October 25, 2023 • 26 mins
Seahawks Legends Ray Roberts and K.J. Wright get together to discuss dealing with anxiety, experiencing the highs and lows of the Super Bowls, K.J. playing on one of the best defenses of all time, and more. Today's show: Sylvester Croom connection (02:59), Playing on the best defense of all time (05:36), Books and Ball (07:34), Support for our brothers (10:27), Seahawks drafting another linebacker (12:39), Coach Carroll being there for K.J. (14:00), Handling the highs and lows of the Super Bowls (18:05), Experiencing anxiety (24:44).
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
You're listening to Big Raised Garage Grind.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
I want to bring awareness and my voice to something
that's meaningful and purposeful, more than just who's the best
football player, who's the best football team.
Speaker 3 (00:11):
The intersection between life, football and mental health.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
When you need help and you ask for help, you're
operating from a position of power. When you need help
and you don't ask for help, that's the weakness.
Speaker 1 (00:24):
Now here's your host, Seahawk's Legend, Ray Roberts.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
What up, family, This is Big Ray and this is
Big Ray's Garage Grind, brought to you by the Mindful
Therapy Group. This is episode number seven, and we are
super excited because we have a very special guest, a
dude that is like very dear to everyone's heart here
in Seattle. Like I don't know if there's anything this
dude could do wrong around here. But born in Olive Branch, Mississippi,
(00:53):
attended Mississippi State University. Played at Mississippi State from two
thousand and seven to twenty ten. Made the SEC All
Academic Honor Roll in two thousand and eight.
Speaker 1 (01:05):
I did.
Speaker 4 (01:05):
That's what it says.
Speaker 2 (01:06):
My man has a degree in criminology, which is interesting.
I didn't know that the fourth round pick for the
Seattle Seahawks played ten years as a linebacker with the Seahawks.
As a pro bowler in twenty and sixteen, helped anchor
a defense that allowed the fewest points in the NFL
for four straight seasons and a nominee for the Walter
Payton NFL Man of the Year Award and the winner
(01:29):
of the Steve Largin Award Super Bowl forty eight. Champion, husband, father, broadcaster,
host of the KG All Day podcast, The Man, the Myth,
the Legend. Number fifty in your programs with number one
of your heart, k J. Wright, I like that intro
man man to give it to you all academic. That
one caught me off guard. That's the first time I'm
(01:51):
here in that one.
Speaker 1 (01:51):
But I'll take it. I take it.
Speaker 4 (01:52):
Hey, you gotta take that one.
Speaker 2 (01:53):
Bro. I remember this is a crazy story. I almost
almost flunked out of college my first year at UVA.
Like after I did the first nothing, not a dang,
the party start on Thursday. I didn't miss any of them.
But but my GPA was like one point zero four.
So I like that, and uh so they put me
(02:15):
on academic probation and so it was a matter of
me just not being able to manage my time. So
then once I got that down, I made like the
honor roll every semester. Then one year I made the
All acc Academic team and was first team All A
CEC and all that kind of stuff. So when we
get it out, Yeah, when my sons went to college,
I was like, all right, dude, like you have to
consider the party part of it and theom time management
(02:38):
piece of it because you have the knowledge. But if
you don't manage the time.
Speaker 3 (02:41):
It's the freedom you get when you get to college.
Oh mama, and not on my bag, daddy, not here
I can do you know kind of what I want
to do. Yes, but you gotta be disciplined, gotta be
you gotta be on it because if you get them
them academics get get wrong, especially an athlete, you're not playing.
Speaker 4 (02:56):
Well, let me ask you this.
Speaker 2 (02:58):
You were recruited probably and played for at least one
year for Slo Crowns two years.
Speaker 1 (03:03):
Two years.
Speaker 4 (03:04):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (03:04):
So Slide was our offensive coordinator in Detroit, and uh,
when he first came in, he was like, hey, guys,
we're gonna turn this team around. Three hundred and sixty
degrees and so me, being the kind of nerdy jerk am,
I raised my hand and he's like and he's like,
(03:25):
what's up right? And I was just like, well, you know,
if you go three hundred and sixty degrees, we're right
back where we started.
Speaker 1 (03:29):
You did it, right?
Speaker 4 (03:33):
You that guy? Use that guy? Oh yeah? And he
was like you guys from Virginia think you know everything.
Speaker 2 (03:38):
And I was just like, I'm just saying, slide, like,
we can go one hundred and eighty degrees, but we
go through sixty were don't be right back when we start.
Speaker 4 (03:44):
We're all gonna get fired. And so that was uh.
And then you know, we.
Speaker 2 (03:48):
Would practice, you know obviously blocking for Barry, have all
these plays, we're running plays and we get in the game.
I'm on the backside chasing safeties and corners all the time.
So I go to the side. I'm like slide like, man, like,
can you get a brother in the game? Like I
don't get paid to chase's dbs.
Speaker 4 (04:04):
Like I need to.
Speaker 2 (04:04):
I need to hit a dude that has a number
ninety on like you know. And so he and I
would go back and forth.
Speaker 4 (04:09):
But I love he was looking too.
Speaker 3 (04:11):
I love him to old school. Yes, old school, coming there.
You love your parents, So hey, Brow, you doing how
you're doing? And he was one of the main reasons
I went to Missippi State just I felt like he's
someone that I could lean on trust, have their father
figure while I'm away from my hometown on all the
branch and so he was the reason actually that I
(04:31):
chose to go there.
Speaker 1 (04:32):
But man, two years and he was out of there.
Speaker 3 (04:35):
We had a shooting on campus from one of our players,
and on top of that, we were losing, and everything
just went down here really quick. And so I called
him like a couple of months ago, checked in and
them it's good to hear from him.
Speaker 4 (04:47):
Yeah, that's good. S SL was a good dude.
Speaker 2 (04:49):
He kind of got handed a tough deal in Detroit because,
you know, Bobby Ross was our head coach and Bobby
was hard man.
Speaker 4 (04:56):
He was just and like so a lot of players.
Speaker 2 (04:58):
Just kind of checked out and can go well for
Sly because Sly, you know, I think I think he
was He might have been off at the cordon when
Barry rushed for two thousand yards.
Speaker 3 (05:07):
Yeah, but it was says Missippi State. We was just
coming up for probation. We lost a bunch of scholarships.
What happened to s MU when they got like the
black when they got in trouble.
Speaker 1 (05:18):
You remember, we got in a lot of.
Speaker 3 (05:19):
Trouble, good stuff, death penalty, and we had something similar
to that Asissippi State, So we came into a bad situation.
