‘The Bachelor’ star enters political fray for student-athlete mental health

Colton Underwood, former “Bachelor” star and ex-football player, has taken on a new endeavor of championing mental health care access for student-athletes by putting his name behind a bipartisan bill introduced earlier this year.

In September, Sens. John Boozman (R-Ark.) and Cory Booker (D-N.J.) introduced the Targeting Emotional And Mental Stability (TEAMS) Act, which would make mental health initiatives for college athletes eligible for the Garrett Lee Smith (GLS) Campus Suicide Prevention Grant program.

The senators were both college football players — Booker played for the Stanford University Cardinals and Boozman for the University of Arkansas Razorbacks.

If passed, the TEAMS Act would amend the Public Health Service Act to facilitate access for college athletes to counseling, crisis helplines and training for those in collegiate athletic programs to respond to students presenting signs of mental distress.

According to a Senate staffer who worked on the bill, the language of the legislation purposefully gave a broad scope of what initiatives schools could start, so they could tailor their programs to their student-athlete populations.

Underwood’s organization, the Colton Underwood Legacy Foundation, played a part in drafting the original text of the legislation, having transitioned toward mental health initiatives a few years ago.

“I think in the current state of the NCAA and the athletes that are out there and all of these colleges and universities with the [name, image and likeness] — they can benefit from some guidance and some support and money from the government,” Underwood told The Hill.

Underwood first became known to the public as the star of ABC’s “The Bachelor,” where he attracted attention for being open about his virginity, as well as one particular episode in which he effortlessly hopped over a high fence in a moment of frustration.

Before that, Underwood was a student-athlete at Illinois State University from 2010-13. Looking back, he says he was “definitely” dealing with mental health issues, noting he was still closeted at the time. Underwood came out as gay in 2021 and married political strategist Jordan C. Brown earlier this year.

“I didn’t seek therapy because I didn’t want my coaches, I didn’t want the university and I didn’t want my parents to ask questions of why I needed to go get help,” he said. “My mind went to: ‘If I disclose this, my scholarship could be at risk. My playing time could be at risk.’”

According to the NCAA’s 2022 Student-Athlete Well-Being Study, less than half of student-athletes said they felt comfortable seeking support from a mental health provider on campus. A majority of those surveyed, however, did say they felt their teammates and coaches took mental health concerns seriously.

Suicide among student-athletes had been considered a rare occurrence, but a seeming uptick has been observed in recent years. Last year, five NCAA athletes committed suicide in less than two months.

In the time he started working on the TEAMS Act earlier this year, Underwood said nine student-athletes have committed suicide to his knowledge.

“It’s a death to the community. It’s a tragic loss,” said Underwood, noting suicides among students are often hard to track as universities may seek to minimize attention on such incidences.

According to Underwood, having to balance academic and athletic demands in college is a major source of pressure for student-athletes. He hopes this bill serves as a starting point for more action.

“An easy place to start is with these athletes in a controlled environment to really study and figure out the appropriate amount of money that a university needs to fully fund a sports therapy, sports psychologists and mental health program,” he said.

Underwood admits he didn’t consider himself a politically educated person before going down this path, but he credits his husband with encouraging him to pursue change through legislative avenues. Brown was also the one who connected Underwood with the D.C. lobbying firm Invariant, as well as Booker.

“Sen. Booker and my husband are friends. They both went to Stanford … he also is someone who I respect and is highly respected and someone who I look up to,” Underwood said.

A Senate aide working on the TEAMS Act noted to The Hill, “Even prior to the pandemic … we were going through a mental health crisis. And in the aftermath of the pandemic, we have just seen those rates soar.”

“So, it has been a mission of Sen. Booker to make an impact in the mental health space, especially for youth and for college students, college athletes. And so that is what drew us to working on this bill,” they added.

A staffer for Boozman’s office said the aim of the TEAMS Act is to encourage schools to think about their athletes when applying for funds through the GLS grant program and to allow athletic departments to think “creatively” about how they can support players.

GLS grants are issued by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to institutions of higher education to strengthen suicide prevention. The funds go towards outreach to vulnerable populations including students experiencing substance abuse and mental health problems.

At the moment, the TEAMS Act remains in limbo as supporters like Underwood and its sponsors try to drum up more support. The bill has been referred to the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, but there’s currently no indication of when it will be taken up.

The bill has been endorsed by the National Alliance on Mental Illness, the NCAA, the Southeastern Conference, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and Athletes for Hope.

The Senate aide said passing this legislation should be an “easy lift,” as it requires no new funding. As is the case with many niche bills, the act is likely to be added to a larger legislative package next year.

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