Kelvin Benjamin’s heartfelt Instagram post shows human side of football – ESPN (blog)

Kelvin Benjamin (left) said being with his Panthers teammates has helped him grieve the loss of his mother.

SPARTANBURG, S.C. -- We all have tough days at work that are influenced by something tragic or sad in our personal lives. Sometimes those around us dont have a clue as to why we might have been off in our performance or short with them in conversation.

Football players are no different.

Fans sitting on the hill at Wofford College during the first week of Carolina Panthers training camp had no idea wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin lost his mother last week, not until he wrote Friday afternoon on Instagram that he was in a dark place when she was buried last weekend.

Reporters had no idea, either.

Even some of Benjamins teammates werent aware because he kept much of what he was going through to himself.

So if the 6-foot-5, 243-pound star dropped a pass or two in practice, most would write it off simply as a bad day or that he was struggling in the extreme heat and humidity.

Some might even have been critical, saying he still was a little overweight, as he was early in offseason workouts, and not considering whether it might be something else.

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Football players, particularly stars like Benjamin, are held to different standards. They are viewed as superheroes, not humans.

Former Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre set the bar high in 2003 when he passed for 399 yards and four touchdowns in a prime-time Monday night victory over Oakland the day after his father passed.

It doesnt always play out that way.

We need to understand this.

It happens a lot more than people realize, Carolina coach Ron Rivera said. These guys are human beings, too. They go through ups and downs with families. Thats the thing weve all got to understand. These young men, theyre human.

Rivera went through a similar situation two years ago. On the eve of the 2015 training camp, his brother, Mickey, lost a two-year fight with pancreatic cancer.

Rivera reported to camp on time, but to his credit he took two days off to be with his family in Reno, Nevada, for the funeral.

He needed the time away.

He also needed the time with the football team during his grieving.

The tremendous support I got from this organization was unbelievable, Rivera said. For some of these young guys, a lot of them are very private, too.

Kelvin was very private about it. He didnt open up right away. Now he is. I tell you, its just been great for him. Its good to see.

Benjamin was laughing and smiling after Fridays practice as fans screamed for his autograph. He was feeling well enough about where he was mentally that he shared for the first time how being around the team has helped.

It was a heartfelt message about how he feeds off the energy of his teammates. He ended the post with, Love mom keep watching over me.

This puts a different perspective on things.

It humanizes the athlete.

Sometimes people dont know whats going on, Panthers receiver Austin Dukes said. Sometimes we dont know whats going on. ... But its a brotherhood, man. When somebody goes down or somebody loses somebody, youre there for him.

Benjamins brothers have been there for him, and hes stronger for it. Hes working hard to shed the label he got for being overweight and is focused on returning to the form he was in during the 2015 camp before he suffered a season-ending knee injury.

At some point, hell talk about what the past week or weeks has been like.

For now, hes in a good place, not a dark place.

Kelvins was really a tough situation, Rivera said. He really took it hard, but I do know this -- and he told everybody -- him being out here has been great for him.

Sometimes the best therapy is to be around your teammates.

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Kelvin Benjamin's heartfelt Instagram post shows human side of football - ESPN (blog)