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- Penn State defensive end Bryce Mostella made some significant claims about the program over the weekend.
- In an effort to help others who are going through a similar struggle with mental health, he shared a troubling story from his time with the Nittany Lions.
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As the conversation around mental health continues to grow, the destigmatization has allowed people to feel more comfortable sharing their experiences. Penn State football’s Bryce Mostella is among them.
The redshirt sophomore defensive end from Kentwood, Michigan recently went public with a story of personal struggle. In the lengthy and detailed Twitter thread, Mostella made accusations of neglect against the program and head coach James Franklin.
According to Mostella, the Penn State staff was more focused on his weight and ability to perform at the highest level than his mental well-being. He said that the team has been fixated on his weight since his arrival to campus and that it had a negative impact on his diagnosed anxiety and depression.
Mostella went on to make some alarming claims about the program and Franklin.
could compete at the highest level possible. Fast forward a bit, to put it bluntly, I’m struggling with my on Field performance, strength, as well as putting on the weight they wanted me to. As soon as I thought I put on consistent gains I would lose, as many people who have
— Bryce Mostella (@BryceMostella) January 29, 2022
Reason being to avoid sounding like I was making excuses. In the coming months CJF made it clear to me he wasn’t satisfied with my progress. The narrative went from me being “a hardworker who’s going to figure it out” to someone who “doesn’t care about football or the team”
— Bryce Mostella (@BryceMostella) January 29, 2022
Mostella also said that Franklin suggested that he would be at risk of being removed from the team and losing his scholarship. That was contingent with him not reaching his weight goal by December.
Off the team and lose my scholarship, that moment began the darkest phase of my life. A phase I still am not out of. 11/3/21 I was hospitalized for suicidal ideation I had lost 30 lbs from august and weighed the lowest i had been since my freshman year of High school
— Bryce Mostella (@BryceMostella) January 29, 2022
In addition, Mostella said that his mother tried to speak with the Penn State staff on multiple occasions about her son but that she did not receive a response and was lied to.
My mother had attempted to contact both James Franklin and John Scott Multiple times since august to discuss my mental health and my status with the team. Neither returned her calls or texts. John Scott told her in November that he had changed his number which is not true.
— Bryce Mostella (@BryceMostella) January 29, 2022
At that point, Mostella claims that he was given two choices. He could either transfer, or medically retire. A return to Penn State was not an option, he said in the thread.
Who had removed me from the defensive line group chat unprompted, replied back to me when I texted him first asking why he did so. After leaving the hospital I was contacted by non-coaching members of the staff to discuss what I was going to do going forward
— Bryce Mostella (@BryceMostella) January 29, 2022
I was then told by said staff members that I should just focus on getting better and they would take care of everything else. I missed so much school being in the hospital I was told my only real option was to medically withdrawal from the semester which I did.
— Bryce Mostella (@BryceMostella) January 29, 2022
Mostella says that he ultimately chose to take a semester off for medical reasons. Upon his return, he claims that he was not able to enroll in classes.
To remove this hold but after the hold was resolved I still had no classes, I contacted one of my academic advisors who told me I had to re-enroll. I filled out the form and am currently waiting to hear back. The sentiment of the staff and I is that my enrollment
— Bryce Mostella (@BryceMostella) January 29, 2022
Mostella added a disclaimer that he did not intent to criticize the university or its employees.
He just wanted to share his story the way that he sees it.
In the meantime, Mostella is struggling with what to do next. His point was to make people aware of the mental health situation so that others can feel comfortable sharing their stories.
I can’t go home, Since there is no room for me to stay there. That is all. The only goal of this was to make people aware of the situations, and types of people you may be dealing with if you or a loved one engage with particular systems. #WeAre @pennstatefball
— Bryce Mostella (@BryceMostella) January 29, 2022
After posting his thread on Twitter, Mostella said that the police were called to check in on his well-being.
https://twitter.com/BryceMostella/status/1487520130003259394?s=20&t=AxO5skqipAioEdIPyLUI-A
He also wants to thank everyone who has been supportive of him.
I just want to say from the bottom of my heart, thank you to everyone who’s been supportive of me. I (perhaps naively) never expected the response to be like this. I didn’t think there would be so much empathy for me specifically, I can’t put in words how much it means to me.
— Bryce Mostella (@BryceMostella) January 30, 2022
Mostella’s story is exactly that. It is his story. How the university plans to act in regard to the accusations will be very telling.
Penn State football has not responded to the allegations. As of right now, Mostella is still listed on the team’s active roster and in the school’s student directory.