Didn't last anytime. He last like three or four years.
Then they brought Dann Mulling in and I think for
him as well.
Speaker 2 (05:33):
Well, that's cool that you check in on him. That's
that's some good stuff. But as we mentioned though here,
as a Seahawk, you're an integral part of one of
the most dominant, dynamic, historical great defenses of all time.
Speaker 4 (05:48):
So what was that like? Shoot?
Speaker 1 (05:51):
It was it was kind of a sense.
Speaker 3 (05:53):
Of not pressure, but you better hold up your end
of the of the bargain. If you are here, you know,
half step in, not preparing, not showing up the right way.
Speaker 1 (06:03):
You best believe.
Speaker 3 (06:04):
First of all, it's gonna get called out right by
one of your brothers and you would get exposed on
the football field. And our mindset, especially my mindset is
r kJ. You surrounded by some dudes. You gotta be
on top of your game. So you could walk there,
walk with them as well. Right, And the way that
I prepared, the way that I studied, the way that
Ken Norton junior, just have myself and Bobby and Bruce
(06:26):
ready to go.
Speaker 1 (06:28):
We knew that if we played.
Speaker 3 (06:30):
Well, this defense would be dominant as well. And so
that was my mindset each and every off season, each
and every practice. Like kJ put yourself in the proper
position to be successful because you surrounded by some dogs.
Speaker 4 (06:42):
What like that.
Speaker 2 (06:43):
That's an interesting way to put it, to put yourself
in a position to be successful. Because people will ask
me sometimes the neighborhood I grew up in. I grew
up in the mountains of North Carolina, And I'll go like, man,
like you must have been, like you best athlete in
the neighborhood. I'm like, no, Like, I probably wouldn't even
make the top ten. I say, but what I did
make the top ten end was being ready and like
(07:03):
my academics were right, Like I stayed out of trouble,
I rode with the right crew, like all that kind
of stuff, didn't miss school, all that good teammate, those
other guys early fathers getting arrested, getting kicked out of school,
like all these different kinds of things. So when you
say that you were, you know, doing all those scenes
(07:23):
to be prepared, what did that look like for kJ?
Speaker 3 (07:25):
Well, I'm gonna take it. I hate to get taking
back to high school. Like I was the same as you.
I was like the tenth best player on my football team, right,
I was like the tenth best player on my team.
But when I looked around practice in schools, in guys
doing this, guy's doing that in the off season, kJ
on that damn field, kJ in that weight room, kJ
ain't getting in no trouble, and you just fast forward.
(07:48):
I just took all those tools, just doing the stuff
that I could control. I would do it at a
very high level, right, And like everything that I did
revolved around books and ball.
Speaker 1 (07:58):
I kid you not, I had my fun.
Speaker 3 (07:59):
I wouldn't know school, but priority number one, it's kJ,
handle this and then you can have fun after that.
I just look at so many people, it's just the
priorities is off. My mama always said, son, your priorities, right,
And I kid you, and I heard that a billion
times in my lifetime, and so I just carry that
stuff with me to this day. Have my priorities in
(08:20):
order handle business then have fun after that.
Speaker 2 (08:23):
Absolutely well, in all of that, you got you played
with a equally dynamic and historical personalities. So how did
you how did you hold on to yourself? And this
is kind of moving into like, you know, some of
the mental health stuff, but how did you hold on
to who you were as a player and who you
(08:44):
were as a person in the midst of all of that.
Speaker 3 (08:48):
Yeah, I mean I just knew I had There's only
could be one kJ There're gonna be one Sherman, there
can only be one might be And it was a
beautiful thing to see all of those personalities, all those
dynamic dudes just blending to one and that so I
knew for me, Hey know your role, this is your role.
You're the type of guy when you see something you
not go be up in front of the whole team yelling, shouting,
(09:09):
screaming what you are going to do?
Speaker 1 (09:11):
You go go up to your brother like, hey, what's up?
Speaker 4 (09:13):
Dog?
Speaker 3 (09:13):
You're good on this play? Like Hey, what happened with
this practice? Are you healthy? Are you feeling good? And
So the way that I moved and migrated in this
facility was I was always there for my teammates, I
always was super observant of my guys, and I'm like,
Cam is off today. Let me let me go to
him during lunch, sit there and his sit in his locker.
We'll just go chop it up. And so that was
(09:35):
my style. That was my approach. But when it came
to being like.
Speaker 1 (09:39):
A vocal Doug Ballwin or a vocal cam that won't
me at all and didn't need to be right.
Speaker 2 (09:44):
Right, So like that's and to me, that's what's interesting
because you can hear some people think of that defense
and they go like, oh man, they were like you
did on the field play some bullet ball, you know
what I mean? Yeah, someone has to be out there,
you know. And then some people think of the personality
of that defense as like also being bully ish off
(10:06):
the field and in the locker room and stuff. And
so what I would want to know is the stuff
that you just shared, like the way did you guys
interact with each other that also when you said, hey,
I see camus off a little bit. So that off
could be off like physically or it could be off mentally, right,
(10:26):
and so then how to speak a little bit more
on how you got supported each other that way? Like
off the field, like maybe one on one or you know,
how did you guys approach each other when you thought
a dude might be in or out of it?
Speaker 3 (10:38):
The perfect example I could use is Bobby. Bobby was
like my therapist in this building. I didn't really talk
to Pacila, you know, the team therapists and team clinicians.
Speaker 1 (10:47):
I didn't talk to people like that.
Speaker 3 (10:48):
This guy just had a gnat for when he saw
me in my feelings. He would come up to me
and we're just talking out. He would literally come right
up to my locker. He just had the perfect timing. Hey,
what's up, dog? How you doing? How you holding up?
Like I'm just watching you, I'm seeing you. And sometimes
I would open up and sometimes I wouldn't. But with
(11:10):
he was the person that I had. I played with
Bobby for eight years whenever I needed something, whatever, I
needed someone to vent to, to express myself to. I'm
frustrated with coaching this mess, or they just drafted this
guy here, I'm pissed off, or I'm nervous about getting traded.
He was my guy that I vented to, and I
knew with him that no one else will hear this
(11:31):
this conversation would stay between us too. It would not
get shared with a mor Kelly, with my coach, with
a coach Carol. So I knew I had that safe
space within within the building, someone that understands, someone that
gets it. But at the end of the day, he's
gonna listen, give me his feedback, but it will be
shared between.
Speaker 1 (11:47):
Just us two.
