Florida

Florida Partnering With Pro Sports Teams, Athletes in Student Mental Health Initiative

NBC 6

The state of Florida is partnering with professional sports teams and athletes in a new initiative to promote mental health and physical activity for students.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and his wife, First Lady Casey DeSantis, announced the new initiative during a news conference Friday at the Amway Center in Orlando, home of the NBA's Magic.

Teams including the Magic, the Miami Heat, the Miami Dolphins, the Florida Panthers, Inter Miami, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Tampa Bay Rays, in addition to the LPGA and NASCAR are part of the initiative, Casey DeSantis said.

The First Lady said the initiative will work to provide curriculum and lesson plans to Florida's public schools focusing on teaching kids problem solving, empathy, respect and responsibility, and will incentivize physical activity.

Joining the governor and DeSantis at the announcement were football coaching legend Lou Holtz and former NFL player Corey Simon, who now leads Volunteer Florida. DeSantis played a video at the event that featured sports stars and figures including David Beckham, Peyton Manning, Joey Logano and Urban Meyer.

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