Sidelined Stories

The decision to medically retire can be a grueling one especially for an athlete coping with chronic illness for years. In this interview, former collegiate gymnast Zoe Schweitzer talks about the challenges of coping with constant setbacks in her gymnastics career including injuries, chronic illness, and COVID-shutdowns. Zoe shares how she came to know it was time to medically retire and what led her to be confident in that decisio...

No doubt every athlete experiencing repeat injuries fears the possibility of the premature end of their athletic career. Enduring years of injury, re-injury, therapies, surgeries, and rehab can take a toll on an athlete, both physically and mentally. It’s always a potential reality that one day, it becomes clear that the comeback they’re looking for is just not going to happen. That day came for Jonathan Giles his sophomore year of...

Working through a significant injury with a long recovery process is difficult for any athlete. Hundreds of hours in rehab, sitting on the sidelines for months on end, feeling a measure of disconnection from teammates, coping with depression and both internal and external pressures to return to play ready to contribute to the win — all can take a significant emotional toll. When Jackie Allibone made her comeback from a torn ACL, on...

Having experienced multiple concussions in his football career, Northwestern University cornerback Matthew Harris understood the risks he was taking returning to play. Following recovery from another severe concussion, Matthew knew he had some hard decisions to make regarding his future in football. As one of the top cornerbacks in the BIG10 and projected to be an NFL recruit, he made a personal decision to keep pushing towards his...

Following a severe labrum tear that derailed her dancing career in college, Chrissy Papetti spent the next several years working through an intense physical recovery on top of the emotional journey following the loss of her craft. Many athletes sidelined by injury experience an additional layer of complexity in their transitions forward - the physical rehabilitation to rebuild a normal quality of life. Walking around and exploring ...

With her sights set on earning a spot on the Olympic ice skating team, Val Jones was devastated when at 18, she was told she could never skate again following one severe knee injury. Just one triple lutz gone wrong and everything she had worked for her entire life was stripped away. Without any support resources or someone to help her talk through her loss, Val found herself processing that deep grief on her own and struggled for y...

His freshman year of high school, Dexter Hollingsworth faced the complex decision to discontinue football due to a series of concussions that left him vulnerable to long-term brain health damage if he continued. Dexter shares about this difficult decision and how the support of his family, team, and coaching staff enabled him to find a positive path forward. Dexter speaks about the transformative power of staying involved in the sp...

It's been said that there's no testimony without a test. For NFL Player, Johnathan Franklin, that test was an unforgiving and brutal reality check that one play can destroy an athlete's career at any moment's notice. Listen to accomplished RB, Johnathan Franklin's testimony about the after-math of learning that no doctor would ever clear him to play again after a spinal contusion suffered in a game against ...

The story of how one major concussion sidelined Alissa Boyhtari's hockey career and forced her to carve a different path forward. Alissa shares her experience with concussions during her teen years and the pressure she felt to "tough it out" as a competitive athlete. Hear her story of her path to brain health recovery and how she resolved to listen to her body instead of the external pressures to get back to "no...

The story of Jonathan Meldrum, a former Syracuse offensive tackle. Jonathan opens up about his battle with depression during his collegiate career as well as the depression he experienced after becoming permanently sidelined due to repeat knee injuries. An NFL hopeful, Jonathan talks about his struggle to accept the reality that his playing days were over and discusses the impact of the loss of the affirmation, accolades, and ident...

The story of Chris Norton, a former football player for the Luther College Norse. His career ended when he became paralyzed while making a tackle during a kick off. He was given a 3% chance of ever regaining movement below the neck, but, through grit and determination has chosen to move forward and defied those odds. Today he manages his non-profit foundation and works full-time as a motivational speaker. Hear Chris' incredibl...