Speaker 2 (11:48):
Yeah, So you just hit on some interesting things and
actually some of the concepts that we've been talking about here,
like having your people like everyone needs. I call him
a a guardrail relationships, kind of like the guardrails you
put up in bowling, so it keeps you from going
into the gutter, you know what I'm saying. So it
kind of and so it sounds like Bobby was like
for you. So here's an interesting thing. You know, from
the outside end, people would look at a kJ Wright
(12:09):
and go like, man, like, this dude has everything, like
and he's established on this team. Why would he be
worried about who their draft and why would he be
worried about, you know, if he's going to get traded
or whatever, Like what is the what is going through
your head at that moment? Because this is where I
think people miss the humanity of players, because they take
(12:29):
the physical toughness and they think like, oh, well, like
you know, he can deal with whatever, has supreme confidence
or whatever. But we get a little change in our
armor too, you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 3 (12:39):
Yeah, man, I take it to year ten. It's your ten.
I take it to you're nine. You're not as better
than my short entry. Short of kept coming out of place,
kept getting dislocated, and I'm not getting surgery. But I
had to get surgery right in the middle of a pandemic, right,
And I kid you not. The draft comes around a
month later, and there watching the draft. I watch it
(13:01):
every year and pick number twenty something come around. I'm
like thesepos about the draft linebacker. I'm I just had surgery.
I'm in my contract year. I was like these foks
about the draft of linebacker, and right, you know this,
anytime someone drafts a linebacker or a guy in your position,
it gets a.
Speaker 1 (13:20):
Little like, all hell, what's about to go down?
Speaker 3 (13:24):
And so here i am surgery, not healthy, pandemics going on,
So I'm not able to come to the facility every day.
I was only rehabbing at the facility twice a week.
So I'm nervous as hell. And then the doctor telling
me you won't be ready till October, so all this
stuff is building up. I'm like, oh my god, they
(13:46):
drafted this guy contract year, salary is not guaranteed. I'm
not gonna be ready until the middle of the season.
Red flax all over the place. So hell yeah, I
was nervous. Hell y'all, I was nervous. Hell yeah, I
was scared. And but you talk about someone being there
for you, coach Carol, this man, this man's the goat.
(14:07):
This man is the absolute goat. We had a moment
where we was all expressing ourselves, you know, in the
midst of the Black Lives Matter, and I was just saying, now,
I'm scared of this. I'm scared of that. This man
came up like he always does, wrapped his arm around me.
He was like, Hey, you don't got nothing to be
scared of. You're not going anywhere, You're not getting cut.
When I tell you, my anxiety went from one hundred
(14:27):
to two. That was so much needed for me, Just
that that words of affirmation, just that communication, just that
that comfort from him, and he did not have to
tell me that he didn't have to tell me that
when he told me that I trusted him, I believed him,
and he was there for me. He was there for
me when I expressed myself in front of the whole team.
(14:47):
He just came up to me one on one saying, hey,
kJ you're gonna be good.
Speaker 4 (14:51):
Well, I think that's important to important to note.
Speaker 2 (14:53):
It's because a lot of people will think that coaching
is screaming and yelling and getting in someone's face and
challenging them, and this concept that the coach has to
be your dad, you know, like is your father figure
and all this other kind of stuff and so and
for most people that look it looks a certain way,
like it has to be big and loud, and you
have to be you know, grabbing face mask and all
(15:14):
this other kind of stuff. But you just said the
coach just walked up and put his arm around you
and just said you're good. And then that just and
people don't look at that as coaching, you know what
I'm saying, Like people think of that as something else.
But to me, that's understanding and having an awareness of
the mental part of the game, Like he could probably
see the stress on your face and hear the stress
(15:36):
in your words. And then he was like, I need
to find a way to bring this down.
Speaker 4 (15:40):
To conforce that.
Speaker 2 (15:41):
That is mental health in a nutshell, and it doesn't
have to be like yeah, like I've gone to therapy
and I do therapy and that's and it's great. Like
some people need that, but other people just need someone
like that.
Speaker 1 (15:52):
I'm telling you.
Speaker 3 (15:53):
And the question is, what's the goal when you approach somebody,
what is your goal? And your goal is to bring
out the best in them. Your goal is to make
them comfortable, you know, get them excited if they're upset,
if they're angry, to ease that anxiety, to ease that stress.
That's the goal. And leadership sometimes you do got to
scream at somebody. Sometimes you gotta call them somebody out, Hey,
(16:16):
tighten up, do this, do that. Sometimes you gotta just chill.
Come from another angle, one on one, just us two. Hey,
come in my office. Let's talk this out as men.
Let's talk this out as human beings. And so that's
the goal. And the great ones know what it looks like.
The great ones know that approach that they should take.
King Norton Jr.
Speaker 1 (16:37):
Prime example, prime example.
Speaker 3 (16:39):
He knew when it cussed me out in front of
the whole room, and he knew when it call me
at ten o'clock at night and explain why he did
what he did earlier in practice. And so I've been
around great people and with me, I take what I
learned from them added to my approach and do my
kJ thing.
Speaker 4 (16:57):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (16:58):
And big part of that is that, uh, the trust
factor because they've shown up for your time and time again.
Yeah and so and so that's what brings the safety
in it. So you and so you know when coach
Norton or coach Carroll says something, their word is word
is bond.
Speaker 4 (17:13):
You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 3 (17:14):
I gotta ooh, I don't know if I should tell
this story, but I'm gonna tell it anyway. Bobby, I'm
not gonna say the coach name. I'm gonna say this
coach's name. But Bobby went up to a coach on
the staff because the coach noticed something was going on
with him, and Bobby expressed to the coach how he
was feeling, what he was going through. Tell me why
everyone on the coaching staff knew what was going.
Speaker 4 (17:34):
On, Bobby, Yeah, that's not good.
Speaker 3 (17:37):
Tell me why everybody on the coach staff knew what
was going with him, and so people can understand that
when people come to you, like if it's suicidal, you
got to tell that. If it's something, you gotta tell that.
But stuff and that we just discussed between us. It
got to stay here. It gotta stay tight because I'm
for damn sure not about to come to you again
if you just blabbing after other people.
Speaker 1 (17:58):
And so it got to be sacred.
Speaker 2 (18:00):
Yeah, so that that team, that team is super important.
And I think because you know, we're just talking about,
you know, just kind of handling different situations, the drastic.
There's some drastic things that you know happened in your career.
So you guys went from the height of winning a
Super Bowl in grand fashion, like from the very first
(18:21):
series defense Bam two, you knew it was open, Like
it was crazy. My kids were mad at me because
I'm like, we're not gonna go to Super Boys cold
in New York by bye bare watching on TV and uh,
but but the from the very first play of the game,
you know knew you guys gonna win. So you went
from that type of elation to one of the most
devastating losses. Uh, with the Patriots on the one yard line.
