Speaker 1: this conversation, but we met a Georgia attack. I was

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Speaker 1: on the camp where, uh my football academy Prime example,

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Speaker 1: took a few kids to Georgia Tech for a camp.

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Speaker 1: So I end up meeting Valerie through Troy introduced me

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Speaker 1: men her talk for about a good hour and a

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Speaker 1: half about everything, where I come from, what I want

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Speaker 1: to do, what happened with my injury, how was Bill

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Speaker 1: better check like everything. I'm not sure how she kind

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Speaker 1: of felt it, but she asked me, how how was

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Speaker 1: that doing mentally right? And now you know, I told

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Speaker 1: her because I wasn't seeking I wasn't seeking help at

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Speaker 1: that point in time. Yeah, I'm okay, I'm okay, I'm

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Speaker 1: I'm fine. I'm good, you know, because at that point

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Speaker 1: in time, I'm thinking me seeing a counselor or especially

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Speaker 1: in that field that's just being looked at us a week.

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Speaker 1: I'm not a weak person. So she said, well, just

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Speaker 1: in case you do need it, here's my number, give me,

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Speaker 1: give me a call, and I'm gonna give you the

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Speaker 1: number to the NFL player a counciling in the system.

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Speaker 1: So ended up leaving Georgia Tech. I want to say

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Speaker 1: that was a Sunday. That Monday, I end up calling

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Speaker 1: a dedicated number yet set up. I was situated, and

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Speaker 1: that was my my first time seeking help. You've been

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Speaker 1: a man, simply man, you hope with yourself and got

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Speaker 1: to help you you needed. Is that how you're described

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Speaker 1: being a name? I would definitely say so. I would

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Speaker 1: say it improved my communications. I was able to talk

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Speaker 1: to my birth mom. I wasn't lashing out as much.

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Speaker 1: My interpersonal skills got a little bit better. I had

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Speaker 1: the awareness of, you know, just greater self acceptance and

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Speaker 1: self esteem, better expression and management of just my emotions

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Speaker 1: in general. All right, So I wouldn't say I was

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Speaker 1: relieved right away from my depressions and my suicidal thoughts.

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Speaker 1: Of course it took some time, but me just seeking

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Speaker 1: help or you know, constantly visiting my council at that

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Speaker 1: point in time. It helped me tremendously and made me

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Speaker 1: a better father. Um. I had my son my freshman

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Speaker 1: year of college, and I mean, you played college football.

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Speaker 1: It's I don't you don't have that relationship. You just

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Speaker 1: you just his dad. You're not the father, right, So

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Speaker 1: I really think everything do happen for a reason. Mean,

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Speaker 1: Andrew happen for a reason. Me being a better dad,

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Speaker 1: me being a better friend. Uh fell the stuff. I

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Speaker 1: was still playing, the relationship I have with my son

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Speaker 1: now and my mom passed away. But me bridging that guy,

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Speaker 1: us bridging that guy, it would never happen. Yeah, step on.

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Speaker 1: One of the things you have more than just your expectations,

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Speaker 1: but has a long career. Your birth mom. You know

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Speaker 1: you mentioned that. How does she find you? You're in

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Speaker 1: the middle of this transition that you weren't expecting and

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Speaker 1: your birth mom shows up. Yeah, I mean I guess

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Speaker 1: it wasn't hard. I have siblings I kept in contact with,

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Speaker 1: not as much, but I kept in contact with. Um.

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Speaker 1: They know how I felt, don't give her my number.

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Speaker 1: That's just where I was. I don't. She wasn't there.

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Speaker 1: She wasn't with me when I was practicing, she wasn't

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Speaker 1: with me when I graduated. There's no point in her

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Speaker 1: showing up now, and in retrospect, I was really I

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Speaker 1: was really hurting because I wanted her to be at

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Speaker 1: every event. I wanted her to, you know, being my

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Speaker 1: son's life at that point in time, like I needed her.

