LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa. — "It's something I still think about. A lot of the times I blame myself for the injury, saying if I practiced harder, it would've never happened," said Mekkai Williams.
The 18-year-old was a wide receiver and linebacker for the Hempfield Knights. Like so many young athletes, he got hurt in practice.
"I twisted my knee and it was on the side of my leg," he said. "It made me lose out on my entire senior season and to not be able to be a part of that... it was gut-wrenching."
Williams was not only tackling the physical toll of his injury, but even more so, its emotional toll.
"I kind of was in like a deep hole," Williams said. "Not only did I think I wasn't going to play again, I thought it might hinder my walking ability."
He says support from his coaching staff and teammates got him through this difficult time.
"Every day they asked me how I was doing, if I needed anything," said Williams. "And that truly made a difference."
But Williams knows not every athlete receives that encouragement. So he took this experience with him to Temple University to help others.
During an internship this past spring, he was able to draft legislation addressing student mental health with State Representative Mary Jo Daley.
"I'm proud to say I'm the first intern that she decided to turn their internal intern project into real legislation," said Williams.
Proposed House Bill 13-67 would require all PIAA school coaches to complete mental health awareness training. It would also add a section about understanding mental health signs and symptoms to pre-participation forms. Finally, it would require the departments of health and education to post mental health guidelines and resources on their website.
"I found a study conducted by the Aspen Institute which found only 18% of youth coaches feel highly confident in their ability to link athletes to mental health resources, and that's not good enough," said Williams. "That's why this legislation is so important."
He hopes sharing his story helps put an end to the mental health stigma on the gridiron.
"In the sports world, you're taught to be mentally tough. If you speak up and speak out, you're not going to be mentally weak. It's probably one of the strongest things you can do," said Williams. "And there are people that can help you, and there's going to be light on the other side."