Wigan Warriors launch emotive campaign in support of Mental Health Awareness Week
Wigan Warriors have launched an emotive piece of content in support of Mental Health Awareness Week, encapsulating the club’s culture of strength in vulnerability and it’s connection with the fans and community it represents.
The piece, dubbed ‘We’re all Wigan. We’re all Warriors.’ - produced by Unmarked Agency - highlights that with or without the jersey, those associated with the club remain human, navigating similar life experiences and emotions. It is designed to encourage open dialogue and sharing of challenges and concerns, repositioning vulnerability as a strength of character - a nation adopted as part of Matt Peet’s coaching philosophy.
Opening with ‘some feelings are too heavy to carry in silence, so we decided to write them down...’ - the video highlights four key life experiences for the players and related vulnerability from the Brick Community Stadium pitch.
Liam Marshall on bereavement: “The day my daughter was born was the happiest and most proud I have felt in my life. Less than 48 hours later, my mother sadly passed away after an 18-month battle with cancer.”
Junior Nsemba on childhood racist abuse: “I was so young. Feeling so isolated and so confused around why they were excluding me and treating me differently.”
Tyler Dupree on domestic violence: “I was a young boy, just trying to comprehend what was happening. I knew it was wrong. I knew he was wrong. I knew this wasn’t how you treat a woman.”
Brad O’Neill on early fatherhood: “I couldn’t explain how I was feeling in that moment. Apprehensive. Nervous. Worried I wouldn’t be enough. I was 18 years old and I was going to be a father.”
The content piece has been curated as a direct response to the rising rates of male loneliness in and around Wigan. With limited presence of positive male influences and changing social attitudes towards masculinity, young men have learned to numb their emotions, viewing vulnerability negatively. Today, according to a Centre for Social Justice think tank, 15 per cent of men have no close friends and no one to confide in, with only one in five men receiving emotional support from a friend per week, compared to 40 per cent of women. Suicide is the biggest cause of death among young men.
Warriors chairman Chris Brookes said: “Wigan Warriors is deeply embedded in our community with our players seen as positive role models. I know from my many years working in our NHS how much men bottle up their feelings. These authentic accounts from our players will therefore be hugely impactful in breaking the stigmas which keep so many men from opening up on their true emotions.”
“Rugby league has highly positive values, attitudes and behaviours with the sport such a powerful vehicle for kick-starting conversations about mental health. I am so proud that our club is leading the way in making a difference and providing a pathway to improve lives, particularly mental health and wellbeing.”
In accordance with Wigan’s emotive campaign, the content piece closes out by signposting viewers to ANDYSMANCLUB, a men’s suicide prevention charity, which hosts free weekly peer-to-peer group sessions at the Brick Community Stadium and online, as well as across more than 250 sites nationwide.
The content piece kicks off a week of mental and physical wellbeing-focused programming executed by Wigan Warriors Community Foundation. Building upon existing sessions, the curated programming has been designed to effectively signpost the local community to support services, and drive participation in local activity - both club and non-club related - placing socialisation at the epicentre.