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Speaker 1: I just didn't know how to tell her her that. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: she she came. She came back into my life that

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Speaker 1: week I got released. The week I got released, she

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Speaker 1: reached out to me. I just asked me how I

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Speaker 1: was doing. She was proud of me, and I think

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Speaker 1: I gave a pretty good answer. I didn't last off yet,

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Speaker 1: but I felt myself, as I mentioned, just hitting transpiring

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Speaker 1: downward when she reached out to me on her birthday.

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Speaker 1: So she called me on her birthday and she I

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Speaker 1: don't know why she said this, but she said, so,

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Speaker 1: I'm a little disappointed in you. I said why because

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Speaker 1: you didn't get me nothing for my birthday. Right, So

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Speaker 1: I'm thinking at this point in time, because you know,

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Speaker 1: you think I have money I supposed to get you

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Speaker 1: something out there. You know, I haven't seen you in

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Speaker 1: what twenty years apparently, So I end up writing I

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Speaker 1: ended up texting her back and I said, look up

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Speaker 1: the word disappointment, and that's what you are in my life.

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Speaker 1: And that conversation no kind of just laying me down

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Speaker 1: a path where I was just fighting demons. As I

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Speaker 1: mentioned earlier, like I'm sleep, I'm waking up. I'm seeing

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Speaker 1: like things that I'm afraid of, like and I'm fighting

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Speaker 1: them in my sleep. I wake up, I'm yelling. Right,

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Speaker 1: So your story is typically just the opposite of the

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Speaker 1: conversations I have with most legends. It's using their their fathers. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: we're after their life for a long time. You're the

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Speaker 1: first that I've experienced to have this experience with your mother.

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Speaker 1: That's pretty interesting, right it is. I mean I grew

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Speaker 1: up I always thought I didn't need it. So my

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Speaker 1: dad had my step mom, who I called my mom.

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Speaker 1: That's my mom, right, So whenever my birth mom didn't

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Speaker 1: come around, I just didn't know. I didn't win end scepter.

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Speaker 1: It's a it's a it's it's a weird situation. I'm

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Speaker 1: gonna tell you how God work. So I'm just gonna

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Speaker 1: move forward a little bit. But we ended up somewhat

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Speaker 1: bridging out God. I end up coming to Atlanta. It

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Speaker 1: says how it's his Mother's Day. So she come down

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Speaker 1: for Mother's Day, and she just opened up to the

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Speaker 1: reason why she wasn't there, why she had my siblings,

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Speaker 1: there's everything right, So she's like crying to me. And

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Speaker 1: at that point in time, I'm still seeking my counseling

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Speaker 1: sessions for depression and anxiety. But I didn't know that

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Speaker 1: her opening up to me like that would also be

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Speaker 1: you know, counseling in itself, right, So we ended up

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Speaker 1: hugging it out, both of us, and tears. Uh felt

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Speaker 1: the I just felt so relieved. Six months later, she

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Speaker 1: passes away from a brain interist. So the doctor said

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Speaker 1: her aneurysm was so big that she should have passed

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Speaker 1: away three years ago. Man, I don't even want to

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Speaker 1: transition because this is so so before I transition to

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Speaker 1: signal your experienced there. It's something like you had a

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Speaker 1: need for Mom that you have been suppressing, a ward

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Speaker 1: not even aware of. Yes, sir, I would say so man,

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Speaker 1: talking about signal signal work in life, resons. Yeah. So,

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Speaker 1: as I mentioned, Valerie introduced me to the program, I

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Speaker 1: got connected, I saw help. So my first my first

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Speaker 1: session actually uh seeking the counselor, I said, I was

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Speaker 1: quired for forty five minutes. I didn't say nothing my

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Speaker 1: first my first session, so I was just thinking, like

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Speaker 1: what the hell am I doing here? Like I don't

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Speaker 1: I don't need this, I'm fine. My second session, I

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Speaker 1: was quiet for forty five minutes. I remember this vivily.

