Source:
A Queensland Cup team is breaking new ground by forsaking valuable sponsorship dollars in order to promote suicide prevention on the front of its jerseys.
The Mackay Cutters will play in next year's Queensland Cup competition with suicide prevention on their jerseys and training shirts.
Source: ABC
The Mackay Cutters have lost three players to suicide since 2013 and next year players will tackle mental health with their hearts on their jerseys.
"It's going to be sitting there, right in the middle of our chest so that every single time when we're doing it tough ... we can have a look at what we're about, and what the true fabric of the Mackay Cutters is," Cutters boss Troy Rovelli told ABC.
The club is sponsored by the Mackay Regional Suicide Prevention Network and this week launched Change the Game - a community initiative aimed at tackling the stigma associated with mental health.
"Footy players in general put up this facade of tough guys - as men in general do - and we're just trying to break that stigma and make sure that if we're not travelling so well, we can put our hands up," Rovelli said.
"It's [an issue] very close to Mackay and the district."
If you, or someone you care about needs help, you can call Lifeline on 0800 543 354 or visit their website: www.lifeline.org.nz
