By Julia Stumbaugh
Appeared in The Flat Hat on Oct. 1

When describing National Hockey League player Theo Fleury, "vulnerable" is not the first word an observer would use. Fleury is five feet, six inches tall, and he made it to the pros by aggressively — and sometimes violently — compensating for his size. At 19 years old in 1987, he started one of the most famous fights in junior hockey history, sparking a bench-clearing brawl between Canada and the Soviet Union that disqualified both squads from the world championship. In the NHL, he spent over 2,000 minutes sitting in the penalty box. Once, in 1999, a stick to the mouth knocked loose a few teeth and soaked his uniform with blood. A fan tossed his own autographed Fleury jersey toward the bench as a replacement; Fleury grabbed it and pulled it on, then turned to face the crowd, waiting for a cheer of approval. For many hockey fans, that's the player they'll remember: grinning back at his fans through the glass, blood dripping down his chin, about a light year away from vulnerable.

But that's the word that came to mind two decades later, when Fleury took the microphone at Kaplan Arena Wednesday night and looked out at the crowd of William and Mary athletes.

"20 years ago, I had a fully loaded pistol in my mouth, ready to pull the trigger and end my life," Fleury said.

Fleury already knew how that start was going to go over in the college crowd. He expected the tense, anticipatory stillness. He has been telling his story to schools across the United States as part of a tour with We're All a Little Crazy, a group dedicated to ending the stigma surrounding mental health in college athletes. After an application was submitted by Tribe Athletics, the College was selected as one of 15 schools on the tour route. Following stops at James Madison University and the University of Richmond, Fleury and the rest of the group — all with former high-profile careers — came to Williamsburg to give their talk.

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