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Sarah Hirshland's effort to transform the USOPC earns her Sports Executive of the Year honors

Sarah Hirshland could have dropped by Palais Brongniart just about any night in the Paris Games to hear the chants of “U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A!” coming from the atrium of the historic hall that once housed the city’s stock exchange. Whether it was swimmer Katie Ledecky adding to her medal count or the U.S. men’s basketball […]

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Sarah Hirshland's effort to transform the USOPC earns her Sports Executive of the Year honors

Sarah Hirshland could have dropped by Palais Brongniart just about any night in the Paris Games to hear the chants of “U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A!” coming from the atrium of the historic hall that once housed the city’s stock exchange.

Whether it was swimmer Katie Ledecky adding to her medal count or the U.S. men’s basketball team closing out a win for the gold over host France, the building in the heart of Paris that became Team USA House for several months felt like a piece of home for American athletes and their supporters.

To Hirshland, the CEO of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee, it has come to represent so much of the last year: success on the podium, building support around Team USA and powering a decade of sport that will redefine the movement domestically.

“Really, really amazing,” she said of the vibe at Team USA House. “And it’s sort of like, OK, we did this. We convened this energy that we all try to create around the sport and community in such a positive way. It was great.”

It was another highlight in a year that earned Hirshland Sports Executive of the Year honors at SBJ’s Sports Business Awards, a category that included Netflix executive Bela Bajaria, ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro and commissioners Gary Bettman of the NHL and Adam Silver of the NBA.

The ceremony in May capped a year in which Team USA achieved historic results in Paris, winning the Olympic medal count and placing third in the Paralympics. With the USOPC’s commercial assets tied up in its joint venture with LA28 (U.S Olympic and Paralympic Properties), Hirshland worked to create new assets, build around storytelling and increase other revenue streams. And she focused on the long-term future of the movement, from ensuring the pipeline from collegiate sports to bringing in record donations and helping Salt Lake City win the right to host the Games in 2034.

“People rely on her. They appreciate her strategic judgment,” said USOPC Chairman Gene Sykes. “She has invested the time and effort and energy to develop personal relationships with everybody around the movement, inside and outside. She’s got great commercial judgment. She’s worked really, really hard to develop relationships with the commercial people that are in the [International Olympic Committee] right now. So at all levels, I think she’s doing the things that allow people to see the USOPC as a center of energy and leadership in this whole effort.”


Heading into 2024, Hirshland could feel the winds shift with the Paris Games on the horizon.

She had come to the organization in 2018, taking the CEO position as the USOPC was mired in crises and lawsuits around the abuse of athletes. Over her first several years, Hirshland and the USOPC worked to rebuild trust around the movement — from creating a set of standards and an auditing process for national governing bodies to increasing mental health resources for athletes. Those reforms sought to give athletes more voice in the movement while holding the NGBs and USOPC to good governance changes meant to address several issues and prevent abuse.

SBJ Sports Executives of the Year

2008: Tim Leiweke, AEG

2009:
Dick Ebersol, NBC Sports

2010: Jerry Jones, Dallas Cowboys

2011: George Bodenheimer, ESPN

2012: Roger Goodell, National Football League

2013: Scott Blackmun, U.S. Olympic Committee

2014: Gary Bettman, National Hockey League

2015: Adam Silver, National Basketball Association

2016: Joe Lacob, Golden State Warriors

2017: Tom Ricketts, Chicago Cubs

2018: Arthur Blank, AMB Sports and Entertainment

2019: Don Garber, Major League Soccer

2020: Jimmy Pitaro, ESPN

2021: Adam Silver, National Basketball Association

2022: Michael Rubin, Fanatics

2023: Eric Shanks, Fox Sports

2024: Jessica Berman, National Women’s Soccer League

With notable improvement in those areas — though, Hirshland notes, that work is never done — the USOPC entered the year with heightened anticipation of what Paris could be. Coming out of two COVID Games that presented their own challenges, the movement worldwide also saw the opportunity to revive interest in the movement.

Team USA met that moment, topping the medal count in the Olympics with 126, the highest for a non-boycotted Games outside of the United States, and finishing third in the Paralympics with 105.

