Morgan’s Message is a non-profit organization made to break the stigma surrounding athletes’ mental health. Morgan’s message began in July, 2020 in honor of Morgan Rogers, who was a member of the Division 1 women’s lacrosse team at Duke University. In her senior year of high school, Rogers began to experience severe anxiety. At the time, she received support from her team and professional help to manage her anxiety then she began her college lacrosse journey. In her sophomore year of college, she had a devastating knee injury that resulted in a one year of endless surgery and rehab. As a result, the injury caused Rogers’s mental health decline rapidly and she felt she had no worth; she died of suicide on July 11, 2019 at the age of 22. Rogers’s family created this program to raise awareness for all athletes’ mental health and it had grown significantly over the past couple years. It has since grown to 5,136 Ambassadors in 1,618 high school and college campuses in the United States. This fall, eight Walpole sports teams have shown their support for the cause.
On Sept. 17, the first dedication games were held by the boys and girls cross country teams. This was their first year hosting a Morgan’s Message meet. To honor Morgan’s Message, the cross country team wore neon pink Morgan’s Message shirts, teal ribbons on their uniforms, ribbons in their hair and Morgan’s Message bracelets while they were racing. Along with these they had a table set up with posters and brochures to explain the significance of Morgan’s Message.
“The dedication games are a way to remind athletes that they aren’t defined by their sport and that there are a lot of people they can reach out to if they are struggling with mental health,” the publicity coordinator and chair of the girls cross country dedication meet, Maddie Cunningham said.
Additionally, six other teams will be hosting dedication games this fall; Football, field hockey, girls and boys soccer, girls volleyball and girls swimming. Each one of these teams will be representing Morgan’s Message like the cross country team by wearing matching Morgan’s Message shirts in the teams chosen color along with matching teal Morgan’s Message bracelets and teal ribbons on their uniform or in their hair. They will also have an informational table on the purpose of dedication games. In addition to the tables, all teams will read the same script to inform the audience and teams about Morgan’s message before the game begins.
“Morgan’s Message was created by her family and former teammates with the mission to eliminate the stigma surrounding mental health, normalize the conversations about mental health and ensure that mental health is treated equally to physical health for all student-athletes.” This is a part of the speech the ambassadors will say at the games.
The speech is then followed with a ten second moment of silence to honor Rogers life.
Morgan’s Message is a great way to break the stigma around athletes’ mental health. They make sure all athletes know that their mental health is important and getting help is not embarrassing. The program creates a safe space for all athletes to share their stories, resources, and help their peers through all struggles they may be facing.