(18:43):
Can you talk to me how mentally you handled both
of those situations well.
Speaker 3 (18:50):
With the first one, that was the best moment of
my life here around. Been dreaming of this since I
was a legit, watching this, hoisting the Lombardi Trophy, having
a Super Bowl parade, getting my ring, going to the
White House, getting you know, extra endorsements, like this is everything,
This is everything I dreamed and hope for, and for
that to for us to get back the second time,
(19:11):
for us to put together that hard fo game we
had Ray Honestly, one of the most hardest parts of
that day was like guys were so banged up that day.
Searm had his thing calm toward his knee two days before,
Earl had his shoulder. But God's played their heart cell,
God's played their hearts out that game, and for us
(19:34):
to lose in that fashion with that decision, the way
that I described it was, it was like a dark, gray,
rainy cloud over this building for years, right for years.
There was no trust, there was no communication, There was
finger pointing, and we was all in the space of
(19:55):
we were just floating. We're just floating, going through the motion,
just getting by, just getting by, And it took it
literally took four years to get out of that funto
and so you talk about you know, people, people go
through stuff. Sometimes it takes people years to get out
of their stuff. And we finally, you know, we climbed
out of it. Everybody wasn't here for the ride. A
(20:17):
lot of guys left during that that moment because everyone
didn't heal, Everyone didn't heal properly. Everyone couldn't process what
just happened and just move forward.
Speaker 4 (20:29):
What would what would what did healing look like? For you?
Speaker 3 (20:32):
And that I'm still not here. I'm still not here
to this day. I'm not here. I'm not heal at all.
My personality. I'm not going to be that cancer and
just be that that guy in the locker room that's
just pissed off and mad and not listening to my
coach and just combat everything.
Speaker 1 (20:52):
He says.
Speaker 3 (20:53):
That's not my personality. But how did I get over it?
I'm still not over it, right, I told her Ill.
I told Mike Salt on my radio show and brought hewart.
I said, the only way I get over is that
I get another one. Hey, kJ is gotta get two
super Bowls. To his resume or until then, I'm gonna
still be in my feelings.
Speaker 4 (21:14):
Well, I'll tell you this. I took my kids to
that one.
Speaker 2 (21:17):
And my youngest son, Price, who's now at his first
year at Portland State playing left tackle. He came to
the game in all Seahawk uniform, helmet, shoulder pads, pants, jersey,
the whole thing. And he could not see what happened
on the play because he's so short and so because
everyone was standing up and but he just saw the
(21:38):
Patriots offense running out on the field and he goes Dad, like,
what happened. I'm like, oh, man, like they ball got intercepted,
you know, on the one yard line or go line
or whatever. And he just his tears. kJ they were
as big as your water bottle. He just could would
not stop crying. And to this day he is in
that boat with you. He's like, nah, I'm not over Dad,
like I just he just not over it.
Speaker 3 (21:59):
And I guess the question is like, because I still
see it, I can't. I can't watch the game. Anytime
I see that logo on our chests and those blue jerseys.
I changed the channel. I don't watch this. I don't
watch that stuff. Yeah, I do not watch it. I
can't stand the sight of it.
Speaker 1 (22:14):
It's like I'm gonna say, trauma.
Speaker 3 (22:17):
I don't know if that's too strong of a word,
but it's traumatic.
Speaker 1 (22:20):
Miss traumatic.
Speaker 4 (22:21):
Call it an adverse situation.
Speaker 1 (22:22):
Adverse situation, yes, And.
Speaker 3 (22:26):
You know, and so much stuff build up the following days,
you know, explanations and trying to make sense of it. No,
you can't make sense of this. Yeah, you can't make
sense of this. Just just say I'd messed up and
let's move on.
Speaker 2 (22:38):
Well, I had a similar experience like that, but it
was in college. We're Virginia, We're at nineteen ninety, we're
number one in the country for like four weeks, and
we lost to Georgia Tech. They were number six in
the country. We were number one in the country, and
we're up twenty one seven a half time. Just a
series of unfortunate events happened. In the second half. We
(22:59):
threw a ass to a running back out in the flat.
He insisted on wearing the little visor. The ball bounce,
He didn't see the ball in the sun and bounced
off his face mask. Dude, and accepted touchdown. Now it's
twenty one, fourteen and we come back quarterbacks running the
running the option. The right tackle get falls down in
front of him his the right tackle's foot kicks up,
(23:20):
knocks the ball in his hand. They catch it, get it.
Then they end up scoring. Now it's turn to one.
Speaker 4 (23:24):
It's a game. Then they end on the win on
the last second field.
Speaker 3 (23:27):
Go.
Speaker 4 (23:28):
I will not watch the Virginia Georgia Tech game after you.
Speaker 1 (23:31):
Can't do it.
Speaker 4 (23:32):
I just can't do it that game or any game anybody.
I don't.
Speaker 2 (23:35):
I don't watch any Georgia Tech game, but I don't,
but Georgia Tech Virginia not watching it. I just can't
do it. And then like they, hey, let's have a
reunion about that team in that game. Nah, bro, y'all
gonna do that by yourself. You and Charn Moore and
Chris Slade and Marco Coleman like all them dudes, y'all
go do that. Like I'm just I don't want any
part of it. I get so mad, so angry. But
(23:57):
the boat I'm sorry to get over. But so obviously
this this podcast, and you know we've kind of hit
on a little bit, is you know, we're focusing on
this idea around mental health and wellness and specifically for
athletes and men of color, and like just the stuff
that that people go through and how they deal with
it and how they've dealt with it and what their
(24:17):
perceptions of it are, uh, what their perception of it is.
But in your history as an athlete or just shoot,
that's just as kJ Wright, what role has like mental
health and wellness played in that? And then was therapy ever?
Like was it something that you thought about during your
(24:39):
playing career before your playing career, Like what was a
conversation like in the locker room like that type of stuff.
Speaker 1 (24:44):
I'm not gonna lie.
Speaker 3 (24:45):
The first time that I experienced experienced anxiety was my
eighth year in the league. And Ray, when I tell
this one, I tore my NY to MYNY preseason contract year,
just shuffling. When I tell you that, I I was
going to bed, having headaches, waking up, sweating.
Speaker 1 (25:06):
Driving to work in the parking lot, crying like.