That success took the full breadth of the movement, from the athletes who train for years to the NGBs that train them. For its part, the USOPC provides resources across the movement, including allocations to NGBs and athlete resources that cover everything from sports medicine to high-performance support. Under Hirshland, the USOPC has added 15 services staff focused on athlete mental health and created access to a larger nationwide network.

To Hirshland, the difficult reforms, changes to policy and personnel and compliance expectations across the movement translated to the podium. If athletes don’t have to worry about how well-run their NGBs are, they’re freed up to focus on their sport.

“A healthy organization that has high standards builds trust in the system,” said Rocky Harris, the USOPC’s chief of sport and athlete services. “Once they do that, the athletes feel like, ‘OK, all the good governance is there.’”

The USOPC extended its support during the Games. Its high-performance center has long served as a training refuge for Olympic athletes, and in Paris the USOPC kept it open during the Paralympics for the first time.

“That felt like they finally fully arrived, even if they had arrived many years ago,” said Harris of the Paralympians. “That meant a lot to them.”

For Hirshland, so did the moments when she got to see the rewards for the work of Team USA athletes she had come to know at the training center in Colorado Springs. Hirshland had spent time with the wrestlers, who will sometimes invite her over for lunches they make in the test kitchen. So Hirshland took time to watch 21-year-old Kennedy Blades win a silver medal in her first Olympics.

“We are lucky. We have a great group of athletes,” she said. “But it is markedly more than just that that drives those outcomes. … To see the performance that we saw in Paris across so many NGBs, actually, I would attribute it almost more to the work we had done in ethics and compliance coming out of the reform processes and getting these organizations sort of minding their P’s and Q’s and communicating more effectively with athletes about stuff that matters off the field of play, giving everybody a little more confidence and belief in the system.”


Snoop Dogg, Team USA House
Team USA House in Paris provided a central meeting point and brought entertainers (like Snoop Dogg), athletes, and fans together throughout the Games. Getty Images for NBC Universal

That confidence didn’t just come in competition. It came in finding and creating new storytelling opportunities and sources of revenue.

USOPP’s efforts are focused on signing domestic sponsors to deliver the LA28 Games, with Team USA assets packaged under the joint venture. It added six new sponsors in 2024, with Cisco and Dick’s Sporting Goods signing on through 2028. Just before the Paris opening, it announced a deal with Google to serve as Team USA’s AI search partner just for those Games.

Though USOPP is doing the selling, CEO John Slusher said it is getting help from Hirshland and the USOPC.

“She is fully supportive,” said Slusher, who took over at USOPP in December. “We work very closely with her team, whether they’re developing properties that we can help sell, which helps us both from a dollars perspective, but also from a brand perspective. If there’s people she has relationships with, she’s super helpful in helping us out on sales leads or putting good words in for us.”

Part of the work has been developing assets, with the launch of marketing and sponsorship platform Making Team USA last year. Xfinity served as presenting sponsor of the initiative, which focused on athletes’ journeys to the Paris Games.

It represented an evolving understanding of what Team USA could offer to USOPP, especially coming out of the pandemic and the struggles that meant for corporations.

“We’re rounding first base, headed for second on this one,” said Hirshland. “We were probably late to start thinking about how to play offense there, in recognizing that OPP’s incentives were very short-term and LA focused, and that meant that we were going to have to build capability in our shop as partners to them to think about how to build value and assets in the Team USA brand. Am I proud of where we are? Yes. Do I wish we were three years further along? Yes, but we’re in it. Making Team USA was a really critical start to that. I’m bullish that that has just begun to materialize as a really meaningful asset.”

Along the way, the USOPC has focused on building connections with existing partners. Delta was the first to sign as a founding partner in 2020 (meaning the USOPC ended a decades-long relationship with United), so while USOPP and LA28 are focused on delivering their Games, the USOPC was able to work with Delta on the logistics of athletes traveling with javelins, or the wheelchair basketball team needing 42 chairs — one each for competition and another for daily use.

“Because of her own background as a commercial person in the sports world, she was very easily able to kind of put USOPC team members and capabilities in front of USOPP in a way that allowed for a lot of collaboration,” said Sykes.

