Hayden's Critical Catch: How The Ravens Tight End Is Shining A Light On Mental Health

The Baltimore Ravens' Hayden Hurst is on a mission to help kids suffering from mental health issues.

"It's OK to not be OK," Hurst said.

Most people wouldn't know that the six foot five inch, 265 pound tight end, nicknamed "Garnet Thor" for his red hair and muscular body, suffered from anxiety and depression when he pitched for the Pittsburgh Pirates organization.

Dawn White reports:

"I struggled with that for about three years," Hurst said. "I sought help. I saw multiple doctors, psychiatrists, and many, many therapy sessions. I found journaling. It was kind of my way that I expressed myself and got some anger out."

"Hayden's Critical Catch" will provide 20 student athletes with four individual and one group therapy sessions through the Hayden Hurst Family Foundation and BTST Services.

"They can see hey, he's a big guy. He's gone through this, so those feelings that I was feeling that I quite didn't know that it was something bothering me or there was something wrong I suppressed, it's okay to come out to talk about it," said Chris Simon, CEO of BTST Services.

"With me going out there and being 6'5" and 265 pounds and admitting, 'Hey I have a problem, I still deal with it still to this day, I'm in the NFL, and that's okay,' then hopefully someone else and come out and be like, 'Well, if he can admit to it, then I can do, and I can seek help,'" Hurst said.

Hurst hopes to use his experience to create awareness and to break the stigma of mental health, especially in sports.

"I think we see that a lot, especially in football and in all sports," Hurst said. "You're supposed to be this tough, brute athlete, and if you admit to having a mental health issue or something like that, it's perceived as a weakness. That's not the case."

Baltimore Polytechnic Institute and Coppin University are hosting talks between Hurst and Simon to discuss Hayden's story, the need for mental health services, the pressure of being a student athlete, and its impact on a student's mental health.

You can donate to the Hayden Hurst Family Foundation by clicking here.