Former Kansas City Chiefs player recounts post-retirement drama, says he had suicidal thoughts
Jaamal Charles played for Patrick Mahomes’ side between 2008-2016, three years before they won the Super Bowl
Jamaal CharlesLAPRESSE
An ex-Kansas City Chiefs star with 64 career touchdowns opened up on the devasting reality of NFL retirement as he struggled in a fight against depression following the end of his career in 2018.
Jamaal Charles played for the Chiefs between 2008-2016 before going on to turn out for the Denver Broncos and Jacksonville Jaguars, specializing in the running back role that yielded 10,056 yards travelled with the ball in his career.
But, despite being a two-time All-Pro and four-time Pro Bowl player, the 2013 rushing downs leader admitted he has battled against mental health after stepping away from the gridiron field in an emotional revelation.
“My mind wasn’t there. I checked out,” Charles told the Second Acts Podcast. “My body wasn’t the same.
“It’s like, man, what do I do next? I just went into basically a dark side. … Nobody reaching out to guide me out to transition to life after football.
“People don’t really know. I went to try to work with people and invest with people. It didn’t go well. I started to lose money and investment. So, I started to get really depressive like suicide … suicidal.”
How did Charles recover?
Mental health struggles for athletes after retirement is surprisingly common and understandable after they commit most of their lives training for one discipline only for it to all end on a random Thursday.
Many turn to coaching as a way to remain within the environment, others turn to a new form of competition such as body building, or others cannot manage it well and slip into shades of depression like Charles did.
So how did the 37-year-old recover? He bravely put his pride aside and sought help with the Chiefs proving to come in clutch for him with a wave of support.
“At that time, I did get therapy, so it’s nothing wrong,” Charles added. “I did talk to a therapist to talk about suicide thoughts, talk about the hard times. At that time, I still was going through therapy, and I still is today.”
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