Star Saint Dan Butler says his club wants to “keep honouring” the late Danny ‘Spud’ Frawley, with St Kilda doing its part for this month’s Movember campaign.
The entire St Kilda playing group is on board, including the AFLW side, with several players growing out a mo and the rest emptying out their pockets and participating in a handful of cardiovascular activities to raise awareness.
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Butler, who’s growing a moustache for the Movember initiative, said the club wanted to do its part in honouring Frawley, a former St Kilda star and captain of 240 games from 1984-95.
Frawley died in 2019 when his four-wheel-drive hit a tree. The tragedy occurred the day after his 56th birthday and in the wake of a long battle with depression.
Construction is also currently underway on the Danny Frawley Centre for Health and Wellbeing, which is due for completion in early 2022.
“The goal this year is to continue Spud’s legacy,” Butler told Wide World of Sports.
“He was a great person in the footy community… we want to keep honouring his legacy.
“We’ve got the Danny Frawley Centre currently underway and it will be a great space for past and present players in terms of mental health.
“We’re really keen to keep raising awareness for Spud and keep on continuing his legacy that he left behind.
“Growing up, all I ever heard was good things about him and you hear all over TV and radio – some of the stories the boys speak about, the high regard they hold him in is pretty special.”
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Butler admits he’s no stranger to the “emotional rollercoaster” the AFL can be, having witnessed the highs and lows of professional sport.
The 25-year-old achieved All-Australian honours in 2020 following a breakout year, proving to be the recruit of the season.
But he’s also endured the pain of team selection and criticism, with his tenure with former club Richmond mired in struggles to retain his spot in the side at times despite premiership success with the Tigers in 2017.
The star forward, who’s been in the AFL since 2015, says it takes resilience to steer clear from the negative headlines.
“It’s tough and that (mental health concerns) is something you can’t really prepare for going into an AFL career when you’re 18-years-old,” he said.
“You’ve been nurtured by your family and then you get into the AFL and all of a sudden you’re pretty open to criticism.
“It’s tough, an emotional rollercoaster – I think as you go in your career, you learn what to take in and what not to take in.
“A lot of people try to bring you down in the public and the media if you have a bad game.
“It’s important not read too much into it and really focus on what the people who you respect have to say – family, teammates, coaches.
“It’s hard to not fall into the trap of reading stuff in the paper and sometimes it’s impossible not to see when it pops up on TV… you’ve got to try to laugh it off and keep positive.”
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The AFL world was rocked in 2019 when premiership-winner and star Bulldog Tom Boyd walked away from his reported seven-year $7 million contract, to retire immediately due to mental health reasons.
Butler lauded today’s players for their courage in speaking up, as well as club initiatives to bring in mental health specialists.
“I dare say that every club has a psychologist and someone who is fully devoted to player welfare and I think that’s been the biggest change over the years I’ve been in the AFL,” Butler added.
“Being able to speak up without consequence, being encouraged if you’re not right – that’s the beauty of Movember.
“These other mental health campaigns (R U OK?) to raise awareness that it’s OK to not be OK. You won’t get judged for it.
“I think some of the players, who have brought up that they’re not OK – they get a lot of respect for it and it’s a very tough thing to do.
“Now if you speak up it’s brave and you gather a lot of respect.”
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