INDIANAPOLIS — WNBA All-Star Weekend is here.
To kick it off, former WNBA star Leslie Johnson is raising awareness about an issue near to her heart.
“A lot of WNBA players, all athletes once they’re done playing, there’s a certain level of trauma that occurs," Johnson said.
Johnson says the transition after life as a professional athlete led her down a path of depression, suicidal ideation, extreme weight gain and alcoholism.
“There was not another open door in the WNBA. I just put it all in the bottle. I started drinking. I became a raging alcoholic," she said.
The pivot came many years later when she got a call from her sister saying she had cancer and it was terminal.
“In that moment, I knew it wasn’t about me anymore. I got clean. For 13 years I’ve been sober," Johnson said.
Johnson is the founder of Hushed No More. The organization is dedicated to furthering mental health awareness in middle school, high school, college and professional athletic communities.
Hushed No More partnered with multiple Indy-based organizations on Thursday for Full Court Press - Strong Minds, Smart Choices.
“When people play basketball and they’re Full Court Press, they’re just aware and on it. That’s what we want people to do. We want people to be excited, aware of substance use prevention and mental health awareness, and have all hands on deck and call to action to make an impact in their community," Kelly Ivey said.
Ivey is the Executive Director of Decatur Township Drug-Free Coalition.
Her organization focuses on prevention around two substances: alcohol and marijuana.
She says the hope is to promote positive coping skills, foster open dialogue and strengthen community connections.
“We haven’t turned a [blind] eye to it and act like it doesn’t exist because it does. We try to take a proactive measure to ensure we can combat it any way that we can," she said.
