In January 2020, Olympic shot putter Raven Saunders read a news article about Bryce Gowdy, a Black teenager from Deerfield Beach, Florida, who died by suicide.
He and his family had been living in a car as they endured financial difficulties, and the circumstances weighed on him, according to The Washington Post. Gowdy, 17, had been awarded a full scholarship to play football for Georgia Tech, where he was due to start classes a week after his death.
After reading Gowdy’s story, Saunders — a queer Black woman — felt compelled to share her own mental health journey.
