Atlanta Falcons Hayden Hurst taught the most valuable lesson of 2020

The Atlanta Falcons, like a lot of people, endured a tough year in 2020.

Many people, including some of the members of the Atlanta Falcons, were hit with COVID, thus requiring players to isolate themselves away from their team. People are not meant to live in isolation and that is causing a lot of people to come face to face with mental health issues.

Atlanta Falcons tight end Hayden Hurst has revealed in the past that he has struggled with his mental health. While playing tight end at South Carolina, Hurst admitted he struggled to come to terms with his unsuccessful stint as a pitcher in the Pittsburg Pirates organization.

Hurst admitted to drinking heavily and using drugs which culminated in a suicide attempt in 2016. Hurst refers to this as his “come to Jesus moment.”

Hurst isn’t the first athlete that has dealt with some type of mental health issues with themselves or their family.

Paul George has openly admitted he had these struggles while playing the NBA bubble. Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott had his own struggles with depression at the beginning of the COVID pandemics as well as his brother’s untimely death due to suicide.

Hayden Hurst leads by example.

Hurst and Prescott shared a moment after the Falcons/Cowboys game earlier this season. Hurst created the Hayden Hurst Family foundation to focus on those with mental health issues and suicide prevention.

Readers are probably wondering why something like this is being talked about on the Blogging Dirty site. This writer has had his own struggles with mental health and for some men, it’s hard to talk about. I was one of those men.

The fact that these superstar athletes can come out and voice their own struggles with mental health should mean a lot especially to those that think they are considered “weak” for doing so. Superstar athletes are not, we are all human and it’s ok to struggle with something like this.

The best thing you can do as a person is exactly what Hurst and Prescott both did, open up about these issues and get whatever help you need.

This is the most important lesson of 2020, brought to you by Atlanta Falcons tight end Hayden Hurst.