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Speaker 1: She ended up writing on on this on this board,

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Speaker 1: while are you so angry? And I came back to

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Speaker 1: that third session, she just said, you don't have to talk.

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Speaker 1: I just want you to write. You know three reasons

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Speaker 1: why you're angry. So I wrote down. I said, I'm

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Speaker 1: angry because I'm here, I'm angry because you don't understand,

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Speaker 1: and I'm angry because I let everyone down. She she mentioned,

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Speaker 1: she said, Ryan, why do you think I don't understand?

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Speaker 1: I said, because you wasn't you're not you never you

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Speaker 1: didn't play this game. I want to talk to someone

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Speaker 1: who played, who understand where I'm coming from, who had

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Speaker 1: the same dreams aspirations of me, who know exactly the

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Speaker 1: shoes that I meant, I say, it's no possible way

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Speaker 1: that you can help me if you didn't walk through

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Speaker 1: my shoes. Who did you think you had let down?

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Speaker 1: You said? You told her I let so many people down?

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Speaker 1: Who did you think you had let down? And just

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00:20:46,000 --> 00:20:47,840
Speaker 1: my family in general. I talked about, you know, just

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00:20:47,920 --> 00:20:51,000
Speaker 1: having these dreams, like I mentioned watching you, you know,

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00:20:51,240 --> 00:20:53,840
Speaker 1: coming up playing with you on mad and here my

343
00:20:53,960 --> 00:20:56,200
Speaker 1: dad talked about, you know, has a recruiting trip with

344
00:20:56,720 --> 00:21:01,520
Speaker 1: a Kniss ironically, but having these dreams and aspirations and

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Speaker 1: goals of getting my dad at the house, paying off

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Speaker 1: his car, not not seeing him work again, helping my

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Speaker 1: great grandmother, helping my siblings. Just I just felt like

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Speaker 1: I let every one down, even my son. It was

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Speaker 1: times where my son, for a long time, it would

350
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Speaker 1: be like, so, when's your next game? And I didn't

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Speaker 1: know how to tell him that I don't play no more,

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Speaker 1: and stuff on being in the counseling sessions and with

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Speaker 1: the first concession for five minutes of silence, what made

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Speaker 1: you come back? There was no judgment. I felt comfortable.

355
00:21:40,400 --> 00:21:46,000
Speaker 1: I felt comfortable sitting in silence, no judgment necessary, no

356
00:21:46,080 --> 00:21:49,320
Speaker 1: judgment passed. She allowed me to beat myself within those

357
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Speaker 1: forty five minutes. She didn't allow me to She didn't

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Speaker 1: force me to speak, forced me to do lessons that

359
00:21:59,080 --> 00:22:03,560
Speaker 1: she had written down or pre playing. She just sat

360
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Speaker 1: there with me. So that next session was very was

361
00:22:09,320 --> 00:22:13,280
Speaker 1: very very helpful. Of course we discussed that, but she

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00:22:15,480 --> 00:22:19,600
Speaker 1: it was needed her the way her, the way she

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00:22:20,040 --> 00:22:22,520
Speaker 1: her sessions went. She just allowed me to be me.

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Speaker 1: She let me be quiet when I wanted to be quiet.

365
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Speaker 1: I pride in the sessions. Didn't think I would. I

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Speaker 1: probably cried every session other than the first two. Like

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Speaker 1: she was just amazing and getting me to open up

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Speaker 1: and see things and allowing me to see the world

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Speaker 1: just differently. And she told me, she that you know

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Speaker 1: you are more than what you're giving yourself up. You

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Speaker 1: are more than just a football player. Cliche, but it's true.