Speaker 3 (25:11):
I was clueless to what stress and anxiety looked like
up until that moment. And for me, I didn't have
any tools. I wasn't talking to nobody, I wouldn't vending
to anyone. I would just come home stressed rehabbing, go
to sleep, do it all over again the next day,
and I just looked at my life and I'm like, damn, Like.
Speaker 1 (25:34):
I'm like, how do I get out of this? What
do I do
You're listening to Big Raised Garage Grind.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
I want to bring awareness and my voice to something
that's meaningful and purposeful, more than just who's the best
football player, who's the best football team.
Speaker 3 (00:11):
The intersection between life, football and mental health.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
When you need help and you ask for help, you're
operating from a position of power. When you need help
and you don't ask for help, that's the weakness.
Speaker 1 (00:24):
Now here's your host, Seahawk's Legend, Ray Roberts.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
What up, family, This is Big Ray and this is
Big Ray's Garage Grind, brought to you by the Mindful
Therapy Group. This is episode number seven, and we are
super excited because we have a very special guest, a
dude that is like very dear to everyone's heart here
in Seattle. Like I don't know if there's anything this
dude could do wrong around here. But born in Olive Branch, Mississippi,
(00:53):
attended Mississippi State University. Played at Mississippi State from two
thousand and seven to twenty ten. Made the SEC All
Academic Honor Roll in two thousand and eight.
Speaker 1 (01:05):
I did.
Speaker 4 (01:05):
That's what it says.
Speaker 2 (01:06):
My man has a degree in criminology, which is interesting.
I didn't know that the fourth round pick for the
Seattle Seahawks played ten years as a linebacker with the Seahawks.
As a pro bowler in twenty and sixteen, helped anchor
a defense that allowed the fewest points in the NFL
for four straight seasons and a nominee for the Walter
Payton NFL Man of the Year Award and the winner
(01:29):
of the Steve Largin Award Super Bowl forty eight. Champion, husband, father, broadcaster,
host of the KG All Day podcast, The Man, the Myth,
the Legend. Number fifty in your programs with number one
of your heart, k J. Wright, I like that intro
man man to give it to you all academic. That
one caught me off guard. That's the first time I'm
(01:51):
here in that one.
Speaker 1 (01:51):
But I'll take it. I take it.
Speaker 4 (01:52):
Hey, you gotta take that one.
Speaker 2 (01:53):
Bro. I remember this is a crazy story. I almost
almost flunked out of college my first year at UVA.
Like after I did the first nothing, not a dang,
the party start on Thursday. I didn't miss any of them.
But but my GPA was like one point zero four.
So I like that, and uh so they put me
(02:15):
on academic probation and so it was a matter of
me just not being able to manage my time. So
then once I got that down, I made like the
honor roll every semester. Then one year I made the
All acc Academic team and was first team All A
CEC and all that kind of stuff. So when we
get it out, Yeah, when my sons went to college,
I was like, all right, dude, like you have to
consider the party part of it and theom time management
(02:38):
piece of it because you have the knowledge. But if
you don't manage the time.
Speaker 3 (02:41):
It's the freedom you get when you get to college.
Oh mama, and not on my bag, daddy, not here
I can do you know kind of what I want
to do. Yes, but you gotta be disciplined, gotta be
you gotta be on it because if you get them
them academics get get wrong, especially an athlete, you're not playing.
Speaker 4 (02:56):
Well, let me ask you this.
Speaker 2 (02:58):
You were recruited probably and played for at least one
year for Slo Crowns two years.
Speaker 1 (03:03):
Two years.
Speaker 4 (03:04):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (03:04):
So Slide was our offensive coordinator in Detroit, and uh,
when he first came in, he was like, hey, guys,
we're gonna turn this team around. Three hundred and sixty
degrees and so me, being the kind of nerdy jerk am,
I raised my hand and he's like and he's like,
(03:25):
what's up right? And I was just like, well, you know,
if you go three hundred and sixty degrees, we're right
back where we started.
Speaker 1 (03:29):
You did it, right?
Speaker 4 (03:33):
You that guy? Use that guy? Oh yeah? And he
was like you guys from Virginia think you know everything.
Speaker 2 (03:38):
And I was just like, I'm just saying, slide, like,
we can go one hundred and eighty degrees, but we
go through sixty were don't be right back when we start.
Speaker 4 (03:44):
We're all gonna get fired. And so that was uh.
And then you know, we.
Speaker 2 (03:48):
Would practice, you know obviously blocking for Barry, have all
these plays, we're running plays and we get in the game.
I'm on the backside chasing safeties and corners all the time.
So I go to the side. I'm like slide like, man, like,
can you get a brother in the game? Like I
don't get paid to chase's dbs.
Speaker 4 (04:04):
Like I need to.
Speaker 2 (04:04):
I need to hit a dude that has a number
ninety on like you know. And so he and I
would go back and forth.
Speaker 4 (04:09):
But I love he was looking too.
Speaker 3 (04:11):
I love him to old school. Yes, old school, coming there.
You love your parents, So hey, Brow, you doing how
you're doing? And he was one of the main reasons
I went to Missippi State just I felt like he's
someone that I could lean on trust, have their father
figure while I'm away from my hometown on all the
branch and so he was the reason actually that I
(04:31):
chose to go there.
Speaker 1 (04:32):
But man, two years and he was out of there.
Speaker 3 (04:35):
We had a shooting on campus from one of our players,
and on top of that, we were losing, and everything
just went down here really quick. And so I called
him like a couple of months ago, checked in and
them it's good to hear from him.
Speaker 4 (04:47):
Yeah, that's good. S SL was a good dude.
Speaker 2 (04:49):
He kind of got handed a tough deal in Detroit because,
you know, Bobby Ross was our head coach and Bobby
was hard man.
Speaker 4 (04:56):
He was just and like so a lot of players.
Speaker 2 (04:58):
Just kind of checked out and can go well for
Sly because Sly, you know, I think I think he
was He might have been off at the cordon when
Barry rushed for two thousand yards.
Speaker 3 (05:07):
Yeah, but it was says Missippi State. We was just
coming up for probation. We lost a bunch of scholarships.
What happened to s MU when they got like the
black when they got in trouble.
Speaker 1 (05:18):
You remember, we got in a lot of.
Speaker 3 (05:19):
Trouble, good stuff, death penalty, and we had something similar
to that Asissippi State, So we came into a bad situation.
Didn't last anytime. He last like three or four years.
Then they brought Dann Mulling in and I think for
him as well.
Speaker 2 (05:33):
Well, that's cool that you check in on him. That's
that's some good stuff. But as we mentioned though here,
as a Seahawk, you're an integral part of one of
the most dominant, dynamic, historical great defenses of all time.
