Philly nonprofit using ex-NFL players to get more men into therapy
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Photos: Courtesy of Theresa Spencer of Vintage Green
For decades, former NFL tight end Tim Massaquoi never needed an alarm. Football dictated his mornings: up before dawn, then hours of stretching and treatment before practice.
Why it matters: When a knee injury ended his career after just 11 games, Massaquoi had to build a new morning routine — reading, meditation and exercise — to deal with panic attacks and depression that came with losing an identity that had defined him.
The big picture: Now a therapist, Massaquoi has joined forces with Black Men Heal, a Philly nonprofit behind a new campaign to raise $150,000 to provide therapy for 100 men.
- The group's mission: to get more men to realize it's OK to be open and vulnerable about their mental health struggles.
Driving the news: Massaquoi helped recruit former NFL players Dom Curry, Desmond Wynn and Nydair Rouse to appear with him last weekend for a barber shop-style conversation at Philadelphia's Candlelight Studios about life beyond the game.
- Their stories will appear in an upcoming documentary directed by Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Kaloni Davis, Black Men Heal founder and therapist Tasnim Sulaiman tells Axios.
Zoom in: Therapy has become more mainstream as celebrities, athletes and politicians have opened up about their mental health.
- The panel gave former players and other speakers a space to open up about the pressures of elite sports and the challenges of everyday life, from addiction to fatherhood.
What they're saying: The hope is that the documentary, expected to be released in the fall, will reach even more young men as they navigate their own lives, Sulaiman says.
- "We call vulnerability sexy," she says.
Zoom in: After his football career ended, Massaquoi says it took him a while to transition to becoming a "citizen."
- Whenever football season rolled around, he refused to watch games — still angry and resentful about no longer being able to suit up.
"I had the NFL — the 'not for long' type career, and it was just embarrassing," he says. "I felt that I didn't measure up as a pro athlete."
Catch up quick: It wasn't until he started working with a therapist that he found his post-career calling.
- He's now a licensed professional counselor and leads Kingsessing Heals, a wellness center that helps Philly residents impacted by the 2023 Kingsessing mass shooting.
The bottom line: Therapy helped Massaquoi confront what once felt too heavy to carry — and he hopes the stories in the documentary gives someone else permission to begin healing.
- "Problems are like winning a championship for me," he says. "We figure out the playbook, and we just go to work."