Former Buckeyes offensive lineman Harry Miller to attend State of the Union address
COLUMBUS — Former Ohio State offensive lineman Harry Miller will be recognized in the halls of the United States Capitol Building on Tuesday night.
The former Buckeyes star offensive lineman will be in attendance for the State of the Union Address on Tuesday night. Miller will be a special guest of First Lady Jill Biden for the presidential speech in front of a joint session of Congress.
The White House press release had this to say about Miller on Tuesday morning:
“Miller is a senior in mechanical engineering and a former football player for The Ohio State University. In 2022, he announced he would no longer continue to be a student-athlete to prioritize his mental health and has since become an advocate for mental health and emotional wellness. President Biden has named tackling the mental health crisis a key pillar of his Unity Agenda, laying out a strategy to transform how mental health is understood, perceived, accessed, treated, and integrated – in and out of health care settings. Since taking office, the Biden-Harris Administration has significantly increased federal government investments in mental health support for Americans across the country.”
Miller retired from football in March 2022 due to a battle with mental health issues. He posted to social media about his struggles, even admitting that he contemplated committing suicide at one point.
“I am medically retiring,” Harry Miller posted on Twitter when announcing his struggle last March. “I would not usually share such information. However, because I have played football, I am no longer afforded the privilege of privacy, so I will share my story briefly …
“Prior to the season last year, I told [Ohio State] Coach [Ryan] Day of my intention to kill myself. He immediately had me in touch with Dr. Candice and Dr. Norman, and I received the support I needed. After a few weeks, I tried my luck at football once again with scars on my wrists and throat. Maybe the scars were hard to see with my wrists taped up. Maybe it was hard to see the scars through the bright colors of the television. Maybe the scars were hard to hear through all the talk shows and interviews. They are hard to see, and they are easy to hide, but they sure do hurt. There was a dead man on the television set, but nobody knew it.”
Since retiring from football, Miller has become a spokesperson for mental health awareness, and he has stayed a member of the Ohio State football team to advocate on behalf of mental health.
Now he’s being honored as one of 25 distinguished guests in Washington D.C. on Tuesday night.
