A Hall of Fame Story That Doesn’t End at the Goal Line
On the National Football Foundation’s Good in the Game podcast, host and 2022 NFF Hall of Fame inductee LaVar Arrington sits down with Iowa Hawkeyes legend and Athletes for Care founder Robert Gallery for a powerful conversation about football, pain, identity, and mental health.
A Masonville farm kid who went from a redshirt tight end to a unanimous All-American, 2003 Outland Trophy winner, and the second overall pick in the 2004 NFL Draft, Robert started 44 straight games at left tackle under Kirk Ferentz and played eight seasons in the league. In 2023 he was enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame — just the 11th Hawkeye to earn the honor.
When the Helmet Came Off
Robert opens up about the part of the story the trophies don’t tell: the depression, anxiety, brain fog, and rage episodes that surfaced after his NFL career ended. He speaks candidly about the suicidal ideation he hid out of embarrassment, the toll the game took on his body and mind, and the brain scan that finally gave him an answer — significant damage that helped explain what he’d been going through.
“No one wants to commit suicide, they want the noise to stop.”
Finding Healing — and Purpose
After a year and a half of conventional treatment with minimal improvement, Robert found hope in the recovery stories of military veterans. Through Navy SEAL Marcus Capone’s foundation, he traveled to Mexico for psychedelic-assisted therapy with ibogaine and 5-MeO-DMT — a turning point he credits with giving him his life back. Sober since 2021, he describes the brain fog lifting, the ringing stopping, and the return of joy with his wife and children.
That experience became the foundation for Athletes for Care — a community built so retired athletes don’t have to suffer in silence. As Robert tells LaVar, the veteran community modeled what’s possible when people help each other find healing, and he wanted to bring that same brotherhood to athletes.
A Pivotal Moment for the Movement
The conversation also touches on the recent Executive Order fast-tracking research into ibogaine and related therapies — a sign of growing federal momentum behind the treatments that are showing promise for TBI, depression, and the challenges so many former players quietly carry.
If you or someone you know is struggling, Athletes for Care is a resource. Reaching out is the first step.
Watch the full episode on YouTube →
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