May is Mental Health Awareness Month and the Cardinals wanted to highlight its importance as soon as the calendar flipped.
The organization hosted a mental health peer-to-peer support panel in the Dignity Health Training Center auditorium, featuring Cardinals cheerleaders, and players Trey McBride, Elijah Higgins, and Valentin Senn. For nearly an hour, each shared moments from their life's journey and shared tips on how they prioritize their mental health.
In the crowd was students from Red Mountain (Mesa) High School. The event was also streamed to classrooms all throughout the state.
"Any time is a great time to have these conversations," McBride said. "This is the prime age. They're exposed to so many different things. They see so much stuff with social media and all of the above. I think being here to talk about the struggles that we go through, how to get through those struggles, and whatever the case may be, is very important. A lot of these kids are facing that."
Character Playbook, an NFL initiative, worked with the Cardinals to organize this event. Following the panel, the students went to the indoor practice facility to for an interactive lesson on movement and physical activities and the ways it can help with stress.
The students also put together gift bags for non-profit organizations.
Cardinals legends Michael Bankston, Earl Watford, and Hamza Abdullah were also in attendance. During the panel, Bankston shared how important it is to check on your friends. It's something he does often in his role as the President of the NFLPA Phoenix Former Players Chapter.
As McBride, Higgins, and Senn walked through the door, the students broke out into cheers. By the end of the afternoon, the tone shifted from being in awe and amazement to reflection.
Sure, there are NFL players and cheerleaders in the room, but at the end of the day, the students and the athletes are not that much different.
"You could be the best in the world at what you do," McBride said. "You could be anybody, but everybody's going to struggle with something. The fact that we're here talking about our struggles and things that we're going through, I think it is eye opening for these guys to see."
