STRONGSVILLE, Ohio — Two local high school lacrosse teams used a rivalry game to spread awareness and to let people know they aren’t alone.
Strongsville High School and Medina High School female lacrosse teams are fierce rivals, but on Tuesday, they became united, honoring the life of Morgan Rodgers.
"She was a Duke lacrosse player that unfortunately tore her ACL, and through all of that, it led to her losing her own life to suicide,” said Varsity Lacrosse Player, Kadison Rood.
Rodgers family used her memory to strengthen student athletes’ mental health around the country. They call it Morgan's Message, teaching people the importance of humans over athletes.
"Human over athlete means making sure that you're putting the person before the player. I think often people look at athletes, their stats, their scores, and that’s what they see first. Athletes are always going to be a person before they are a player,” said Varsity Lacrosse Player, Mia Gyrue.
The girls use Morgan’s Message to bring awareness to mental health and suicide, something they say is often overlooked.
"We've seen our teammates struggle and ourselves struggle with mental health. It's not something that should be a scary conversation, it's not something that should be a bad conversation, and it's important to make sure that we can help those who are struggling through the same things that Morgan did herself while providing that safe space for them,” said Rood.
The two rival teams came together to honor Morgan’s jersey No. 9 with a moment of silence throughout the stadium and a speech letting others know they don’t have to struggle alone.
"It’s important that we are not defined by the plays that we make, the goals that we make and nothing that we do on this field defines who we are as a person. But we use this game to become a better person off the field, and I am so proud of the girls for bringing that to the forefront,” said Coach Ashleigh Hildreth.
