Kirk Minihane will be taking time off from his Barstool Sports podcast to combat his depression and suicidal thoughts. Minihane, who has been hosting The Kirk Minihane Show on Barstool since June of 2019, tweeted out a message Saturday.

“The last month or so, I’ve been struggling with depression and suicidal thoughts,” Minihane tweeted. “I’m going to enter a treatment program to fight this, so the show will be on hiatus. I’m scared that these thoughts and feelings are back, but this is life with depression. It’s a hard fight.”



Minihane’s bosses, Erika Nardini and Dave Portnoy, both tweeted out support for him. Portnoy’s message was clear that Minihane can come back to do his podcast whenever he is ready.

This is not the first time Minihane has taken a leave of absence due to his mental health. In August of 2018, while hosting Kirk and Callahan on WEEI, Minihane went to Winchester Hospital with suicidal thoughts. He was then transferred to McLean Hospital, an institution that focuses on psychiatric assistance.

However, Minihane would again leave the show a month later. He tweeted in September of 2018 that he was still having issues with his mental health. He admitted he came back on the air too quickly.

Throughout his career in media Minihane has been very open regarding his personal problems. When he came back on the show after his leave he gave vivid detail regarding his plan to end his own life. On his WEEI podcast Enough About Me, Minihane dedicated an entire episode describing his lifelong struggle with depression. When both of his parents died of cancer six weeks apart in 2017 Minihane was brutally honest and raw discussing the pain he was feeling.

Not many media members would be willing to share such personal information to hundreds of thousands of listeners. But that is why Minihane has such a unique relationship with his audience. His fans feel like they know him on a personal level because, in a lot of ways, they do. While they will miss hearing Minihane, their support on social media shows they are more concerned with his well being.

Hopefully Minihane takes an ample amount of time before returning to the podcast. The last time he took a break from his show he came back before he was mentally ready. While he takes his job incredibly seriously, and that has led to his successful career, his mental health is now his number one priority.

Minihane deserves a lot of credit for being so candid regarding this topic. He has pointed out that there is still a stigma regarding mental health problems in our society. Other media members definitely have similar issues going on in their lives that they do not share with their audience. Minihane has never had a problem being vulnerable to his listeners.

If you or anyone you know needs to talk to someone regarding mental health, do not be embarrassed to seek help. It does not make you weak to want assistance, if anything, it is one of the most courageous things you could do.



National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255

