CV88 Lives On: Mitchell Lloyd’s Mission to Break Mental Health Stigma in Sports

Every game Mitchell Lloyd plays, he’s reminded of someone who made him who he is today. 

Lloyd’s helmet is decorated with white athletic tape on both sides of its chin bar. On the right side, the tape is inked in black with a Sharpie sporting the initials and number of one of his former club lacrosse teammates.  

However, “CV88” represents much more than someone who impacted Lloyd’s life. It’s a lasting way for him to honor a victim of suicide.  

“Every time I put on that helmet, I'm playing in his honor,” Lloyd said.

The importance of mental health has been prevalent in Lloyd’s life for as long as he can remember. However, losing one of his close friends to a mental health battle five years ago forever changed his outlook on the often stigmatized battles student-athletes grapple with. 

According to research published by Allen Press in 2023, approximately one in five student-athletes experience some type of mental health concern. However, fewer than half of student-athletes who report mental health concerns seek mental health treatment. The data also suggests that stigma is the primary reason for the latter. 

Lloyd is now more outspoken about mental health than ever before. The junior Maryland men’s lacrosse faceoff specialist strives to break the stigma associated with mental health and athletes, as the story of one of his closest friends is a constant reminder of the struggles many of them face in silence. 

“You never know what's going on in someone's life,” Lloyd said. “You never know what stresses they feel or what emotions they have. A lot of it can go unnoticed. I am now very aware of the mental health struggles that student athletes and even just people in general face. I want people to know it’s okay not to be okay.”

Lloyd, a native of Moorestown, New Jersey, met his friend through the Philadelphia Freedom Lacrosse Club. They were teammates and good friends for nearly three years before he took his own life in 2021. 

He regards him as someone who always had a smile on his face, and one of the key individuals who made him feel at home when he first joined the club in 2019. 

“He was just a beam of light on the team,” Lloyd said. “My coach nicknamed him ‘Smiles’ because every photo you see of him playing, he's smiling every time. He had a personality that everyone gravitated towards.”

Unbeknownst to Lloyd and his fellow teammates, he was struggling. But the event didn’t just influence him to be outspoken about mental health. It also made him aware he wasn’t alone in his struggle. 

Before coming to Maryland and experiencing his friend’s death, Lloyd — like many other student-athletes — dealt with the pressures of being recruited and living up to his abilities on the field. 

Most importantly, Lloyd uses his friend’s story to spark change. He helped create “Affirmation Day,” a student-driven ode to Suicide Awareness Month instituted by the Maryland Made team that debuted on Sept. 24 last fall. 

He approached the team about instituting something to support Suicide Awareness Month and create an ongoing way to bring awareness to mental health. Maryland Made connected with Dr. Kristi Hall, the university’s Director of Sports Psychology, and Pre-Health Terps (PHT), a student-athlete-led organization on campus that supports other student-athletes interested in careers in healthcare. 

The collective came up with collecting affirmations written on multi-colored Post-it notes from staff and student-athletes. The Post-its were collected and placed in different areas that student-athletes frequently visit in Gossett Hall. 

“There should never be a discontinuation of mental health awareness,” Lloyd said. “It gets brought around one time a year. The month passes by, and people forget about the resources that they have. I wanted to cultivate an ongoing effort to build mental health awareness because it's a very continuous thing.”

Maryland Athletics supports its athletes through its Clinical and Sport Psychology Program, which has providers housed in the athletic department who provide individual mental health counseling, individual performance enhancement counseling and referrals to campus resources and off-campus providers. It also has psychiatrists contracted with the department who provide on-site medication management.

Lloyd encourages others who suffer in silence to utilize such mental health resources. He also encourages individuals to check in on those close to them, even those who seem happiest. 

“I'm just continuing to carry on the lessons that the loss of my teammate had taught me,” Lloyd said. “It allowed me to have a new perspective on life and inspired me to be more outreaching to others. I want to inspire others to feel comfortable talking about these things.”