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Speaker 1: You are more than a football player. I told her

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Speaker 1: at that point in time, I said, I can't even

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Speaker 1: identify who step one is as a football player, and

375
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Speaker 1: I'm introducing myself and who Stefan is as a man

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Speaker 1: in general. Every conversation that I have at that point

377
00:23:05,280 --> 00:23:07,040
Speaker 1: in time was hey, my name is Steph wars. I

378
00:23:07,080 --> 00:23:09,359
Speaker 1: pay for New England Patriots or Hey, my name is

379
00:23:09,359 --> 00:23:11,760
Speaker 1: Steph Wars. I went to Penn State. I'm a former

380
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Speaker 1: NFL player. That's all I could give you. So she

381
00:23:14,640 --> 00:23:19,040
Speaker 1: allowed me to open up and identify exactly who step

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Speaker 1: On Morris is and not just stepped a football player.

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00:23:22,040 --> 00:23:25,560
Speaker 1: So going back to the signal work work like resources program,

384
00:23:26,440 --> 00:23:28,919
Speaker 1: I utilized that. That's before I even got the signal,

385
00:23:30,440 --> 00:23:33,960
Speaker 1: So little did I know Valerie would then become my

386
00:23:34,119 --> 00:23:38,280
Speaker 1: account manager for the program. Um. I was able to

387
00:23:38,800 --> 00:23:41,960
Speaker 1: bridge that gap from being a former player and seeing

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Speaker 1: what it looked like versus now been in a corporate

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Speaker 1: setting and then trying to identify how du you know

390
00:23:48,440 --> 00:23:51,159
Speaker 1: we job utilization on? How do we connect with these players?

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00:23:52,119 --> 00:23:55,200
Speaker 1: I'm sorry, what made you fall it? Make the call?

392
00:23:58,119 --> 00:24:02,119
Speaker 1: Valerie her words? Or did she follow back up with you?

393
00:24:02,920 --> 00:24:06,080
Speaker 1: She didn't follow up. She was just genuine. She didn't

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00:24:06,080 --> 00:24:09,920
Speaker 1: know me. I mean, it was an introduction, but she

395
00:24:10,200 --> 00:24:15,480
Speaker 1: spoke to me as if she cared mhm. And my

396
00:24:15,640 --> 00:24:17,760
Speaker 1: dad didn't make me because he mentioned about counseling to

397
00:24:18,359 --> 00:24:21,600
Speaker 1: his words, I mean, I struggled it off. But speaking

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00:24:21,640 --> 00:24:24,400
Speaker 1: to Valerie like O her thank you to this day,

399
00:24:24,880 --> 00:24:29,200
Speaker 1: like she made me go see help. So if you

400
00:24:29,240 --> 00:24:32,040
Speaker 1: got a chance to talk to all the NFL rookies,

401
00:24:32,359 --> 00:24:36,800
Speaker 1: including the draft picks. You were undrafted, but to all

402
00:24:36,840 --> 00:24:40,800
Speaker 1: the rookies, what would be your elevator speech to them?

403
00:24:43,160 --> 00:24:45,359
Speaker 1: That's who are not alone? I would silt off at that.

404
00:24:45,760 --> 00:24:49,280
Speaker 1: You are not alone? And what I mean by that is,

405
00:24:50,640 --> 00:24:54,720
Speaker 1: we as humans have an expiration day, right, we don't

406
00:24:54,720 --> 00:24:57,240
Speaker 1: know when it's gonna found. We also have an expiration

407
00:24:57,320 --> 00:25:02,520
Speaker 1: day of football that sometimes will be lucky enough, we

408
00:25:02,600 --> 00:25:05,760
Speaker 1: can go out on our own own terms. But the

409
00:25:05,880 --> 00:25:10,680
Speaker 1: majority of the time that's not the case. So you're

410
00:25:10,720 --> 00:25:13,359
Speaker 1: not alone in the process of when that time comes.