Speaker 4 (05:48):
So what was that like? Shoot?
Speaker 1 (05:51):
It was it was kind of a sense.
Speaker 3 (05:53):
Of not pressure, but you better hold up your end
of the of the bargain. If you are here, you know,
half step in, not preparing, not showing up the right way.
Speaker 1 (06:03):
You best believe.
Speaker 3 (06:04):
First of all, it's gonna get called out right by
one of your brothers and you would get exposed on
the football field. And our mindset, especially my mindset is
r kJ. You surrounded by some dudes. You gotta be
on top of your game. So you could walk there,
walk with them as well. Right, And the way that
I prepared, the way that I studied, the way that
Ken Norton junior, just have myself and Bobby and Bruce
(06:26):
ready to go.
Speaker 1 (06:28):
We knew that if we played.
Speaker 3 (06:30):
Well, this defense would be dominant as well. And so
that was my mindset each and every off season, each
and every practice. Like kJ put yourself in the proper
position to be successful because you surrounded by some dogs.
Speaker 4 (06:42):
What like that.
Speaker 2 (06:43):
That's an interesting way to put it, to put yourself
in a position to be successful. Because people will ask
me sometimes the neighborhood I grew up in. I grew
up in the mountains of North Carolina, And I'll go like, man,
like you must have been, like you best athlete in
the neighborhood. I'm like, no, Like, I probably wouldn't even
make the top ten. I say, but what I did
make the top ten end was being ready and like
(07:03):
my academics were right, Like I stayed out of trouble,
I rode with the right crew, like all that kind
of stuff, didn't miss school, all that good teammate, those
other guys early fathers getting arrested, getting kicked out of school,
like all these different kinds of things. So when you
say that you were, you know, doing all those scenes
(07:23):
to be prepared, what did that look like for kJ?
Speaker 3 (07:25):
Well, I'm gonna take it. I hate to get taking
back to high school. Like I was the same as you.
I was like the tenth best player on my football team, right,
I was like the tenth best player on my team.
But when I looked around practice in schools, in guys
doing this, guy's doing that in the off season, kJ
on that damn field, kJ in that weight room, kJ
ain't getting in no trouble, and you just fast forward.
(07:48):
I just took all those tools, just doing the stuff
that I could control. I would do it at a
very high level, right, And like everything that I did
revolved around books and ball.
Speaker 1 (07:58):
I kid you not, I had my fun.
Speaker 3 (07:59):
I wouldn't know school, but priority number one, it's kJ,
handle this and then you can have fun after that.
I just look at so many people, it's just the
priorities is off. My mama always said, son, your priorities, right,
And I kid you, and I heard that a billion
times in my lifetime, and so I just carry that
stuff with me to this day. Have my priorities in
(08:20):
order handle business then have fun after that.
Speaker 2 (08:23):
Absolutely well, in all of that, you got you played
with a equally dynamic and historical personalities. So how did
you how did you hold on to yourself? And this
is kind of moving into like, you know, some of
the mental health stuff, but how did you hold on
to who you were as a player and who you
(08:44):
were as a person in the midst of all of that.
Speaker 3 (08:48):
Yeah, I mean I just knew I had There's only
could be one kJ There're gonna be one Sherman, there
can only be one might be And it was a
beautiful thing to see all of those personalities, all those
dynamic dudes just blending to one and that so I
knew for me, Hey know your role, this is your role.
You're the type of guy when you see something you
not go be up in front of the whole team yelling, shouting,
(09:09):
screaming what you are going to do?
Speaker 1 (09:11):
You go go up to your brother like, hey, what's up?
Speaker 4 (09:13):
Dog?
Speaker 3 (09:13):
You're good on this play? Like Hey, what happened with
this practice? Are you healthy? Are you feeling good? And
So the way that I moved and migrated in this
facility was I was always there for my teammates, I
always was super observant of my guys, and I'm like,
Cam is off today. Let me let me go to
him during lunch, sit there and his sit in his locker.
We'll just go chop it up. And so that was
(09:35):
my style. That was my approach. But when it came
to being like.
Speaker 1 (09:39):
A vocal Doug Ballwin or a vocal cam that won't
me at all and didn't need to be right.
Speaker 2 (09:44):
Right, So like that's and to me, that's what's interesting
because you can hear some people think of that defense
and they go like, oh man, they were like you
did on the field play some bullet ball, you know
what I mean? Yeah, someone has to be out there,
you know. And then some people think of the personality
of that defense as like also being bully ish off
(10:06):
the field and in the locker room and stuff. And
so what I would want to know is the stuff
that you just shared, like the way did you guys
interact with each other that also when you said, hey,
I see camus off a little bit. So that off
could be off like physically or it could be off mentally, right,
(10:26):
and so then how to speak a little bit more
on how you got supported each other that way? Like
off the field, like maybe one on one or you know,
how did you guys approach each other when you thought
a dude might be in or out of it?
Speaker 3 (10:38):
The perfect example I could use is Bobby. Bobby was
like my therapist in this building. I didn't really talk
to Pacila, you know, the team therapists and team clinicians.
Speaker 1 (10:47):
I didn't talk to people like that.
Speaker 3 (10:48):
This guy just had a gnat for when he saw
me in my feelings. He would come up to me
and we're just talking out. He would literally come right
up to my locker. He just had the perfect timing. Hey,
what's up, dog? How you doing? How you holding up?
Like I'm just watching you, I'm seeing you. And sometimes
I would open up and sometimes I wouldn't. But with
(11:10):
he was the person that I had. I played with
Bobby for eight years whenever I needed something, whatever, I
needed someone to vent to, to express myself to. I'm
frustrated with coaching this mess, or they just drafted this
guy here, I'm pissed off, or I'm nervous about getting traded.
He was my guy that I vented to, and I
knew with him that no one else will hear this
(11:31):
this conversation would stay between us too. It would not
get shared with a mor Kelly, with my coach, with
a coach Carol. So I knew I had that safe
space within within the building, someone that understands, someone that
gets it. But at the end of the day, he's
gonna listen, give me his feedback, but it will be
shared between.
Speaker 1 (11:47):
Just us two.
