Hayden Hurst has been open about his suicide attempt, but got emotional while discussing it with Jada Pinkett Smith, her daughter Willow and mother Adrienne Banfield-Norris. In an exclusive clip from the Facebook Watch show Red Table Talk, Smith asked Hurst about the night of his suicide attempt and the events leading up to it. Hurst said he was playing football at the University of South Carolina and “wanted to change my life.”
“I have addiction problems that run deep in the Hurst family,” the Atlanta Falcons tight end said. “One night, I was out with some friends and was drinking.” Hurst went on to say that he “mixed Xanax” in his drink and then realized when “I reached for the bottle or reach for the pills, it was to get blacked out and be incoherent. It was pretty severe depression.”
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Hurst continues to say “that night, I didn’t want to be here anymore. I woke up and I was handcuffed to a hospital bed. I saw my wrist was stitched up and my jeans were covered in blood. I realized I tried to kill myself. And I remember looking around the room and I was like, ‘Man, what have you done?’ That was rock bottom for me.”
Earlier this month, Hurst talked about his struggles with depression on the Falcons’ official website. “I can’t really explain it,” Hurst said in the interview with the Falcons. “It’s hard to unless you go through it. … But depression, you feel like nobody’s there, despite my family being so close. They’re willing to do whatever, but when you’re in that headspace and you’re in that dark spot, you feel alone.”
As painful as that night was for Hurst, he believes it was also a good thing. “It was the best and worst thing that’s ever happened in my life,” Hurst said. “Because when I made that decision, when I was in that hospital room, kind of reflecting on everything I had done, I made a promise to myself. I was like, ‘I’m not going to do this again.’” Hurst has turned his life around and has been a top weapon for the Falcons in 2020. In 14 games, the 27-year-old has caught 47 passes for 496 yards and four touchdowns. His entire Red Table Talk interview can be seen Tuesday at 12 p.m ET on Facebook Watch.
If you or someone you know are in crisis, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting TALK to 741-741.
