My Cleats, My Cause: Rams share more about charities they honored

Matt Skura hopes to help others who are struggling as he remembers his dad on Sunday.

During the NFL’s annual “My Cleats, My Cause” celebration, the Rams Center will wear custom yellow and gold cleats in support of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. The words “Out Of The Darkness” and “Douglas Skura Memorial Fund” are written on the shoes.

“It’s to honor my father who took his own life this March,” Matt Skura told The Times. “It has obviously been a difficult year for me and my family. I thought this would be a great time to honor and remember him. And a great way to also shed light on mental health issues and mental health awareness.”

Listen to Matt Skura:

Douglas Skura was a 61-year-old orthopedist from Ohio, where he lived with his wife and raised their three sons.

“It’s something we’ve never dealt with in my family,” Matt Skura said of suicide. “It was obviously just a difficult transition. But you also understand how precious life is. You know how to take mental health issues really seriously and often you can still do whatever it takes to help someone and sometimes it can still end badly.

Skura said his family is focused on taking care of their mental health and urges others to do the same.

Ten other Rams showed their shoes to The Times and shared why they chose the causes they will be honoring on Sunday.

Listen to Chandler Brewer:

Listen to Jake Gervase:

Listen to Jordan Fuller:

Listen to Maximian Pircher:

Listen to Quentin Lake:

Listen to David Edwards:

Listen to Riley Dixon:

Listen to Nick Scott:

Listen to Brian Allen:

The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline can be reached at 1-800-273-8255 and is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week for people experiencing a mental health crisis.