That collaboration came in Paris, where Team USA House offered the chance for domestic sponsors to activate on the ground. Google, Michelob Ultra, Oakley, Ralph Lauren and Xfinity were among those to take the opportunity, with Nike and New Era among those in the Team USA shop.

The USOPC brought in $10 million in Paris activations, plus another $5.3 million in ecommerce revenue during the Games.

Part of that was due to the unique approach to Team USA House, which opened to the public for the first time as part of a deal with hospitality provider On Location. Fans who bought tickets to the house could see competing athletes take the stage for Q&A segments, mingle with alumni athletes and eat and drink as they watched the Team USA events broadcast on large screens around the hall.

Hirshland said the decision to open a space that in past Games had been reserved for athletes and their families, and served as a B2B asset, was a long-term investment in building the fandom of Team USA.

“It became a rallying destination and environment for Team USA that brought all of these people together in a way that said, ‘This is my thing. I’m part of this,’ and that was really important,” she said.

It also served as a hot spot for storytelling, with medalists making their way through media on-site as part of Managing Victory. The USOPC served as a connector between the NGBs, IOC, media rights holder NBC and athletes to tell the stories of the Games.

The USOPC had the infrastructure in place to capitalize on opportunities wherever they came, expected or not. USA Rugby’s Ilona Maher entered the Games with a following from sharing a message of body positivity and strength for women, and she became a breakout star after helping lead the U.S. to a bronze medal. She went on to star on “Dancing with the Stars,” launch her own podcast and appear in the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue.

“The broad public didn’t know she was coming,” Hirshland said. “We didn’t know that that was going to be coupled with a medal. And so it isn’t about a complete pivot as much as it is when you see something, having the system ready to say, ‘Let’s put a trampoline under her feet so that she can bounce higher.’”


Sarah Hirshland, USOPC CEO
Hirshland is looking ahead to a seismic decade for Team USA, including hosting Games in Los Angeles in 2028 and Salt Lake City in 2034. Marc Andrew Stephens

The Paris Games didn’t just boost U.S. stars. They provided rocket fuel to Hirshland’s focus on generating revenue through philanthropy.

The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Foundation raised nearly $85 million last year, breaking its previous record by more than $25 million and increasing its number of unique donors by 46%.

Hirshland said it expects to hit its renewal rate of 87%, and its initial target of $70 million for the year has increased to $100 million. She was bullish enough to ask the USOPC board, at its Q1 meeting in April, to increase its revenue projection by 8% so she could spend on immediate projects to help Team USA prepare for Milan Cortina next year.

“We’ve been frankly overwhelmed with the success coming out of Paris,” she said. “[The donors] had an extraordinary time. Our renewal rates are insanely high, and they’re all telling their friends, ‘You’ve got to do this and come with us to L.A.’ and, to some degree, even to Milan Cortina, because it isn’t just about getting tickets and going to the event. It’s the curation of the community that we’ve done that people want to be part of it and they want to do it with their friends.”

A large part of the fundraising success came in a record $100 million gift from hedge fund CEO Ross Stevens in March, one that Hirshland and USOPF have been developing for years. The donation will function as an endowment, funding athletes decades after they’ve competed in the Games.

“She’s built confidence in our organization, so now a donor would be willing to give $100 million to our organization,” said Harris. “She is now going on there and giving them the confidence that this is now an organization that you can trust.”

The revenue from the foundation is part of a long-term plan that Hirshland has balanced with capitalizing on the momentum of the Games.

Part of that has meant working to preserve the collegiate sports system, which serves as a pipeline for Team USA athletes with around 75% of the Summer Olympics athletes competing in college.

Hirshland has developed the USOPC’s connections there and is working to lobby Congress to preserve the broad-based sport, with that pipeline threatened by a changing collegiate sports economic model. The House settlement, set to go into effect Tuesday, stands to funnel more money into football and men’s basketball programs, with much of the movement fearing cuts to Olympic sports.

Harris, who was chief operating officer at Arizona State before he came to the movement, said building support for colleges to maintain that pipeline has been a priority from Hirshland down through the USOPC.

