‘I’m Changing the Narrative’: Rachel Baribeau Is Leading a Movement

After 17 years as a sportscaster, Baribeau went from analyzing players to lifting them up through their struggles

Rachel Baribeau, founder of I'm Changing the Narrative (www.imchangingthenarrative.org). She exhorts young athletes to become "kings" and "queens." She said, "... people who are kings and queens, people who are royal, do hard things ... It's going to cost some skin off your back, but we are the people who help people, especially when you're down in a ditch." Courtesy of Rachel Baribeau

Last year, Rachel Baribeau stood in the TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis for a college football game between the University of Minnesota and Maryland, and together with the coaches and players of both teams, shared a message about mental health with the audience of 30,000 people. She knew that somewhere in that audience, at least one person was helped. At least one person saw that if these people could get up there and speak about their mental health, they could talk about it too. At least one person was exposed to resources he or she didn’t know to look for, and the information might have saved a life.

Baribeau at TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, hosting a Mental Health Awareness game between the University of Minnesota and Maryland on Oct. 26, 2019. Courtesy of Rachel Baribeau