Roberts speaks with combat vets in Merging Vets & Players session
Rowan Kavner | Dodger Insider
Dodger manager Dave Roberts is accustomed to speaking in front of a room of athletes, but the room greeting him and the message he delivered Wednesday night varied from the norm.
Roberts was invited to speak to combat veterans and former pro athletes who are part of Merging Vets and Players (MVP), a group founded by NFL insider Jay Glazer and former Green Beret and Seattle Seahawk Nate Boyer to address challenges faced by those transitioning to life after the uniform is off.
The goal is to create an environment that helps MVP members realize they’re not alone and don’t need to internalize their struggles. The program includes a workout session followed by a peer support group, during which the former athletes and veterans are invited to share their stories.
The COVID-19 pandemic hasn’t stopped the sessions. Instead, they’ve turned virtual.
Nearly 100 combat veterans and former pro athletes tuned in earlier this week via Zoom conferencing. The conversations are heavy and emotional, but the shared experiences provide support and an outlet to help those involved power through whatever pain they’re experiencing. The participants can be vulnerable with one another and find strength and resilience from that vulnerability.
As MVP’s website states: “MVP coaches our vets and athletes to be proud of their scars, and to use what they experienced on the battlefield or football field to empower them through the transition.”
In between the stories from former veterans and athletes, Glazer and Boyer provide insight, advice and motivational messages where applicable. On Wednesday, during Military Appreciation Month, Roberts joined in as well.
“I can’t even express my gratitude to share this space with you guys,” Roberts told the group. “My father served our country for 30 years in the Marine Corps and passed away a few years ago. To listen to the stories and see the honesty, to be quite frank, is so powerful.
“We all have a different story. We all have a different path. But I do think the uniqueness is what makes each and every one of us special.”
The topic Roberts focused on was honesty, and how that trait and authenticity separate people.
Then he shared an analogy of the bulls and the sheep.
When a storm approaches, Roberts explained, the sheep run away and the storm catches up to them. The bulls, meanwhile, band together and attack the storm directly, getting through it sooner.
“What you guys are doing is putting you together as bulls, sharing stories to go forward,” Roberts said. “For me, that’s powerful.”
Before Roberts’ time was up, one of the MVP participants wanted to share his own story with the Dodger manager.
During each regular season home game, the Dodgers thank and pay tribute to the armed forces by honoring a Military Hero of the Game. Two years ago, in May 2018, one of those heroes was US Marine Corps Veteran Sgt. Sergio Cuevas.
At the time, Cuevas was dealing with a tough transition out of the military, struggling with homelessness and finding a job while going through a divorce. As he was honored on the field, Cuevas’ kids attended at Dodger Stadium. Coincidentally, so did the property manager for an apartment Cuevas had applied to.
Cuevas explained that after the property manager saw his story on the field at Dodger Stadium, he got the apartment with his first month’s rent waived and the rent amount lessened for his first year.
“The Dodgers season, it saved me,” said Cuevas, who also thanked Justin Turner for his work helping veterans. “With MVP and having these sessions and being able to work out and vent and suffer through pain and get my pain out through workout and share and be vulnerable and be able to have something to look forward to — seeing the Dodgers play and watching you win it and go after it and fight — it reminds me to keep pushing and keep going and never quit.”