Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott is acutely aware of not only his impact on the field, but the impact of his platform. So when eagle-eyed fans noticed he’s been playing this season with “Ask 4 Help!” scribbled on his wrist tape, it isn’t a plea for Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy to learn how to better manage the game clock, it’s to draw attention to an issue that is near and dear to the two-time Pro Bowler: mental health.
Last year, Prescott revealed that he lost his brother Jace to suicide. And during an interview on In Depth with Graham Bensinger, the Haughton, La., native opened up and discussed how deeply that loss affected him.
“He had a lot of burdens on him,” Prescott said of his brother. “He had a lot of tough things, and my sense of saying that is it showed me how vulnerable we have to be as humans, how open we have to be. Because our adversities, our struggles, what we go through is always gonna be too much for ourselves and maybe too much for even one or two people, but never too much for a community or too much for people in the family that you love. So you have to share these things.”
To that end, Prescott is now being far more vocal about the importance of mental health awareness, and he’s bringing that message on the field.
In September, he announced the launch of his “Ask 4 Help” campaign with a heartfelt video on Instagram. DallasCowboys.com reports that the campaign also includes a merch line of t-shirts and hoodies with messages like “Ask for Help” and “Faith. Fight. Finish” embroidered on them. All proceeds from the line will go to Prescott’s Faith Fight Finish Foundation, which will be used to address youth suicide and champion mental health initiatives.
“I invite you to join us in our mission to champion those who battle mental illness by helping them to realize their lives matter, find their purpose, always know they are not alone, and to ask 4 help,” he captioned the video.
Much love to Dak for pouring his time and resources into such an important issue that has impacted each of us. A little compassion goes a long way, and hopefully, his efforts will encourage others to become more involved in amplifying mental health awareness.