Toledo Football to be Featured on “Courage in Sports: Gridiron Greatness” on CBS

Show will feature Rockets’ collaboration with well-known speaker and author Rachel Baribeau on mental health awareness

TOLEDO, Ohio – The Toledo Football team will be featured on the CBS program "Courage in Sports: Gridiron Greatness" this Sunday, Nov. 12. The show will air on WTOL in Toledo at 3:00 p.m. prior to the Detroit Lions-Los Angeles Chargers game. Local listings around the country will vary depending on which NFL game is being shown in a particular region.

The segment on the Rockets will focus on their collaboration with well-known speaker and author Rachel Baribeau in opening up team dialogue about mental health. Baribeau spoke with Head Coach Jason Candle and the Toledo football team in the off-season and again last week following the team's "Mental Health Awareness" game on Oct. 31.

Toledo wore green ribbons on its helmets on the Oct. 31 game vs. Buffalo to represent the color of mental health awareness. There also was an in-game public service announcement video played that focused on destigmatizing mental health. Toledo Athletics had social media posts focusing on the importance of maintaining mental health throughout the week leading up to the game.

Candle emphasized the importance of providing mental health resources for student-athletes.
 
"One of the jobs of a football coach is to make sure the players have as many resources available to them as possible," Candle said. "We always want to make sure we have outlets for our players to see a different perspective, understand that their health and safety is at the forefront of every decision being made and provide them with the opportunities to talk to somebody if they feel they need to or get the help that's necessary if they're going through a tough time."

Baribeau said she has been impressed by the serious approach Toledo coaches and student-athletes took toward the subject of mental health.

"Toledo is very, very special to me," said Baribeau. "In August, my second visit with the team, they opened up in ways that blew my mind. They dropped off stuff they weren't meant to carry. We all walked out of that meeting room different people than when we walked in. It was truly remarkable what happened that night. I know I speak for them when I say we want to teach others that you don't have to struggle alone."

Toledo Athletics is committed to the mental health and well-being of its student-athletes. Rocket student-athletes have access to dedicated professional counseling services, as well as access to the University resources listed below:

University of Toledo Counseling Center
https://www.utoledo.edu/studentaffairs/counseling/

UToledo Psychology Clinic (UTPC)
https://www.utoledo.edu/al/psychology/clinic/

University of Toledo Medical Center Psychiatry Department
https://utmc.utoledo.edu/clinics/adultpsychiatry/index.html
 
For more information on Baribeau and her movement, please visit www.ImChangingtheNarrative.org.