Lauren Sisler, ESPN Sideline Reporter, Shares Mental Health Journey After Losing Both Parents to Opioid Overdoses
Lauren Sisler, ESPN sideline reporter and Emmy award-winning sportscaster, shared her mental health journey with the Lincoln community after losing both parents to opioid overdoses within hours of each other.
Her program, Pathway to Resilience and Purpose, was made possible by the Bryan Independence Center, a youth and adult treatment facility for alcohol and drug addictions at Bryan West Campus.
In 2003, Sisler was a freshman on the women’s gymnastics team at Rutgers University, when that spring, she lost both parents to opioid overdoses within hours of each other. Her mother and father battled a hidden struggle with prescription drug addiction. Their fight was a secret to everyone, including Sisler and her siblings. The loss was a devastating blow that caused struggle and uncertainty in her life.
You’re never done grieving, you’re never done healing; it’s always a process.
Lauren Sisler
Today, Sisler has found peace. She’s dedicated to spreading awareness about the dangers of addiction and the devastation it causes loved ones. Her memoir, Shatterproof, was released last October. It documents the story of her parents’ deaths and how she found healing in sharing that story. Sisler is a board member for the Addiction Prevention Coalition in Birmingham, Alabama and is on the advisory board for The William Magee Institute at Ole Miss in Oxford, Mississippi.
“I held on to a lot of shame for many years and I sort of carried that shame over the course of about a decade,” Sisler added. “I finally came through that and realized that, wow, maybe I can use my story for good.”
A native of Roanoke, Virginia, Sisler began her career in the south where she earned prestigious awards, including Alabama Sportscaster of the Year. She went on to earn a regional Emmy for producing an interview between Charles Barkley and Nick Saban, which captured more than 11 million views across various social media and digital platforms.
In 2016, Sisler joined ESPN and SEC Network as a sideline reporter for college football and gymnastics. A year later, she gained notoriety for her “sideline shimmy” during appearances on SEC Nation, a pre-game college football show airing on Saturdays in the fall. She’s currently a college football sideline reporter on ESPN and ESPN2 and travels the country raising awareness for opioid addiction.
To learn more and access mental health resources, visit BryanHealth.org/MentalHealth.
