When I began my tenure as NCAA Chief Medical Officer in January 2013, my first task was to connect with NCAA stakeholders and constituents to understand their concerns. I have since met with hundreds of student-athletes and dozens of student-athlete groups to ask them their primary challenges from a health and safety standpoint. Almost to a person, the No. 1 response is student-athlete mental health and wellness. That may surprise people whose only contact with student-athletes is from watching them compete on television. It’s just a game, after all – what could be so hard about that?