411
00:25:14,200 --> 00:25:18,119
Speaker 1: Don't be afraid to, you know, seek help, open up,

412
00:25:18,320 --> 00:25:21,760
Speaker 1: be vulnerable. So sitting to help you so much going

413
00:25:21,800 --> 00:25:24,840
Speaker 1: through that council, you just you decided to make it

414
00:25:24,920 --> 00:25:30,600
Speaker 1: a career. Tell us about that. Yes, so, Troy invention

415
00:25:30,880 --> 00:25:34,640
Speaker 1: is a huge mentor mind. Uh, he wanted at first,

416
00:25:34,680 --> 00:25:37,000
Speaker 1: he wanted to see me, you know, put some work in.

417
00:25:37,080 --> 00:25:40,040
Speaker 1: So I was going on job interviews and everything and

418
00:25:40,600 --> 00:25:44,120
Speaker 1: just your typical sales position door to door, and every

419
00:25:44,160 --> 00:25:47,760
Speaker 1: conversation that I had at that point in time was so,

420
00:25:47,840 --> 00:25:50,320
Speaker 1: what experiences did you have tell me about yourself? And

421
00:25:50,400 --> 00:25:52,240
Speaker 1: I kept giving them the same manser, which I would

422
00:25:52,240 --> 00:25:54,680
Speaker 1: get angry. Which helped me with my counseling sessions. Was

423
00:25:55,200 --> 00:25:58,280
Speaker 1: I told you I have no other experiences, but no

424
00:25:58,400 --> 00:26:01,920
Speaker 1: other jobs. This is me New England, Penn State. And

425
00:26:02,040 --> 00:26:04,280
Speaker 1: I was just getting so frustrated because I just felt

426
00:26:04,320 --> 00:26:07,239
Speaker 1: like I'm not gonna never get a job. But at

427
00:26:07,280 --> 00:26:08,879
Speaker 1: that point in time, he just wanted to see me

428
00:26:09,800 --> 00:26:11,879
Speaker 1: get off my butt and just work towards something. I

429
00:26:11,920 --> 00:26:14,920
Speaker 1: didn't even know he had, you know, signal and playing.

430
00:26:15,440 --> 00:26:17,920
Speaker 1: I didn't know my conversation with Valerie year later would

431
00:26:17,960 --> 00:26:20,359
Speaker 1: lead to hurt me and my manager. Yeah, so coming

432
00:26:20,480 --> 00:26:24,879
Speaker 1: coming to signa UM it's it's been five years now,

433
00:26:24,880 --> 00:26:27,479
Speaker 1: a little over five. It's been amazing. It's been awesome.

434
00:26:28,359 --> 00:26:32,320
Speaker 1: It allows me to connect with not only current players,

435
00:26:32,400 --> 00:26:35,640
Speaker 1: performing players, just letting them know they're not alone. I'm here.

436
00:26:36,160 --> 00:26:39,440
Speaker 1: I've been able to participate in events like the Player

437
00:26:39,560 --> 00:26:43,639
Speaker 1: Care Foundation that's in communities event and run into you know,

438
00:26:44,480 --> 00:26:48,359
Speaker 1: just your John DA and open up to him about

439
00:26:48,560 --> 00:26:51,240
Speaker 1: you know what I went through. All right, I ask

440
00:26:51,320 --> 00:26:54,120
Speaker 1: you step forward, who what would you say to rookies?

441
00:26:54,760 --> 00:26:57,640
Speaker 1: Now I've asking you what would what would you say?

442
00:26:57,840 --> 00:27:02,440
Speaker 1: To the high school freshman. Awesome. So I actually have

443
00:27:02,640 --> 00:27:06,200
Speaker 1: a actually have a program called Prime Example that my

444
00:27:06,359 --> 00:27:12,320
Speaker 1: dad started back in oh eight, um training mentoring just

445
00:27:12,720 --> 00:27:15,120
Speaker 1: high school kids as well as as well as youse kids.

