LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — The Las Vegas Raiders and Intermountain Health brought local student-athletes to the Intermountain Health Performance Center on Wednesday for the 2026 Intermountain Impact Player event, focused on youth leadership and mental health awareness.
“The Strongest Play is Asking for Help”
The event centered on Intermountain Health’s message that “The Strongest Play is Asking for Help,” with the goal of empowering student-athletes to become mental health advocates in their schools and communities. Participants heard from Raiders and Intermountain Health leaders before assembling 1,000 mental health resource kits to be distributed at their schools and communities.
Aria Hooper, a cornerback who also plays running back, said the event resonated with her personally.
MORE ON FOX5: Free mental health help for the whole family in Clark County
“It really helps me because it reminds me that I’m not alone in any battle and that everyone here probably has faced something the same because, as well, we’re all athletes,” Hooper said. “So, it feels nice to have people that most likely face the same things I do.”
Hooper said she plans to take that message back to her flag football team — checking in with teammates after tough games and practices so no one feels like they are facing mental battles alone.
Student-athletes reflect on leadership and community
Jerome Jackson Sequeira, a quarterback for the Desert Pines Jaguars, said the event gave him new tools to bring back to his team and community.
“Just the emphasis that it is to just check in on your guys individually — just like, are you good? Are you okay? — that was really cool to hear,” Sequeira said. “That’s definitely something I’m going to take back and use every day.”
Sequeira said the bond within a team is critical to handling outside pressures. “Without that brotherhood, if you guys aren’t bonded as a family and as a team, all the outside noise — it’s like you guys against everyone,” he said. “If you’re bonded with all those guys in your locker room, it makes it a lot easier to face.”
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