{"id":93430,"date":"2017-05-01T12:23:11","date_gmt":"2017-05-01T16:23:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/?p=93430"},"modified":"2021-04-15T17:19:18","modified_gmt":"2021-04-15T21:19:18","slug":"dark-side-player-spotlight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/2017\/05\/01\/dark-side-player-spotlight\/","title":{"rendered":"The Dark Side of a Player in the Spotlight"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"TM\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The Star Press<\/a><\/h2>\n

MUNCIE, Ind. \u2014 Under the dimmed lights of Worthen Arena, late at night when the whole place feels overwhelmingly empty, Trey Moses would wander. He\u2019d end up in the locker room crying to himself.<\/p>\n

Often last season, just hours before, he\u2019d be in the same gym blocking shots in practice or celebrating buckets in front of fans. Those fans included little Luke Vormohr, who loves his buddy, \u201cSissy Trey.\u201d In another seat, Mickey Deputy, one of Trey\u2019s best friends. And there\u2019s Brian Bahlman, the 40-year-old season ticket holder with Down Syndrome who Trey met through Best Buddies.<\/p>\n

The then-18-year-old center was always helping someone, with a soft spot for special needs kids. Pictures of quiet, lovable Trey Moses smiling with friends filled his social media feeds. He even went viral after asking Ellie Meredith to\u00a0senior prom, helping to break down taboos behind her disease.<\/p>\n

It was hard to imagine Trey anything but happy.<\/p>\n

But alone in the depths of Worthen Arena was a side of him few knew. And that was the point. In that hugely quiet building, Trey could be alone. He didn\u2019t take any of that back to his dorm room, shared with teammate Tahjai Teague, either. Instead, he\u2019d head to an off-campus house shared by veterans Franko House and Bik Gill, where space was a little more private. \u201cI\u2019d wake up and he was on my couch,\u201d said\u00a0House, who didn’t yet know what was going on.<\/p>\n

Trey\u00a0was carrying thoughts of suicide and didn\u2019t know who to tell or how to tell them. Couldn\u2019t even tell his mom, who heard the full extent of his pain more than a year later, from a news story. She called him crying when she found out, but Moses promised it wasn\u2019t her fault.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was just so hurt and I didn\u2019t know what to do,\u201d Trey\u00a0said. \u201cComing here late at night, there was nobody here. It was just my way of being alone.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing by myself.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Georgetown University Medical Center found in 2013 that 17 percent of student-athletes showed signs of depression. There are also long lists of pro athletes, like star running back Ricky Williams and boxer Mike Tyson who have struggled with mental health issues.<\/p>\n

When kids are in class, plus\u00a0working out 20 hours a week and traveling for games on the weekend, life can be overwhelming. Answers can be hard to find.<\/p>\n

The scariest part, though, is even if Trey would\u2019ve known exactly where to get help, he may not have pursued it for fear of being called soft.<\/em>\u00a0The 6-foot-9 center was then and is now working to be more physical in the paint. Can\u2019t show weakness down there.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a stigma that you\u2019ve got to be strong all the time, especially if you\u2019re a guy,\u201d Trey said. \u201cBut that\u2019s not realistic. \u2026 If you need to cry, you can cry. That\u2019s what I tell everybody: It\u2019s OK not to be OK.\u201d<\/p>\n

And when Trey says he\u2019s telling everybody, he means it. He\u2019s posting about his depression on social media and sharing stories like this one. Even in his darkest hour, the now-19-year-old athlete found another way to help others.<\/p>\n

Once he started talking about depression, life got a little easier. He found the help and support needed through teammates, coaches and counselors. Above all, he says relationships made through Best Buddies are what kept him here, kept him going. He doesn\u2019t know why, exactly, but has an idea.<\/p>\n

\u201cI guess it was just God\u2019s way of giving me a purpose,\u201d he said, \u201cbut they\u2019ve become my passion in life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Assistant coach Brian Thornton, the first coach who knew about Trey\u2019s depression, hasn’t seen anything like\u00a0this. It\u2019s rare for most Division I basketball players to even have a second interest, he said. And Trey isn\u2019t just interested in helping others, he\u2019s dependent on it.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs time has gone on, it\u2019s made me realize that it is probably part of the reason he does all those things,\u201d Thornton said. \u201cBecause he has had some struggles, he wants to help others.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

To read the full story click here.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Under the dimmed lights of Worthen Arena, late at night when the whole place feels overwhelmingly empty, Trey Moses would wander. He\u2019d end up in the locker room crying to himself. He says relationships made through Best Buddies are what kept him here, kept him going. He doesn\u2019t know why, exactly, but has an idea. \u201cI guess it was just God\u2019s way.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":55,"featured_media":93431,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"news-single-post.php","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[676],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe Dark Side of a Player in the Spotlight - Best Buddies International<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/2017\/05\/01\/dark-side-player-spotlight\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Dark Side of a Player in the Spotlight - Best Buddies International\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Under the dimmed lights of Worthen Arena, late at night when the whole place feels overwhelmingly empty, Trey Moses would wander. 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