“This role has to be a lead-by-influence role. It won’t ever be a lead-by-authority role because we don’t have enough authority to accomplish what we need to accomplish on our own,” Hirshland said. “As I mature in this role, I recognize that I can’t be shy about being bold in the aspiration of our sport industry, as a whole, working better together for the good of sport.”


Hirshland is already focused on the next decade. Two days before the opening ceremony in Paris, the IOC voted to award the 2034 Games to Salt Lake City.

It was the culmination of years of work and anticipation. After hosting in 2002, the city and state of Utah had hoped for more than a decade to bring the Games back. Those ambitions were first delayed by the USOPC prioritizing winning the rights to host a Summer Games, and then further delayed when Los Angeles’ bid for 2024 turned into a 2028 Games after the dual award with Paris.

“There was a lot of pent-up energy in Utah that kept being sort of told, ‘Sit tight,’” Hirshland said. “When I look back on the whole process, that was the hardest part, getting the Utah community to continue to put the support behind a bid that has to happen for 2034.”

Bringing the Games to Salt Lake City has meant more long-term planning for Hirshland, who is laying the groundwork for a commercial entity to sell those Games and then live on for the USOPC after the flame goes out in 2034.

It’s the exact kind of eyes-ahead approach she has maintained as she works on parallel paths for the Milan Cortina Games next year, LA28 and its extraordinary preparation just three years away and the future of the movement ahead.

This past year, though, was one to celebrate, both for Hirshland and her organization. “It was huge and Paris was, I think in a lot of ways, overwhelming to our team, to me, personally, in the sort of breadth and magnitude of what it ended up representing,” Hirshland said. “Because everybody engaged and re-engaged, and we hadn’t seen that really since 2016 in a major, major way.

“It was a huge waterfall of goodness.”

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Ranking the Top 10 Celebrity Power Couples in the Sports World

Livvy Dunne, former LSU gymnast and social media queen, has built one of the most lucrative personal brands in college sports. Paul Skenes, on the other hand, is your classic baseball savant: flame-throwing ace, camera-shy and hyper-focused on mowing down hitters. She nails aerials; he throws 100 mph gas. Together, they form a tidy package […]

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Ranking the Top 10 Celebrity Power Couples in the Sports World

Livvy Dunne, former LSU gymnast and social media queen, has built one of the most lucrative personal brands in college sports. Paul Skenes, on the other hand, is your classic baseball savant: flame-throwing ace, camera-shy and hyper-focused on mowing down hitters.

She nails aerials; he throws 100 mph gas. Together, they form a tidy package of athletic dominance and mass appeal—Dunne drawing young female fans and advertisers, Skenes grabbing the attention of baseball purists.

They’ve done coordinated photo shoots. They pop up at camps. It’s all very #brandfriendly.

But, their relationship still has that new-car smell. With limited public history and even fewer viral moments as a couple, their current status is more promising than iconic. If they last, they could climb this list. For now, they just eked in the top 10, not because of any scandal or sizzle, but because there’s simply not much there yet. Bland isn’t bad. It’s just not very clickable.

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8 adaptive athletes conquer Spartan Race with the support of 48 volunteers

In a powerful display of resilience, teamwork, and inclusion, eight athletes with disabilities completed the grueling Spartan Race this past weekend with the help of 48 dedicated volunteers, thanks to a partnership between the IM ABLE Foundation, Dealers of Hope, and Oscar Mike. These athletes—ranging from wheelchair users to individuals living with amputation, spina bifida, […]

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8 adaptive athletes conquer Spartan Race with the support of 48 volunteers

In a powerful display of resilience, teamwork, and inclusion, eight athletes with disabilities completed the grueling Spartan Race this past weekend with the help of 48 dedicated volunteers, thanks to a partnership between the IM ABLE Foundation, Dealers of Hope, and Oscar Mike.

These athletes—ranging from wheelchair users to individuals living with amputation, spina bifida, pediatric cancer survivorship, traumatic brain injury, autism spectrum disorder, and more—faced one of the most physically and mentally demanding obstacle courses in the country. And they didn’t just participate—they turned heads, shattered expectations, and crossed the finish line like champions.

