SPEED DEATH ‘HELPED MEN FACE ISSUES’
THE DEATH of Gary Speed led to more men seeking help for mental health issues, Prince William has said.
The Duke of Cambridge made the revelation as he spoke of the need for football clubs to take more action to tackle mental health issues.
Prince William, who is also president of the Football Association (FA), visited a charity which is working with those affected by non-recent sexual abuse in football.
Referring to the death of former Wales captain Gary Speed, he added: “My understanding is following the tragic circumstances of Gary Speed, that started the ball rolling about people talking about their struggles and their problems, going, ‘Wow, if Gary Speed has these problems then I need to go see someone’, and it’s great news in that sense if from something so horrendous, something so positive has come from that.
“But equally it’s very damning on all of us that has been brewing under there for a long time, these young men do not feel comfortable about some of this stuff.”
Dad-of-two Speed, the manager of Wales’ international football side, had waged a secret battle with depression and was found hanged on November 27, 2011.
His widow, Louise, told an inquest into the 42-year-old’s death that his job had put a strain on their marriage as he was spending more time away from the family.
Prince William made his comments during a visit to the charity Sporting Chance, in Liphook, Hampshire.
He was met by the charity’s founder and former Arsenal defender, Tony Adams, who explained how it had got involved following the recent emergence of allegations.
William said: “We have been very good at tackling things like racism and such in football, and the fact that we are now seen to be leading the way in football and mental health is fantastic.
“We need to normalise this a lot more in stadiums around the country whenever we can, and people, fans, players, need to see that the clubs in particular have a huge role in promoting that message.”
He continued: “I’ve always felt those young men get put into the situation where they have amazing feet, their skill with the ball is unquestionable, but everyone forgets about the rest of the body, they forget about the head, they forget about how they have been brought up, about what they have been through.
“And it’s extraordinary in a business where you invest that amount of money into something, you want to know what you are getting and you want to know everything, you want to look after what you have got.
“I do think the clubs do need to understand that better, you have to be careful you do not over-professionalise the industry.
“People’s mental wellbeing lives go beyond football.”
Sporting Chance was set up in 2000 to support professional and former professional sports people with a range of issues from addictive disorders to bereavement, depression and anxiety, and has worked with about 70 survivors of historic abuse since the abuse came to light last year.
Ian Ackley, who came out publicly 20 years ago about the abuse he suffered, said: “It was heartwarming to see how genuinely concerned and compassionate he was about the service here at Sporting Chance.
“It has made a huge difference to myself and the other guys to have it acknowledged, it’s fantastic. Without the service I wouldn’t be the functioning human being I am today, it’s been essential to my recovery.”