Today’s LIFESaver story is Morgan Rodgers from @morgansmessage the former Duke Lacrosse player. So much of her story parallels mine. Wanted to share…
I’ve been in & arnd sports my whole life. First playing as a child & into college yrs – I loved competing: didn’t matter the sport – ice hockey to basketball, football to ping pong & yes even lax…it’s what got me up every morning.
Loved sports so much that I needed to make a career out of it. It’s what gave me purpose & identity as a child & young adult. Started doing internships in my teens, & went on to work for the NBA League Office rt out of college. Led to sr. management positions w NBA, WBA, & NHL teams all over the country. By outside measures, I was “successful.”
What I didn’t realize was, pain from childhood was building, cumulatively (& silently). Watching fam members get sick over & over w major illnesses & accidents. Losing 3 of my close friends. I didn’t realize the pain was there, bc I was able to use my love for sports (unknowingly) – to cover up that pain. If I was able to continue to get my “drug” in various forms – playing, competing, then in the office, I didn’t need to sit in my pain.
We damn ppl for getting their “hit” from an actual drug, or alcohol bc of the “addiction to substances.” But we talk very little abt how our addiction to what we love doing, can also act as a mask.
Dona, Morgan’s mom, shares so eloquently (full share link in Stories), how much her identity was wrapped in her sport once she got to that level – D1 athlete at a major university. When that sport got taken away bc of a career ending injury: What was her purpose? Her identity?
At that pt you’re not only left w any pain that accumulated underneath from the past, you also start questioning – Who am I? The combination of those can take down even the strongest/highest performers. It’s why we see so many tragedies after one’s career.
Morgan’s Message is on a mission, like so many of the fams this month, to educate. Lawyer, doctor, store clerk, & yes even athlete – we can get so caught up in WHAT we do…but we are so much more than that ONE thing.