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Participating in the Spartan Race was a new experience for IM ABLE Foundation’s Operation Lead from the Front (OLFTF) program, which provides health and fitness programs designed to empower veterans with disabilities. This initiative’s mission is to cultivate a supportive community where veterans build camaraderie, foster resilience, and unite in a shared commitment to overcoming challenges.

Photo courtesy of IM ABLE Foundation.

“This wasn’t just about finishing a race. It was about proving what’s possible when we come together and believe in one another,” said Alex A. Pilkington, CEO of the IM ABLE Foundation and an Army veteran. “Our athletes defied expectations and showed the world that ability is not limited by diagnosis.”

The event was made possible by the tireless effort of nearly 50 volunteers who ran alongside, lifted, supported, and celebrated every athlete from the start line to the finish. Many obstacles required human chains, adaptive equipment, and creative teamwork to overcome—and every single athlete crossed the finish line with a smile on their face.

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Kyle Keech, a wheelchair user who completed the Spartan this weekend, is an adaptive athlete and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) recovery advocate. Keech shared: “Boy, I’m so glad I kept pushing! I’m still smiling ear to ear! Training with the IM ABLE Foundation and Mmaxout Madness beforehand made all the difference. The love and support I felt were incredible. The course was ‘slightly’ intimidating, but IM ABLE’s presence was truly powerful and left a lasting impact. OORAH!”

Some of the participants trained for 15 weeks with Wendy Mattos Martz of Mmaxout Madness at the IM ABLE facility in Wyomissing. Mattos Martz shared, “Each class was met with an openness and receptivity to tackle whatever I threw at them. In addition, each class was filled with joy, lots of smiles, laughter, and even dancing!”

IM ABLE was proud to partner with two powerhouse organizations for this effort:

Dealers of Hope, a nonprofit dedicated to empowering individuals with seen and unseen challenges to rise, climb, and push beyond limitations through endurance events and obstacle course racing.

Oscar Mike, a veteran-founded nonprofit committed to keeping injured veterans and individuals with disabilities “on-the-move” through programs that build mobility, mental wellness, and community connection.

Together, these organizations created a united force committed to pushing limits, breaking barriers, and lifting others through shared struggle and triumph.

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Bedford County School Board debates student athlete mental health and COVID

This article was created by AI using a video recording of the meeting. It summarizes the key points discussed, but for full details and context, please refer to the video of the full meeting. Link to Full Meeting The Bedford County Public Schools Board meeting on January 14, 2021, highlighted significant concerns regarding student mental […]

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Bedford County School Board debates student athlete mental health and COVID


This article was created by AI using a video recording of the meeting. It summarizes the key points discussed, but for full details and context, please refer to the video of the full meeting.


Link to Full Meeting

The Bedford County Public Schools Board meeting on January 14, 2021, highlighted significant concerns regarding student mental health and the impact of COVID-19 on school sports. As the board navigated the complexities of maintaining educational and athletic programs during the pandemic, discussions revealed a deep divide among members regarding the best course of action.

A primary focus of the meeting was the mental health of student athletes, particularly in light of increased stress related to academic performance and the challenges posed by online learning. Board members expressed the need for enhanced mental health services, with plans to initiate sessions for athletes to address these concerns. However, the effectiveness of these measures was questioned, particularly regarding whether students would feel comfortable discussing their mental health issues with coaches or school counselors.

The conversation shifted to the implications of COVID-19 on sports, with board members debating the necessity of mitigation measures and the feasibility of allowing students to compete. Some members argued that the desire to play sports was overwhelming, suggesting that students would prefer to compete under strict health guidelines rather than not play at all. Others raised concerns about the potential risks associated with sports activities, especially given the rising positivity rates in the community, which were reported to be at crisis levels.

The board also discussed the use of surveillance cameras to assist in contact tracing during positive COVID-19 cases. While some members supported this approach as a necessary tool for ensuring safety, others questioned the legality and ethics of monitoring students in this manner.

As the meeting progressed, tensions escalated, with board members expressing frustration over the lack of consensus on how to proceed. Some members emphasized the importance of representing community voices, particularly those advocating for the return of sports, while others maintained that prioritizing health and safety was paramount.

