Earl Dotson, former Packers lineman who lost son to suicide, uses his grief to help others

GREEN BAY (WLUK) — For 10 years, former Green Bay Packers offensive tackle Earl Dotson helped to protect Brett Favre. Now, more than two decades later, he’s trying protect people from suicide.

Dotson suffered an unimaginable loss when his son, Jared, died by suicide in 2022. As he deals with his own grief, he’s working to prevent others from feeling the same pain.

“Just so inspiring. Somebody at that level, to break down the stigma, and especially around males, to just start that conversation and be willing to talk with anybody, really,” said Melissa Betke with UW-Green Bay.

Dotson was the keynote speaker at the Northeast Wisconsin Suicide Prevention Summit, hosted by UWGB.

He said, “I lost my son to suicide and it’s something that’s dear to me, and I like coming to places and sharing my story. It keeps my son alive. I’m not a public speaker, this is not my profession. I am just sharing the love, the trauma and the recovery of losing my son.”

For Dotson, talking about Jared is therapeutic. Coming from a generation and a profession where it wasn’t normal to talk about your feelings, Dotson says he wishes he would have been more proactive with his son.

He hopes by sharing his story, more people — including men — will realize how important it is to speak up if you’re not okay.

“It’s okay to ask your son, ‘How you doing?’ It’s okay for a son to say, ‘Hey dad, I had this kind of day of school, I woke up feeling this kind of way.’ We’ve got to open up that line of communication,” said Dotson.

Hearing those words is encouraging for people who, like Dotson, want to help others and prevent suicides.

“It’s just reaffirming, validating for us, to make sure that we generational continue to work on talking about suicide and that it’s not a bad word and that we continue to make progress,” said Raina Vandermoss from Oconto High School Hope Squad.

Matt Kadlec from Ecumenical Partnership for Housing added, “The more that you do it and the more you encourage others to break that stigma, that’s when you really see that breakthrough in mental health.”

And that’s exactly what Dotson is doing as he continues to work to heal himself too.

If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health issues, click here for resources.