The Players’ Tribune

When Nick Chubb blew out his knee last season, he laid on the field thinking his career was over. But Cleveland rallied behind him. Now, he’s healthy and ready to pay them back.

Five-star basketball recruits and twin brothers Cameron and Cayden Boozer announce their college decision: “Duke nation, baby!”

When Kevin Love opened up about his struggles with mental health in The Players’ Tribune six years ago, he had no idea the movement it would create. In 2018, he established the Kevin Love Fund — a non-profit organization that works to inspire people to live their healthiest lives by creating equity between mental and physical health. In honor of #WorldMentalHealthDay and the global launch of our book, 𝑰’𝒗𝒆 𝑮𝒐𝒕 𝑨 𝑺𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒚 𝒕𝒐 𝑻𝒆𝒍𝒍, The Players’ Tribune and ASSOULINE have made a donation to support Kevin's work. Together, we are committed to breaking the stigma surrounding mental health. 💚

Ten years of athlete storytelling in one book — detailing falling in love to saying goodbye to the game, painful setbacks to incredible triumphs, mental health, social justice and so much more. I’ve Got A Story to Tell is available now worldwide online and in stores at ASSOULINE. Order now: playerstribu.ne/Assouline

Pittsburgh Steelers TE Pat Freiermuth: “My grandfather, that was my guy.... Me and Pa used to have this little deal where he’d take me to the convenience store to get a snack after practice if he thought I played hard. (‘Don’t tell ya mother.’) But I loved McDonald’s as a kid, so that kind of transformed into him taking me to McDonald’s if I had a really good practice. But I’m 15 years old, with the 15-year-old metabolism, so I’m eating like six double cheeseburgers or whatever — just crushing fries. And then I’m coming home and my mom’s got like steamed fish and carrots for dinner. ‘Pat, why aren’t you hungry? What’s going on with you?’ Pa would take the McDonald’s bags and hide the evidence at his house. But the thing is, my grandma had passed away before I was born, and he actually lived with my aunt — my mom’s sister. She couldn’t be trusted with that information. She was going to rat us out for sure. And you know how those McDonald’s wrappers smell. Even when that burger is gone, you can’t hide the evidence. My aunt thought my grandfather had a problem. She brought out the trash bag one night. ‘Why are you eating so much McDonalds? You’re 75 years old. What’s going on with you?’ ‘Can you keep a secret?’ ‘Maybe.’ ‘It’s Pat. Do not tell your sister.’ We kept that from my mom for years. I’d be eating like six green beans for dinner. ‘I’m good, mom. I’m stuffed.’ And I’m growing to like 6-foot-5. Hahahah. She didn’t know what was going on.... My grandpa used to write me these notes before every game. Hand-written, of course. He’d give it to me as I was getting out of the car, and I’d read it in the locker room. It had something different every time, but at the end of every single one, it always said: Pat …. keep your feet on the ground …. and reach for the stars.... He would have absolutely loved Pittsburgh. He would have loved me being a Steeler. He actually passed away just a few months before I got drafted.... It was so bittersweet, because he knew that I was going to live my dream. But he didn’t quite get to see it happen. But in a lot of ways, he’s still here.... Every time I run out of the tunnel, I’m playing in his honor.” Read the full story: playerstribu.ne/Muth

Dikembe Mutombo in 2015: “When I came to America as a student, I had nothing. Finding a home away from home was the most important thing to me — even more important than basketball. From the first day I arrived, there were so many people who went out of their way to make me feel at home. When I landed at Dulles Airport in 1987, three students were waiting to greet me in French because I didn’t know any English. At that moment, I felt like I was not lost in the middle of the forest. I will never forget them and I even stay in touch with some of them today.⁠ ⁠ And Coach John Thompson believed in me even when nobody knew who I was.⁠ ⁠ Before I arrived to Georgetown, the media was saying, ‘Who’s this … Mutamby guy?’⁠ ⁠ No one could pronounce my name: Dikembe Mutombo Mpolondo Mukamba Jean-Jacques Wamutombo.⁠ ⁠ So Coach Thompson held a press conference. No one had seen me play basketball. No one had seen me at all. Coach Thompson wanted to have some fun.⁠ ⁠ ‘We have a new recruit from Africa,’ he said. ‘Wait until you see him. He’s 5’10”, but believe me, the kid’s going to be very good.’⁠ ⁠ Everyone’s jaws were on the floor when I walked into practice for the first time. Like I had grown from 5’10” to 7’2” in one week.⁠ ⁠ Coach Thompson has been a father figure to me ever since. He taught me how to play basketball, but also how to become a man. It was Georgetown where I learned a love for the game, but it was also the Georgetown experience that prepared me for life after the game....⁠ ⁠ Everywhere I go, people wag their finger at me. I wag my finger back. When I see people wagging their fingers at me, it feels like cheering.⁠ ⁠ No, no, no.⁠ ⁠ They wag. I wag back. I love it.⁠ ⁠ No, no, no.⁠ ⁠ Whenever I blocked someone and wag my finger, it was never personal. At first, I did it so people would remember me. I wanted everyone to know who controlled the paint. I wanted people to know that I showed up every day and said, ‘No one is coming in here.’⁠ ⁠ No, no, no.” Read his full story: playerstribu.ne/Dikembe

A decade of reflection, setbacks, new starts, grief and so much more. If our first decade has taught us anything, it’s that the next 10 years of athlete storytelling will be monumental. Here’s to all the athlete stories that have been told and all the ones to come. #TPT10

Sunday, for the first time in his career, Aaron Jones will be on the visiting sideline at Lambeau Field.⁠ Ahead of his return, he wrote this letter to his Green Bay Packers family.

We had to go deep in the archives for this. 😂 Turn 2 Foundation | #DJI

Jayden Daniels: “When I was 12, I had the vision of myself playing in the NFL. I could really see myself doing that. I could visualize it in my mind. Deep down, I still feel like that 12-year-old kid. Like, Dang, this is really real. One thing I can tell you is, it takes a village to get in this position. It also takes a lot of love. I just want to thank all of the people who helped me get to this point. I want to thank my family above all. Shoutout to my mom and my dad, my sister, my grandparents, and all of my extended family as well. I also want to say a big thank you to the city of San Bernardino, from the bottom of my heart. They blessed me enough to name my high school stadium after me and show gratitude in that way. So I’m going to keep praising them until it’s backwards because I’m proud of where I’m from. Shoutout to everybody back home. Shoutout to my dogs Nick and Jerome. I’m grateful for the people who loved and believed in me enough to invest their time and energy, just so I could have a shot at reaching my dreams. I feel like everything God has put me through has prepared me for a moment like this. Now, when I think back on my dad’s wisdom from when I was young, his words hold even more weight. On my journey, I did my best to make the right decisions. I made the choices that I hoped would lead me here before I knew it was written. That’s called faith. I know that the platform I’m stepping into will open even more doors and come with a greater responsibility. I’m already looking ahead and preparing for greater challenges. But thanks for letting me look back, one more time, at That Kid. He stayed the course. And for that, I’m grateful.” Read the full story: playerstribu.ne/Jayden 📸: Carolyn Kaster