In conclusion, the meeting underscored the ongoing struggle to balance educational needs, mental health support, and the safety of students and staff amid the pandemic. With rising COVID-19 cases and community concerns, the board faces critical decisions that will shape the future of sports and mental health services in Bedford County. The next steps remain uncertain, as the board continues to grapple with these pressing issues.


Converted from School Board Meeting 1/14/2021 – 5:00 PM meeting on July 15, 2025



Link to Full Meeting

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CAREGD Trademark Hits the Streets for Mental Health Month

Atlanta and Los Angeles: CAREGD Trademark Leads Mental Health Check-In Tour. The culture-forward wellness brand activated barbershops, fire stations, and courts with emotional check-ins, bold merch, and real talk-reminding communities across ATL and LA: your headspace comes first.Image: https://authoritypresswire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/CAREGD-me-first-then-sports-Ranch.jpg Atlanta, GA – CAREGDImage: https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/15.0.3/72×72/2122.png, a culture-forward wellness brand, activated across Atlanta and Los Angeles during […]

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CAREGD Trademark Hits the Streets for Mental Health Month

CAREGD Trademark Hits the Streets for Mental Health Month: Real

Atlanta and Los Angeles: CAREGD Trademark Leads Mental Health Check-In Tour. The culture-forward wellness brand activated barbershops, fire stations, and courts with emotional check-ins, bold merch, and real talk-reminding communities across ATL and LA: your headspace comes first.
Image: https://authoritypresswire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/CAREGD-me-first-then-sports-Ranch.jpg

Atlanta, GA – CAREGDImage: https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/15.0.3/72×72/2122.png, a culture-forward wellness brand, activated across Atlanta and Los Angeles during Mental Health Awareness Month-hosting check-ins with athletes, barbers, and firefighters to make emotional wellness visible in overlooked spaces.

Through a series of grassroots conversations-some filmed professionally, others raw and real on a phone camera-founder Lisa C. Williams and her team brought visibility to emotional wellness in spaces that are often overlooked. From athletes to barbers to first responders, CAREGDImage: https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/15.0.3/72×72/2122.png showed up where mental health often gets buried under performance, pressure, and silence.

“We didn’t always have perfect lighting or a full camera crew-and we didn’t need it,” said Lisa C. Williams, founder of CAREGDImage: https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/15.0.3/72×72/2122.png. “Sometimes, it was just me, a couple of young men, and a mic-asking real questions that don’t get asked enough. This month was about presence, not perfection.”

Video: https://www.youtube.com/embed/3wfzACb3AIU?rel=0&modestbranding=0&rel=0&showinfo=1&controls=1&autohide=2&showinfo=0?ecver=2

Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/embed/3wfzACb3AIU

Where CAREGDImage: https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/15.0.3/72×72/2122.png Checked In

B.E.S.T. Basketball Program (Building Effective Solutions Together) – Stockbridge, GAAthletes reflected and recharged in nature-proving that rest is performance, too.Coach David McRae | bestprogram.me [https://bestprogram.me/]

BallinIsMoney AAU Basketball – Atlanta, GA High school boys opened up in interviews while rocking merch that reminded them: Me 1st. Then Sports. Coach Avery McGinnis | @ballinismoney_hoops [https://www.instagram.com/ballinismoney_hoops]

Barbershop Pop-Up – Atlanta, GAWe checked in on culture shapers for National Barber Mental Health Month-because barbers are always checking on everybody else.Ike Thomas & Tez Angelo | @tez.angelo [https://www.instagram.com/tez.angelo]

Centric Barber Lounge – Union City, GADre Dennis, Owner | @chopgod_ [https://www.instagram.com/chopgod_] | @centricbarberlounge

Ballislife All-American Games – Long Beach, CAAt Long Beach City College’s Hall of Champions, CAREGDImage: https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/15.0.3/72×72/2122.png paused the hype to spotlight headspace and emotional wellness. Matt Rodriguez, CEO | @ballislife

Athlete Wellness Fair – Westlake Village, CAWe tapped in with LA Rams Sports Psychologist Dr. Carrie Hastings and Monica Wurst, a Yoga x Mindset Coach for elite athletes. Dr. Carrie Hastings | @sportpsychbydrh @monica.wurst

