‘Divine Intervention’: A complete stranger helps save a BYU football player from over 2,000 miles away

PROVO, Utah (ABC4) – BYU defender and strong security Chaz Ah You is preparing for the upcoming season, but a year ago he almost gave up not only football but also life.

Chaz said he was suicidal and could have experienced it if he hadn’t been a stranger living more than 2,000 miles away.

Ah You were at the top of the game in 2019, but the following spring he reached a new low, quietly suffering from depression and suicidal thoughts when he received a direct message on Twitter from a person he had never met.

“I’m Fonda Bryant,” he said in an online video. “I’m struggling with clinical depression and I’m a 26-year-old suicide survivor.”

Bryant is a certified suicide control instructor who saves lives not only through resuscitation, but through questions, persuasions, and references. He scrolled Twitter at his home in Charlotte, North Carolina when he saw a video of Ah You.

“I just knew something was wrong. That was the way he spoke. It was just his ways, ”Bryant told ABC4 News. “I sent him a message in his DM and asked him, ‘Hey young man, are you okay?’ “… I asked him directly, ‘Are you suicide?’ “He disappeared for two weeks, but it still didn’t stop me. I kept sending him messages on his DM, are you okay? Are you okay? Let me help you. I’ve survived the suicide myself. We can get through this.”

Eventually, Ah You responded, and they began a dialogue.

“We started sending text messages offline,” he said. “And he told me he planned to commit suicide two weeks before I contacted him … It’s the eighth leading cause of death in Utah and the young killer of 10-24 year olds is Utah’s number one.”

But fortunately Ah You did not become statistics; Bryant assured him to get help.

“He kind of helped me push myself to open it up,” Ah You told BYUTV SportsNation. “He’s a huge mental advocate and he said there are a lot of people struggling with it, so I feel like I can be a voice to these people.”

They met last December at a Coastal Carolina game. They hit it so well that Cougars brought Bryant to Provo in April to teach the team the signs of suicide.

“I have no doubt that the players I train at BYU and all my student athletes have the tools to help their teammates,” Bryant said. “And they don’t think about it twice.”

Bryant’s training activities also attracted ABC4’s parent company, Nexstar Broadcasting, which named Nexstar 2021 a significant woman.

Bryant and Ah You both have had significant paths in life; some say the way those paths intersected was a miracle.

“I really believe it was divine intervention,” he said. “The fact that I was on Twitter that day, I saw a tweet and I knew something was wrong, but the thing is, anyone can save someone’s life if he cares enough and learns those warning signs.”

Ah You is BYU’s predicted starter with strong safety because you’ve lost most of the last season with a leg injury.
Bryant will continue to teach suicide prevention this summer, including more college football teams.

For more information on Fonda, go to https://naminc.org/fonda-bryant/ or follow him on Twitter @ proud

If you or someone you know is thinking of harming yourself, go to https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/ or call 1-800-273-8255.

Go to the SafeUT crisis debate https://healthcare.utah.edu/hmhi/safe-ut/