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A.J. Green called on the NFL to provide players with better mental health care in an essay published by The Players’ Tribune on Wednesday.
The message was part of an emotional piece that the former wideout penned in honor of the late Rondale Moore, with whom Green had developed a close relationship while the two were playing in Arizona, and who tragically took his own life last month. He was 25.
Green wrote that it is time for the NFL to do more to address players’ mental health while they’re recovering from injuries.
“To me there’s a lot that could still be improved in the NFL, as far as how the league is helping its players with their mental health,” the seven-time Pro Bowl receiver wrote in The Players’ Tribune. “And one way I would start is by making it mandatory, if you have a major injury, that you see an independent mental health counselor as part of your rehab. And by also making it mandatory, if you have a second major injury, that you see an independent mental health counselor for an extended period of time, even after your rehab.”
Moore was struggling with his mental health after suffering season-ending injuries during the previous two years.
Police in New Albany, Indiana, said Moore was found with a self-inflicted gunshot wound in the garage of a property in the town from which he came.
Moore dislocated his right knee during training camp after being traded to the Falcons from the Cardinals in 2024.
He signed with the Vikings in 2025, but blew out his left knee during a preseason game.
Green also called for a change to how decision makers in the league view mental health care, indicating that many see it as something to look down on.
“None of that means anything if the people who are making the football decisions, in private, are viewing mental health issues how I feel like a lot of times they still get viewed: as a red flag. That’s the truth,” Green wrote. “No one in any front office will ever say it out loud. No scout is ever gonna put it in a scouting report. But that’s how it’s viewed in this league by a lot of people. And as long as that’s the case? Stories like Rondale’s will probably keep happening.
“Because it means we’re telling players that having a mental health issue is gonna f–k with their money. And if we’re telling players that, then we’re creating an incentive for them to lie about their mental health. And if players lie about their mental health, then they’re going to feel shame about their mental health. And they’re not going to get the help they need — and whatever issues they’re facing are not going to get better, and are probably going to get worse.”
The issue takes on immense significance for Green because of how close he was with Moore.
During their time together in Arizona — Green’s final years in the league and Moore’s first two — they took on a father/son type of dynamic as the NFL veteran mentored the promising wide receiver.
Green had even joked that Moore was actually “Rondale Green, my third and oldest kid.”
The former NFL player recalled how Moore had opened up during his second season and “when it really became a special relationship.”
Green said he’d get texts and phone calls asking him for advice on any given topic.
“And pretty soon I’m on the phone with him, FaceTiming, saying stuff like, ‘Stop buying these cheap-ass linens, Rondale!! You have a bit of money now, you can afford some real linens — this way you’re not having to change them out every week!!!’ And I’d catch the sound of my own voice in those moments and I’d be like, Oh my God….. I know exactly who I sound like right now. I’m talking like MY parents. So that’s how ‘Rondale Green’ got started. Just from Rondale asking me all of these questions, and me giving him all of this parental-type advice,” Green wrote.
Moore was laid to rest on March 6 in New Albany.
Green helped select the tie for Moore to wear at his funeral.
If you are struggling with suicidal thoughts or are experiencing a mental health crisis, you can call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org for free and confidential crisis counseling.
English (US)