Episode 18: Julius Thomas - Former NFL Tight-End, Current PHD Psychology Student

I’m Michael Elkins, your host, labor and employment attorney, founder of the law firm MLE Law, investor and this is the final episode in 2019 of Game 7: The Sports Business & Lifestyle Podcast.

On today’s show I sit down with former NFL Tight-End Julius Thomas. Ordinarily, I wrote my own guest introduction. For this episode, however, I'm using an introduction from Julius himself, taken from his August 2018 retirement article in The Players' Tribune:

"I’m ready to admit that I’m okay with giving up the identity of 'Julius the football player.' I’m O.K. with not being recognized as an NFL athlete — because I’m more than that. I have stepped out of my identity before, and I will continue to do it again and again throughout life. I believe helping others is what I’m supposed to be doing at this point in my life. Hopefully I can help by encouraging more of my peers to connect with who they are outside of the game. If ultimately that’s what I’m remembered for, I’d be very thankful.

Because this is the thing I want to do most in the world, and now, I’m going to give all of myself to it."

https://www.theplayerstribune.com/en-us/articles/football-julius-thomas-journey-into-self

Joined by Miami Dolphins Chaplain, Terry Boynton (a previous guest on the show) we discuss Julius' journey from professional athlete to PHD student, his desire to help others with their emotions and feelings and the power of talk therapy. We also collectively discuss the impact of stress and breaking down emotional cultural norms.

This is a really powerful episode for anyone interested in learning about the importance of mental health. Julius and Terry provide incredible insight and it was a pleasure to sit down with them both.  

Enjoy the show!