446
00:27:15,840 --> 00:27:18,359
Speaker 1: I actually bought that program out to Atlanta. I started

447
00:27:18,359 --> 00:27:22,080
Speaker 1: about two years ago. Kids get excited when they see

448
00:27:22,080 --> 00:27:24,840
Speaker 1: a former player or someone that you know they played with,

449
00:27:24,920 --> 00:27:29,200
Speaker 1: them mad and someone that they can google. But I

450
00:27:29,280 --> 00:27:34,200
Speaker 1: identify myself. Hey, hey that's not me. Yes, I played.

451
00:27:34,240 --> 00:27:36,520
Speaker 1: I played this game. But I have a job. I

452
00:27:36,600 --> 00:27:38,840
Speaker 1: have a day to day job, which is okay. I'm

453
00:27:38,920 --> 00:27:40,920
Speaker 1: in a I'm in a corporate office, I'm in a cue.

454
00:27:41,640 --> 00:27:44,560
Speaker 1: I went from seeing my name tag on the locker

455
00:27:44,640 --> 00:27:47,840
Speaker 1: to my name tag on the cube. That's okay. But

456
00:27:48,000 --> 00:27:50,720
Speaker 1: I always tell them, tell my middle school and high

457
00:27:50,720 --> 00:27:55,520
Speaker 1: school kids, I want you to find something you enjoy

458
00:27:55,640 --> 00:27:59,480
Speaker 1: outside of football. So the reason why I think guys

459
00:28:00,000 --> 00:28:05,240
Speaker 1: transition is a little bumpy, it's because we we don't know.

460
00:28:05,880 --> 00:28:08,920
Speaker 1: We don't know what we like. We've been playing this game,

461
00:28:09,000 --> 00:28:13,240
Speaker 1: and we've been utilizing this game for you know, financial

462
00:28:13,320 --> 00:28:17,400
Speaker 1: reasons and just to make it. We can't identify if

463
00:28:17,440 --> 00:28:18,840
Speaker 1: you like to, you know, maybe want to be a

464
00:28:18,960 --> 00:28:21,840
Speaker 1: chef or be a lawyer. That's not the things that

465
00:28:22,000 --> 00:28:26,639
Speaker 1: I was brought up or raised. So talking to my

466
00:28:26,800 --> 00:28:29,800
Speaker 1: younger kids, I have them, you know, before they even

467
00:28:29,800 --> 00:28:32,720
Speaker 1: stopped the program, what you want to be? You get

468
00:28:32,760 --> 00:28:34,440
Speaker 1: the same answer. I want to go to the league.

469
00:28:34,440 --> 00:28:35,600
Speaker 1: I want to go to the league. I want to

470
00:28:35,640 --> 00:28:38,800
Speaker 1: go to Alabama. You may get one that may say

471
00:28:38,880 --> 00:28:42,800
Speaker 1: I want to be an engineer. After I'm done playing, right,

472
00:28:43,320 --> 00:28:45,920
Speaker 1: then I have my talk with them. I bring out

473
00:28:46,600 --> 00:28:49,800
Speaker 1: certain guys that I don't play with, male or females

474
00:28:50,320 --> 00:28:53,520
Speaker 1: that has that I see doing great things in the community.

475
00:28:53,720 --> 00:28:56,400
Speaker 1: And it may be a lawyer or maybe a counselor,

476
00:28:56,480 --> 00:28:59,920
Speaker 1: and maybe a teacher. Come out and talk to the kids.

477
00:29:00,760 --> 00:29:02,360
Speaker 1: Let him know what you do while you love it,

478
00:29:02,400 --> 00:29:05,400
Speaker 1: while you like it. Then I have my kids. Uh,

479
00:29:05,560 --> 00:29:08,080
Speaker 1: come come to me the next day or the next session,

480
00:29:08,560 --> 00:29:10,320
Speaker 1: whether you want to be right down, tell me why

481
00:29:11,040 --> 00:29:13,200
Speaker 1: I wanted us to league. I want to be a doctor.