Speaker 2 (11:48):
Yeah, So you just hit on some interesting things and
actually some of the concepts that we've been talking about here,
like having your people like everyone needs. I call him
a a guardrail relationships, kind of like the guardrails you
put up in bowling, so it keeps you from going
into the gutter, you know what I'm saying. So it
kind of and so it sounds like Bobby was like
for you. So here's an interesting thing. You know, from
the outside end, people would look at a kJ Wright
(12:09):
and go like, man, like, this dude has everything, like
and he's established on this team. Why would he be
worried about who their draft and why would he be
worried about, you know, if he's going to get traded
or whatever, Like what is the what is going through
your head at that moment? Because this is where I
think people miss the humanity of players, because they take
(12:29):
the physical toughness and they think like, oh, well, like
you know, he can deal with whatever, has supreme confidence
or whatever. But we get a little change in our
armor too, you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 3 (12:39):
Yeah, man, I take it to year ten. It's your ten.
I take it to you're nine. You're not as better
than my short entry. Short of kept coming out of place,
kept getting dislocated, and I'm not getting surgery. But I
had to get surgery right in the middle of a pandemic, right,
And I kid you not. The draft comes around a
month later, and there watching the draft. I watch it
(13:01):
every year and pick number twenty something come around. I'm
like thesepos about the draft linebacker. I'm I just had surgery.
I'm in my contract year. I was like these foks
about the draft of linebacker, and right, you know this,
anytime someone drafts a linebacker or a guy in your position,
it gets a.
Speaker 1 (13:20):
Little like, all hell, what's about to go down?
Speaker 3 (13:24):
And so here i am surgery, not healthy, pandemics going on,
So I'm not able to come to the facility every day.
I was only rehabbing at the facility twice a week.
So I'm nervous as hell. And then the doctor telling
me you won't be ready till October, so all this
stuff is building up. I'm like, oh my god, they
(13:46):
drafted this guy contract year, salary is not guaranteed. I'm
not gonna be ready until the middle of the season.
Red flax all over the place. So hell yeah, I
was nervous. Hell y'all, I was nervous. Hell yeah, I
was scared. And but you talk about someone being there
for you, coach Carol, this man, this man's the goat.
(14:07):
This man is the absolute goat. We had a moment
where we was all expressing ourselves, you know, in the
midst of the Black Lives Matter, and I was just saying, now,
I'm scared of this. I'm scared of that. This man
came up like he always does, wrapped his arm around me.
He was like, Hey, you don't got nothing to be
scared of. You're not going anywhere, You're not getting cut.
When I tell you, my anxiety went from one hundred
(14:27):
to two. That was so much needed for me, Just
that that words of affirmation, just that communication, just that
that comfort from him, and he did not have to
tell me that he didn't have to tell me that
when he told me that I trusted him, I believed him,
and he was there for me. He was there for
me when I expressed myself in front of the whole team.
(14:47):
He just came up to me one on one saying, hey,
kJ you're gonna be good.
Speaker 4 (14:51):
Well, I think that's important to important to note.
Speaker 2 (14:53):
It's because a lot of people will think that coaching
is screaming and yelling and getting in someone's face and
challenging them, and this concept that the coach has to
be your dad, you know, like is your father figure
and all this other kind of stuff and so and
for most people that look it looks a certain way,
like it has to be big and loud, and you
have to be you know, grabbing face mask and all
(15:14):
this other kind of stuff. But you just said the
coach just walked up and put his arm around you
and just said you're good. And then that just and
people don't look at that as coaching, you know what
I'm saying, Like people think of that as something else.
But to me, that's understanding and having an awareness of
the mental part of the game, Like he could probably
see the stress on your face and hear the stress
(15:36):
in your words. And then he was like, I need
to find a way to bring this down.
Speaker 4 (15:40):
To conforce that.
Speaker 2 (15:41):
That is mental health in a nutshell, and it doesn't
have to be like yeah, like I've gone to therapy
and I do therapy and that's and it's great. Like
some people need that, but other people just need someone
like that.
Speaker 1 (15:52):
I'm telling you.
Speaker 3 (15:53):
And the question is, what's the goal when you approach somebody,
what is your goal? And your goal is to bring
out the best in them. Your goal is to make
them comfortable, you know, get them excited if they're upset,
if they're angry, to ease that anxiety, to ease that stress.
That's the goal. And leadership sometimes you do got to
scream at somebody. Sometimes you gotta call them somebody out, Hey,
(16:16):
tighten up, do this, do that. Sometimes you gotta just chill.
Come from another angle, one on one, just us two. Hey,
come in my office. Let's talk this out as men.
Let's talk this out as human beings. And so that's
the goal. And the great ones know what it looks like.
The great ones know that approach that they should take.
King Norton Jr.
Speaker 1 (16:37):
Prime example, prime example.
Speaker 3 (16:39):
He knew when it cussed me out in front of
the whole room, and he knew when it call me
at ten o'clock at night and explain why he did
what he did earlier in practice. And so I've been
around great people and with me, I take what I
learned from them added to my approach and do my
kJ thing.
Speaker 4 (16:57):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (16:58):
And big part of that is that, uh, the trust
factor because they've shown up for your time and time again.
Yeah and so and so that's what brings the safety
in it. So you and so you know when coach
Norton or coach Carroll says something, their word is word
is bond.
Speaker 4 (17:13):
You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 3 (17:14):
I gotta ooh, I don't know if I should tell
this story, but I'm gonna tell it anyway. Bobby, I'm
not gonna say the coach name. I'm gonna say this
coach's name. But Bobby went up to a coach on
the staff because the coach noticed something was going on
with him, and Bobby expressed to the coach how he
was feeling, what he was going through. Tell me why
everyone on the coaching staff knew what was going.
Speaker 4 (17:34):
On, Bobby, Yeah, that's not good.
Speaker 3 (17:37):
Tell me why everybody on the coach staff knew what
was going with him, and so people can understand that
when people come to you, like if it's suicidal, you
got to tell that. If it's something, you gotta tell that.
But stuff and that we just discussed between us. It
got to stay here. It gotta stay tight because I'm
for damn sure not about to come to you again
if you just blabbing after other people.
Speaker 1 (17:58):
And so it got to be sacred.
Speaker 2 (18:00):
Yeah, so that that team, that team is super important.
And I think because you know, we're just talking about,
you know, just kind of handling different situations, the drastic.
There's some drastic things that you know happened in your career.
So you guys went from the height of winning a
Super Bowl in grand fashion, like from the very first
(18:21):
series defense Bam two, you knew it was open, Like
it was crazy. My kids were mad at me because
I'm like, we're not gonna go to Super Boys cold
in New York by bye bare watching on TV and uh,
but but the from the very first play of the game,
you know knew you guys gonna win. So you went
from that type of elation to one of the most
devastating losses. Uh, with the Patriots on the one yard line.
(18:43):
Can you talk to me how mentally you handled both
of those situations well.
