Matt Skura hopes to help others who are struggling while remembering his father Sunday.
During the NFL’s annual “My Cleats, My Cause” celebration, the Rams center will wear custom yellow and gold cleats supporting the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. The cleats feature the words “Out Of The Darkness” and “Douglas Skura Memorial Fund.”
“It’s to honor my dad, who took his own life this March,” Matt Skura told The Times. “It’s obviously been a difficult year for myself, my family. I thought this would be a great time to honor and remember him. And a great way to also bring to light mental health issues, mental health awareness.”
Listen to Matt Skura:
Douglas Skura was a 61-year-old orthopedic surgeon based in Ohio, where he lived with his wife and raised his three sons.
“It’s something that we’ve never dealt with in my family,” Matt Skura said of suicide. “It’s just been, obviously, a difficult transition. But you also understand how precious life is. You understand to really take mental health issues seriously and a lot of times, too, you can still do everything you can to help someone and sometimes it still can end up in a bad way.”
Skura said his family is focused on taking care of their mental health and urges others to do the same.
Ten more Rams showed The Times their cleats and shared why they chose the causes they will honor Sunday.
Listen to Chandler Brewer:
Listen to Jake Gervase:
Listen to Jordan Fuller:
Listen to Maximian Pircher:
Listen to Quentin Lake:
Listen to David Edwards:
Listen to Riley Dixon:
Listen to Nick Scott:
Listen to Brian Allen:
The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline can be reached at 1-800-273-8255 and is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week for those experiencing a mental health crisis.
