Miami University welcomed Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver AJ Brown to the Donald W Fritz Pavilion on April 7 to speak about his history with mental health as a part of Miami’s Stress Less Week.
Brown joined the Eagles before the 2022 season and played three straight seasons with more than 1,000 yards. He helped the Eagles win Super Bowl LIX on Feb. 9 by catching three passes for 43 yards and a touchdown.
Monday marked another milestone for Brown as he spoke at his first college about his experience and struggles with mental health.
“This is a leap of faith, and I’m glad I did it,” Brown said. “It’s been amazing. So, don’t be afraid to go and put yourself out there. Be vulnerable. Just go out there and go for it. Put all the chips in.”
Nearly 750 Miami students packed into the pavilion to listen to Brown. Many wore their Eagles and University of Mississippi jerseys, showing Brown the already significant impact of his performance on the football field.
First-year marketing major Mattison Moton and first-year psychology major Mareyhana Scurry chose to attend Brown’s speech over the Matthew Lillard Lecture Series event on the same evening. Moton said hearing an athlete at the height of his career talk about his personal struggles was powerful.
“I think it’s inspiring,” Moton said. “Every day, we see other people going through mental health, but seeing a professional athlete who can use his platform and empower others [and] inspire others to be open about it and get help if they need it is just powerful.”
Student body president Will Brinley welcomed Brown to the stage for a Q&A with Steve Large, the assistant vice president for health and wellness with Student Life.
Early in his talk, Brown admitted that the initial plan was to just speak with the football team, despite not having prepared a formal speech. When he learned he was doing a Q&A, he became nervous, even though he consistently plays football in front of hundreds of thousands of people.
“I’m human,” Brown said. “Like I said, I try to translate everything to the football field. How well I prepare on the football field makes me comfortable. I’m never nervous out there.”
AJ Brown (left) and Steve Large (right) sit across from eachother for a Q&A in the Donald W. Fritz Pavilion in front of 750 people on April 7
Now that he has his first Super Bowl ring, Brown explained that this offseason differed from usual. Instead of striving towards a long-term goal for the season, he now focuses on his day-to-day routine, highlighting the importance of staying disciplined.
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After all, you can’t score a touchdown on every play. Sometimes, you just need a first down.
“I think you need structure in everything,” Brown said. “It’s a foundation. Whatever your dreams or your goals you may have, if you do something every single day, I promise you, you will be better than the next person.”
As a professional athlete, Brown said he still doubts himself. To combat this, he snaps a rubber band against his wrist every time he starts to think negatively about himself.
As a college athlete at Ole Miss, Brown had to teach himself to rely on others for support. He said he didn’t want to bother anyone in college and wanted to be left alone.
Now, he recommends that anyone who struggles with mental health to not hesitate and reach out for help immediately.
Brown also touched on the importance of his faith in God in his career. He said that even the smartest people in the world don’t have all the answers, but he believes that God has a plan for him.
Whenever he feels anxious before a play or disappointed with his performance, Brown turns to God and trusts that he will guide him.
“That’s when I reverted back to God,” Brown said. “I say a quick little prayer, ‘God, teach me to remain humble in this situation.’ Everything will work itself out.”
Audience members asked Brown questions to end the event. Several students asked about his game day routine, his favorite teams to play against (the Pittsburgh Steelers) as well as his top five wide receivers in the league. Others asked about how he overcame difficulties in his career.
Students in attendance, like senior accounting major Jacob Frasu, took to heart what Brown said about his mental health, especially as an athlete sitting at the top of the sports world.
“I think it’s interesting to hear him talk about how he’s dealt with his mental health this year and still being at the top of his sport,” Frasu said. “Everyone deals with self-doubt. Everyone deals with different mental health issues. It is inspiring to see that you can push through it [and] achieve whatever you want.”
Another student, junior chemical engineering major Steven Lorenz, is a Detroit Lions fan who appreciated Brown’s authenticity throughout the event. The event being unscripted and open to any and all questions from those in the audience gave it a more down-to-earth feeling that not many professional athletes broadcast in the media.
“I thought it was cool that he wasn’t doing anything scripted there,” Lorenz said. “It was all authentic. He wasn’t talking [in] perfect, articulated English. There were some stutters, some thoughts in there. You don’t get to see that a lot from professional athletes.”
Lorenz attended the event with Eli Obrist and AJ Bennett, both graduate students studying sports psychology. They agreed that gathering an introspective account of a professional athlete is encouraging for their future careers.
“It just brings me more motivation with what I want to do as a sports psychologist,” Bennett said. “A lot of times, we think that the best of the best don’t have any mental problems, but that’s just not the case. Everybody is human at the end of the day.”
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