482
00:29:13,840 --> 00:29:15,880
Speaker 1: Why you want to be a doctor because I want

483
00:29:15,920 --> 00:29:20,760
Speaker 1: to help people, that's the typical answer. Or you know, well,

484
00:29:20,800 --> 00:29:23,520
Speaker 1: I want to be a lawyer because I saw my

485
00:29:23,720 --> 00:29:29,160
Speaker 1: brother or sister, you know, get ten or fifteen years

486
00:29:29,320 --> 00:29:31,840
Speaker 1: and they didn't have a good lawyer, So how are

487
00:29:31,840 --> 00:29:33,560
Speaker 1: you going to work towards those steps? How you want

488
00:29:33,560 --> 00:29:36,160
Speaker 1: to do it? So they don't even know that this

489
00:29:37,240 --> 00:29:40,959
Speaker 1: lesson I'm giving them is helping them identify the degree

490
00:29:41,000 --> 00:29:45,840
Speaker 1: that they may want to obtain, right, Right, So that's

491
00:29:45,920 --> 00:29:48,680
Speaker 1: that's how I talked to my kids. Is there any

492
00:29:48,800 --> 00:29:55,000
Speaker 1: programs anything available through signal that Legends you're noticing not

493
00:29:55,200 --> 00:29:59,240
Speaker 1: taking advantage of that? They should? Anything you want me

494
00:29:59,280 --> 00:30:02,680
Speaker 1: talking about now, work life resources program? That's that's that's

495
00:30:02,720 --> 00:30:05,080
Speaker 1: the point. We want to drive utilization and it's not

496
00:30:05,200 --> 00:30:09,920
Speaker 1: just for Legends, but it's also for everyone. Right, So

497
00:30:10,200 --> 00:30:13,960
Speaker 1: you got your your careers, you got your Legends, and

498
00:30:14,160 --> 00:30:16,200
Speaker 1: you got you know, your household members. You know what

499
00:30:16,280 --> 00:30:19,600
Speaker 1: I mean by household members. So your wife can utilize

500
00:30:20,320 --> 00:30:22,800
Speaker 1: or your daughter can utilize this, you know this program

501
00:30:22,880 --> 00:30:26,959
Speaker 1: as well. If they're you know, struggling with anything, how

502
00:30:27,040 --> 00:30:30,720
Speaker 1: can they find out about work life resource? They can

503
00:30:30,840 --> 00:30:34,680
Speaker 1: go to the Legends Community Act, or they can call

504
00:30:34,800 --> 00:30:38,600
Speaker 1: our dedicated sicking the number, dedicated work Life Resources number,

505
00:30:39,240 --> 00:30:42,480
Speaker 1: so it's it's out there. It's also melions that's generated.

506
00:30:43,400 --> 00:30:46,000
Speaker 1: I'm not sure when maybe quarterly about the work life

507
00:30:46,000 --> 00:30:50,400
Speaker 1: resources program. But this program has been helpful and it's

508
00:30:50,440 --> 00:30:54,000
Speaker 1: been out here for a while. Wasn't just what you

509
00:30:54,120 --> 00:30:59,400
Speaker 1: went through is the resilience and you walking through it.

510
00:31:00,160 --> 00:31:02,680
Speaker 1: God gives us the grace to do it, but we

511
00:31:02,920 --> 00:31:05,240
Speaker 1: have to put into work, and you did it and

512
00:31:05,400 --> 00:31:08,600
Speaker 1: are doing it. Thank you so much for being on

513
00:31:08,840 --> 00:31:13,320
Speaker 1: the NFL Player's podcast and invested yesterday. Yeah, thank you

514
00:31:13,400 --> 00:31:20,320
Speaker 1: so much. Thank you. To provide feedback or request a

515
00:31:20,400 --> 00:31:24,160
Speaker 1: topic for discussion, email us at NFL Legends at NFL

516
00:31:24,280 --> 00:31:38,160
Speaker 1: dot com. Yah