Under Armour Launches Mental Health Programme for Student-Athletes, With Damar Hamlin as Ambassador

Under Armour, the American sportswear brand, has launched Protect This Mind, a mental health initiative for student-athletes. Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin will be its athlete ambassador.

The company announced the initiative on 29 October 2026. It offers free mental health resources, peer-to-peer support, which means young athletes supporting one another, and training for coaches and educators.

Protect This Mind is an addition to Project Rampart, Under Armour's existing programme for high school student-athletes. Project Rampart provides upgraded facilities, coaching, specialised programmes and apparel. Under Armour said the work has reached more than 50,000 student-athletes.

The new initiative includes a free online hub with educational material and athlete stories, an online course, a certificate called Be There and a guide for coaches. Under Armour said the aim is to help young athletes find trusted resources, build stronger support networks and develop skills that last. It also said the programme is designed to help them handle the pressures of sport, school and everyday life.

Under Armour developed the programme with Athletes for Hope, the Born This Way Foundation, Men's x Mental and the Positive Coaching Alliance. Student-athletes also gave input.

Hamlin will be the public face of the initiative. He will share his own experiences to reach young people, according to a company newsroom post. Under Armour says he will stay involved with Project Rampart alongside the new work.

Hamlin's story is part of why he was chosen. He suffered cardiac arrest on the field in 2023, when his heart suddenly stopped beating. In an interview with Front Office Sports, he discussed CPR education and automated external defibrillators, the portable devices that can restart a stopped heart with an electric shock. He has also talked about mental health with student-athletes in Baltimore.

The programme's reach will depend on how many schools, coaches and young athletes use the free resources. Under Armour has not released figures for Protect This Mind so far.

For readers outside the sports world, the story sits at the point where a clothing company meets youth sport. Under Armour sells athletic apparel, and its Project Rampart work already gives young athletes gear alongside coaching and facilities. Protect This Mind adds a focus on the mind, with training that reaches the adults around those athletes.