Completely off topic (though what IS this blog's topic?), but what a brave young man

UCLA football player retires from the game after his suicide attempt

He’s risked ridicule and Internet trolls — who will surely find him — and gone public to disclose both the attempt, and now his decision to give up the game, so that maybe other young people in despair won’t be ashamed to seek help. And that’s very brave of him, in my book.

A college football player is stepping away from the game after attempting suicide earlier this year, he announced.

Thomas Cole, an offensive lineman at UCLA, announced his decision on social media while breaking down his demons with mental health that led to his attempt to take his own life.

“I haven’t been present at the Wasserman facility for the past six months. This is because at the start of 2022 I made an attempt to take my own life,” wrote Cole, who didn’t play this past season. “At first I was regretful that I survived my attempt, but thankfully due to the people at the UCLA hospital, Paradigm residential treatment, and my therapist Meg, I have come to a much brighter outlook for my own future.

“After many months of thorough consideration I have come to the conclusion that football is not conducive for my mental health, and there is more to my life than the game of football,” he continued. Cole then acknowledged the impact of his former coaches and teammates, thanking fellow O-linemen Benjamin Roy, Garrett DiGiorgio, Noah Puleali, and Taka Mahe for bringing him “so much joy and laughter in a time of immense personal suffering.”

The San Luis Obispo, Calif. native, a four-star prospect, capped off his statement by saying he would always root for UCLA and hoped his words may help others with similar problems.

I know the parents of two different children — teens — who attempted suicide. One succeeded, to the utter devastation of her parents, one, a star athlete, amazingly survived a jump from one of the highest bridges in our area, and 20-years-on is married with children, a successful banker, and volunteers his time telling his story to other young people. He says that as soon as he jumped he realized he’d made a terrible, irreversible decision; that, and the example of how his life did get better, might offer a message of hope to someone buried in despair. And young people do seem to have a tendency to believe that their depression is permanent, and will last forever.

So with that off my chest, it's back to the usual cynicism posted here; but I do so like the occasional feel-good story.