Speaker 3 (18:50):
With the first one, that was the best moment of
my life here around. Been dreaming of this since I
was a legit, watching this, hoisting the Lombardi Trophy, having
a Super Bowl parade, getting my ring, going to the
White House, getting you know, extra endorsements, like this is everything,
This is everything I dreamed and hope for, and for
that to for us to get back the second time,
(19:11):
for us to put together that hard fo game we
had Ray Honestly, one of the most hardest parts of
that day was like guys were so banged up that day.
Searm had his thing calm toward his knee two days before,
Earl had his shoulder. But God's played their heart cell,
God's played their hearts out that game, and for us
(19:34):
to lose in that fashion with that decision, the way
that I described it was, it was like a dark, gray,
rainy cloud over this building for years, right for years.
There was no trust, there was no communication, There was
finger pointing, and we was all in the space of
(19:55):
we were just floating. We're just floating, going through the motion,
just getting by, just getting by, And it took it
literally took four years to get out of that funto
and so you talk about you know, people, people go
through stuff. Sometimes it takes people years to get out
of their stuff. And we finally, you know, we climbed
out of it. Everybody wasn't here for the ride. A
(20:17):
lot of guys left during that that moment because everyone
didn't heal, Everyone didn't heal properly. Everyone couldn't process what
just happened and just move forward.
Speaker 4 (20:29):
What would what would what did healing look like? For you?
Speaker 3 (20:32):
And that I'm still not here. I'm still not here
to this day. I'm not here. I'm not heal at all.
My personality. I'm not going to be that cancer and
just be that that guy in the locker room that's
just pissed off and mad and not listening to my
coach and just combat everything.
Speaker 1 (20:52):
He says.
Speaker 3 (20:53):
That's not my personality. But how did I get over it?
I'm still not over it, right, I told her Ill.
I told Mike Salt on my radio show and brought hewart.
I said, the only way I get over is that
I get another one. Hey, kJ is gotta get two
super Bowls. To his resume or until then, I'm gonna
still be in my feelings.
Speaker 4 (21:14):
Well, I'll tell you this. I took my kids to
that one.
Speaker 2 (21:17):
And my youngest son, Price, who's now at his first
year at Portland State playing left tackle. He came to
the game in all Seahawk uniform, helmet, shoulder pads, pants, jersey,
the whole thing. And he could not see what happened
on the play because he's so short and so because
everyone was standing up and but he just saw the
(21:38):
Patriots offense running out on the field and he goes Dad, like,
what happened. I'm like, oh, man, like they ball got intercepted,
you know, on the one yard line or go line
or whatever. And he just his tears. kJ they were
as big as your water bottle. He just could would
not stop crying. And to this day he is in
that boat with you. He's like, nah, I'm not over Dad,
like I just he just not over it.
Speaker 3 (21:59):
And I guess the question is like, because I still
see it, I can't. I can't watch the game. Anytime
I see that logo on our chests and those blue jerseys.
I changed the channel. I don't watch this. I don't
watch that stuff. Yeah, I do not watch it. I
can't stand the sight of it.
Speaker 1 (22:14):
It's like I'm gonna say, trauma.
Speaker 3 (22:17):
I don't know if that's too strong of a word,
but it's traumatic.
Speaker 1 (22:20):
Miss traumatic.
Speaker 4 (22:21):
Call it an adverse situation.
Speaker 1 (22:22):
Adverse situation, yes, And.
Speaker 3 (22:26):
You know, and so much stuff build up the following days,
you know, explanations and trying to make sense of it. No,
you can't make sense of this. Yeah, you can't make
sense of this. Just just say I'd messed up and
let's move on.
Speaker 2 (22:38):
Well, I had a similar experience like that, but it
was in college. We're Virginia, We're at nineteen ninety, we're
number one in the country for like four weeks, and
we lost to Georgia Tech. They were number six in
the country. We were number one in the country, and
we're up twenty one seven a half time. Just a
series of unfortunate events happened. In the second half. We
(22:59):
threw a ass to a running back out in the flat.
He insisted on wearing the little visor. The ball bounce,
He didn't see the ball in the sun and bounced
off his face mask. Dude, and accepted touchdown. Now it's
twenty one, fourteen and we come back quarterbacks running the
running the option. The right tackle get falls down in
front of him his the right tackle's foot kicks up,
(23:20):
knocks the ball in his hand. They catch it, get it.
Then they end up scoring. Now it's turn to one.
Speaker 4 (23:24):
It's a game. Then they end on the win on
the last second field.
Speaker 3 (23:27):
Go.
Speaker 4 (23:28):
I will not watch the Virginia Georgia Tech game after you.
Speaker 1 (23:31):
Can't do it.
Speaker 4 (23:32):
I just can't do it that game or any game anybody.
I don't.
Speaker 2 (23:35):
I don't watch any Georgia Tech game, but I don't,
but Georgia Tech Virginia not watching it. I just can't
do it. And then like they, hey, let's have a
reunion about that team in that game. Nah, bro, y'all
gonna do that by yourself. You and Charn Moore and
Chris Slade and Marco Coleman like all them dudes, y'all
go do that. Like I'm just I don't want any
part of it. I get so mad, so angry. But
(23:57):
the boat I'm sorry to get over. But so obviously
this this podcast, and you know we've kind of hit
on a little bit, is you know, we're focusing on
this idea around mental health and wellness and specifically for
athletes and men of color, and like just the stuff
that that people go through and how they deal with
it and how they've dealt with it and what their
(24:17):
perceptions of it are, uh, what their perception of it is.
But in your history as an athlete or just shoot,
that's just as kJ Wright, what role has like mental
health and wellness played in that? And then was therapy ever?
Like was it something that you thought about during your
(24:39):
playing career before your playing career, Like what was a
conversation like in the locker room like that type of stuff.
Speaker 1 (24:44):
I'm not gonna lie.
Speaker 3 (24:45):
The first time that I experienced experienced anxiety was my
eighth year in the league. And Ray, when I tell
this one, I tore my NY to MYNY preseason contract year,
just shuffling. When I tell you that, I I was
going to bed, having headaches, waking up, sweating.
Speaker 1 (25:06):
Driving to work in the parking lot, crying like.
Speaker 3 (25:11):
I was clueless to what stress and anxiety looked like
up until that moment. And for me, I didn't have
any tools. I wasn't talking to nobody, I wouldn't vending
to anyone. I would just come home stressed rehabbing, go
to sleep, do it all over again the next day,
and I just looked at my life and I'm like, damn, Like.
Speaker 1 (25:34):
I'm like, how do I get out of this? What
do I do
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