Firefighter Tribute at Station 28 – Porter Ranch, CA CAREGDImage: https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/15.0.3/72×72/2122.png closed the month by honoring LA firefighters who battled the 2025 wildfires-true heroes carrying invisible emotional weight. In partnership with @mayweatherfitporterranchca

Interviews & Collaborators

* Devean Walker – LA Valley College Men’s Basketball | @theyyluvdev
* Roberto Bell – Barber | @berto._.bell
* Phillip Johnson – Founder, Black Men Need Hugs | @blkmenneedhugs
* Lisa C. Williams – Founder, CAREGDImage: https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/15.0.3/72×72/2122.png

Videography Credits

Select interviews and footage were captured by an incredible team of visual storytellers who brought this movement to life:

* Hassan Wells | @hassanhaze
* Bernard “Nate” Brisbane | @natesoul
* Dez Brown | @dezzy.world

We thank them for amplifying our message through powerful, authentic visuals.

ABOUT CAREGDImage: https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/15.0.3/72×72/2122.png

CAREGDImage: https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/15.0.3/72×72/2122.png (Compassion, Awareness, Resilience & Emotional Grounding Delivered) is a culture-forward wellness movement making emotional check-ins visible, normal, and necessary. We bring mental health awareness to the frontlines-whether in locker rooms, lunchrooms, barbershops, gyms, or battlegrounds. If you show up for others, we show up for you.

Signature Campaigns:

Checking In – Are You Good?Image: https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/15.0.3/72×72/2122.png A national visibility campaign rooted in community, making honest mental health convos normal-where people already are.

Me 1st Then SportsImage: https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/15.0.3/72×72/2122.png A bold initiative flipping the focus from performance to personhood across the entire sports ecosystem.

You Matter MoreImage: https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/15.0.3/72×72/2122.png A merch-driven affirmation campaign reminding people they are more than what they produce . This is care for the ones who rarely get it.

“Mental health is not just about therapy rooms and hotlines,” Williams added. “It’s about showing up where people already are and reminding them they’re not alone. That’s CAREGDImage: https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/15.0.3/72×72/2122.png in motion.”

#CheckingInCampaign #WeCheckInLoud #Me1stThenSports #YouMatterMore
Media Contact
Company Name: CAREGD
Contact Person: Sara Hudson
Email: Send Email [http://www.universalpressrelease.com/?pr=caregd-hits-the-streets-for-mental-health-month-real-conversations-real-checkins-and-real-care]
Phone: 770-264-0002
Country: United States
Website: https://caregd.com

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Ryan Clark Calls Naomi Osaka a Very "Necessary Human Being" for Making Tough Choices …

“It’s O.K. to not be O.K.,” Naomi Osaka famously wrote in 2021. That year, Osaka courageously declared to the world that she would be stepping away from tennis to take care of her mental health. She shared that after winning her first Grand Slam in 2018, she suffered from anxiety and depression. Advertisement Osaka’s decision […]

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Ryan Clark Calls Naomi Osaka a Very "Necessary Human Being" for Making Tough Choices ...

“It’s O.K. to not be O.K.,” Naomi Osaka famously wrote in 2021. That year, Osaka courageously declared to the world that she would be stepping away from tennis to take care of her mental health. She shared that after winning her first Grand Slam in 2018, she suffered from anxiety and depression.

Osaka’s decision to withdraw from the 2021 French Open and temporarily step away from tennis to focus on her mental health left many puzzled at the time. However, many also lauded her for taking the brave decision despite the stigma surrounding mental health issues.

According to Ryan Clark, her choice to prioritize her well-being over competition helped ignite a broader, much-needed conversation about the intense pressures athletes face and the significance of mental health and self-care in professional sports.

“I think Naomi Osaka is a very necessary human. As an athlete. Unfortunately, there are these people who go through these things publicly that allow the entire sports world to learn, and she has just been chosen to be that one. What she did at the French Open years ago, stepping away and saying, ‘I gotta focus on myself.’ That was groundbreaking.”

