The Will Smith and Chris Rock incident seemingly has been all that has been talked about. Yet there was an even more important story that did not get addressed during this supposed controversy and it has to do with the Los Angeles Dodgers organization.
For those who did not see it the Dodgers renewed the contract of Andrew Toles who has not played baseball in nearly four years.
So why was this so significant for Los Angeles? It was so Toles will keep his health insurance and have access to necessary mental health services since he has been diagnosed with schizophrenia. In 2020, he reportedly got arrested for trespassing after being found sleeping behind an airport in Key West, Florida.
In June 2021, Toles’ family opened up to People Magazine about his struggles. His father said “I just want him to have a chance in life.” If you want to know why the contract renewal was so critical it has been reported that Toles has been to at least 20 different mental health facilities and at one point he was homeless. Which illustrates how difficult schizophrenia is to treat and thankfully the Dodgers organization has come through for him and his family.
Whether you are a fan of the Dodgers or not, this is an incredible gesture by the organization. Without the support, Toles likely ends up homeless which tells us that we have a long way to go when it comes to mental health services in the United States. Which is another story for another day.
So at this point we can only thank the Dodgers for showing compassion to Toles and his family and we can only wish more companies and organizations begin doing the same thing.