When There's More to Life Than Sports

ESPN.com has an excellent article about the late Kyle Ambrogi, a running back for Penn who committed suicide last year.

It goes without saying that depression is a very serious illness, so if you know someone who is showing symptoms, help them get help. Ambrogi's family, friends and coaches were helpful to him and supportive of him during his struggles, but his pain was so bad and the disease so difficult for him that he believed he had no alternative but to end his life. As the article points out, he was a wonderful guy in so many respects. Hopefully, lessons learned from the stories of Kyle Ambrogi and other young people who committed suicide will help improve the treatments for this awful affliction.

We love our sports because they help us escape the real world. Let's just remember that the people who play them are real people with real problems. Let's also remember that mental problems can be just as, and sometimes more, serious than physical problems. Torn ACL's are more easily explainable and acceptable today than battered psyches. Let's all be sure to countermand that sentiment in our daily lives, and to lend assistance to all family, neighbors and friends, whatever their needs are.