Editor’s note: If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is available 24 hours a day at 1-800-273-8255.
Ohio State offensive lineman Harry Miller said Thursday that he was medically retiring from football.
In a lengthy social media post, Miller said that he had gone to Buckeyes coach Ryan Day before the 2021 season and said that he wanted to kill himself. Miller, who said he was sharing his story because was a football player, said that Day helped provide him with the counseling and support he needed to keep going and persevere through life.
“Prior to the season last year, I told Coach Day of my intention to kill myself. He immediately had me in touch with Dr. Candice and Dr. Norman and I received the support I needed. After a few weeks, I tried my luck at football once again, with scars on my wrists and throat. Maybe the scars were hard to see with my wrists taped up. Maybe it was hard to see the scars through the bright colors of the television. Maybe the scars were hard to hear through all the talk shows and interviews. They are hard to see and they are easy to hide, but they sure do hurt. There was a dead man on the television set, but nobody knew it.
“At the time, I would rather be dead than a coward. I’d rather be nothing at all than have to explain everything that was wrong. I was planning on being reduced to my initials on a sticker on a back of a helmet. I had seen people seek help before. I had seen the age-old adage of how our generation was softening by the second, but I can tell you my skin was tough. It had to be. But it was not tougher than the sharp metal of my box cutter. And I saw how easy it was for people to dismiss others by talking about how they were just a dumb college kid who didn’t know anything. But luckily I am a student in the…
..