Lauding her for her openness in the face of personal struggles, Clark added:

“And then to explain why she did it. You know that by choosing to be open about it, there’s going to be criticism, there’s going to be disappointment, even in explaining it, there’s going to be criticism.”

Adding to her struggles, Naomi also underwent postpartum complications due to her “traumatic” birth experience. Osaka welcomed her daughter, Shai, in July 2023, marking a deeply meaningful chapter in her life.

Naomi Osaka’s struggles continue

She described motherhood as “so fulfilling,” but also candidly acknowledged the challenges of juggling her return to professional tennis with the demands of being a new mom. Osaka admitted the transition was “tough,” underscoring the critical role of a strong support system, and noting that raising a child truly “takes a village.” Once she returned to the court, she admitted, “I don’t feel like I’m in my body.”

“And then she had a baby. And I think for female athletes, when you give birth to a child, it’s so much different than it is for us… I think it’s super cool of her to let us see it because so many people hide it,” Clark said on the Pivot podcast.

The former world No. 1 continues to navigate the emotional and physical challenges of her return to tennis. In May, she was visibly emotional during her media interview after Osaka fell in the first round of the French Open to Spain’s Paula Badosa. Despite a promising start, Osaka’s performance unraveled with 54 unforced errors and five double faults, hindered further by blisters on her hands caused by the clay surface.

Last week, the Japanese player suffered a tough 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 loss to Russia’s Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova at Wimbledon. It marked yet another early exit for Osaka, who hasn’t advanced past the third round of a Grand Slam since winning her last major title at the Australian Open in January 2021.

After her latest Wimbledon loss, Osaka was candid about her frustration: “Yes, [I feel closer to a deep run], but honestly, right now I’m just really upset. I’m just going to be a negative human being today. I’m so sorry. I have nothing positive to say about myself, which is something I’m working on.”

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How some veterans are using recreational activities for mental health

PEWAUKEE, Wis. — Transitioning out of the military and into civilian life can put a toll on mental health.  According to the most recent data from Veteran Affairs, there were 136 veteran suicides in Wisconsin in 2022 and suicide was the 12th leading cause of death for veterans in 2022. What You Need To Know Jeremy […]

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How some veterans are using recreational activities for mental health

PEWAUKEE, Wis. — Transitioning out of the military and into civilian life can put a toll on mental health. 

According to the most recent data from Veteran Affairs, there were 136 veteran suicides in Wisconsin in 2022 and suicide was the 12th leading cause of death for veterans in 2022.


What You Need To Know

  • Jeremy Lyon said the military experience runs deep and it can be difficult to transition out of the military
  • He said it is important veterans know what resources are available or to at least find a sense of community when they exit the military


Jairo Javier enlisted in the Marines in 2014 when he was only 17-years-old. 

“My uncle was a Marine. I idolized him as a kid growing up. So, I always had a desire to be a Marine, even though I did not fully understand what that fully entailed,” said Javier. 

Javier served nine years total, six of which were active duty and three years in the reserves. He said he misses many things about it. 

“The brotherhood, the comradery, the high stakes environment, just the intensity behind the job,” said Javier. “You don’t truly appreciate it until after you leave. At least that was my case.” 

(Spectrum News 1/Cody Taylor)

When Javier retired from the military, he had taken up skydiving as a sport to keep him busy. 

Now, he says he spends a lot of his free time out on the water boating. 

“Regardless of what background you have, getting out on a boat and coasting across the water or floating on the water is something that is a stress reliever,” said Javier. 

Jeremy Lyon works for the division of veterans’ benefits at the Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs.

He said the military experience runs deep and it can be difficult to transition out of the military. 

(Spectrum News 1/Cody Taylor)

“There’s that fundamental fact that you are now missing that fundamental mission you were a part of and missing that team and the comrades you had besides you,” said Lyon. 

He said it is important veterans know what resources are available or to at least find a sense of community when they exit the military. 

“I have heard of a number of veterans who go fishing, go boating, go horseback riding, these are all great experiences,” said Lyon. “They bring us together as a community, they give you a peer network of other veterans to talk to.” 

While Javier said he found boating to be a good pastime, Lyon said veterans can also get involved with the American Legion or one of the other veterans’ groups in the community.


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