The Game of Mental Health

I am a strong believer in Mental Health and Mental Health Awareness, as I have my own battles with anxiety. I, also, happen to be a former athlete. 

The most calm moments in my life came on a basketball court. I never got nervous before games, being on the court was my serenity. I still go to a court to clear my mind years after I hung my sneakers up. 

The idea that professional athletes don't suffer from mental illness is silly. Athletes are people, first. But there is this, kind of Superman invincibility that means they don't get hurt, at all. They do. They have physical injuries. They have psychological injuries. 

In the recent past, many athletes, male and female, from seemingly every sport have come out with their own struggle with mental health. The first "big time" athlete I remember being in the news for his issues with anxiety was Royce White, a basketball player that was good enough to get drafted into the NBA, but could never find his way. His story didn't pan out the way he wanted, I'm sure. He now uses his name and story to help others through activism. He wasn't the first athlete to suffer from mental health issues and he sure hasn't been the last. 

Doing a quick search for Mental Health on the Players' Tribune (articles written by the athletes themselves) I found story after story of Mental Health struggles. Some still playing and battling, some long removed from the game. But all with stories so similar. 

The player most recently to catch my attention was Liz Cambridge of the Las Vegas Aces of the WNBA. I think I felt her story more than some of the stories I found during my search. Liz is one of the most dominate players in the WNBA. Liz also suffers from anxiety. Liz got comfortable, and comfortable is one thing anxiety doesn't like. She was at All-Star weekend and felt she could skip her meds (she felt good, so why not?) and had a hectic schedule causing stress. Anxiety loves stress, especially when your not on your meds. She went through some dark days after. She had to miss a couple games to get herself back on track. 

Even more recently, is Delonte West. Former NBA player who is Bipolar. West had been seen around on the streets, in bad shape. It is clear that Delonte was having a break of some kind. He became a joke. "Hey, you see that video of Delonte West on the streets in Houston? Haha, I wonder what happened to him?" Well Mental Illness happened to Delonte. He hit some rough streaks in the NBA, no doubt fueled by his Bipolar diagnoses and ended up in the grasp of addiction and homeless. 

When people are going through mental health episodes everyone stands back and says how the person should get help, but who is really there to help you get help? For Delonte it was the owner of the Dallas Mavericks, a team West played for during his career. Mark Cuban has gotten Delonte into rehab. He is getting clean and hopefully the help he needs. 

Brandon Marshall, former NFL player, was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder. We all just thought he was a bad guy for the locker room because he was an a**hole. No, his actions, as crazy as they got, were the result of his unattended borderline disorder. Marshall has become very vocal on the importance of mental health awareness and has aimed to eradicate the stigma associated with mental illness.

The Players' Tribune has articles about mental health were penned by the athletes themselves:

Hockey players like retired NHL player Nick Boynton who wrote about facing demons or Colin Wilson who wrote of his struggle obsessive-compulsion disorder. 

Soccer players like Troy Deeny who wrote of seeing a psychologist about his childhood with an abusive father. 

Football players like Marcus Smith II who wrote of wanting to take his own life. Hayden Hurts wrote of attempting to take his own life and the coming to terms of making such a final decision.

One story that really shocked me was the story written by former NBA player, Ben Gordon. I remember watching him play and he was...just so good. He was clean cut. No tattoos or crazy hair. Just a really good basketball player....who suffers from manic depression. The story he writes is the opposite of his persona on the court. You just never know what someone is dealing with.

There are many stories of athletes struggling to deal with their illness and the stigma that comes along with being professional athlete. The stress of being a professional athlete, the pressure, is sometimes the cause, or too much money and time, or loneliness, or not succeeding or injury, or simple genetics. 

Being an athlete doesn't protect you from mental illness, it means your struggle is more public and less understood. Next time you see your favorite athlete, remember they are people too and you have no idea about what they may be dealing with. 

Say Her Name

There has been an ongoing movement in the WNBA for equality for some time now. Equality in pay, as well as respect. The recent success of the United States Women's Soccer team on the soccer field and in the world of women's equality has led the way for the WNBA to join the fight. As of yet, this movement for equality hasn't gained much success in the court room but has made it's voice heard loud and clear around the world.

    A major voice in this movement for equality is WNT star Megan Rapinoe even was mentioned by Donald Trump.

    There is a strong tie between WNT and the WNBA, besides the fight for equality. A power couple has emerged. Seattle Storms 4-time Champion, Sue Bird, just so happens to be dating WNT star Megan Rapinoe. 

WNT isn't the only league fighting for equality, WNT meet the WNBA - WNBA meet WNT. Sue Bird, being an elder states(wo)man in the WNBA is very well respected in the basketball world, men's and women's. Sue hasn't always been so vocal, but she picked the right time to use her platform to being attention to the inequality all women face.

                                                   

                                                             This is so much more than sports.


Keep Sue Fresh!

COVID threw a wrench in everyone's life, athletes included. The WNBA created the Wubble in Florida. A bubble the players lived in during the season. Get it WNBA bubble.... At the same time the United States is embroiled in a time of racial injustice with the killing of Black and people of color. While each killing brings the country closer to a possible race war, one particular murder stood out. The murder of Breonna Taylor in her own home, in her own bed had came out just as players arrived at the Wubble. Breonna Taylor saw no justice. Before the first WNBA and a moment of silence, Layshia Clarendon of the Liberty spoke about the league's dedication this season. Clarendon said "We are dedicating this season to Breonna Taylor, an outstanding EMT who was murdered over 130 days ago in her home".

 

    The WNBA adopted the theme for it's season of "Say Her Name". Say Her
Name was on every WNBA jersey this season; even NBA players displayed Say Her Name or Say Their Names as their chosen cause of the season. Say Her Name because she was a woman. Say Her Name because she was a Black woman. Say Her Name for equality. Say Their Names, the women who are so easily overlooked and undervalued, even in death. Breonna Taylor was an EMT, she decided to use her life to try to save others and her life could be taken so easily, with no justice. The WNBA and it's players used the season to bring attention to the various injustices women face, not just equal pay but in the value of a woman. Players wore shirts with political connotations each time they stepped off their team bus or stepped on the court. The court was plastered with the words of equality and justice.

    WNBA players took the position on the front line of the social justice movement. NBA players spoke out, but the ENTIRE WNBA spoke out. Ask Atlanta Dream co-owner Kelly Loeffler what the power of women banding together can do. Loeffler wrote a letter to the league "opposing the league's choice to include Black Lives Matter in its social justice initiatives".

    VOTE WARNOCK shirts soon emerged from the team uses. And people did indeed vote Warnock. The Atlanta Dream sent out a statement stating "We are the women of the Atlanta Dream," Dream players said in a July 10 statement.
     

    "We are women who support a movement. We are strong and we are fearless. We offer a voice to the voiceless. Our team is united in the Movement for Black Lives. It is not extreme to demand change after centuries of inequality. This is not a political statement. This is a statement of humanity. Black lives matter."

    The WNBA has developed a Social Justice Council made up of players, Council Advisors, League and Team Representatives. According to the WNBA website, "in its inaugural season, the Social Justice Council cultivated designated spaces for community conversations, virtual roundtables, and other activations to address this country’s long history of inequality, implicit bias and systemic racism that has targeted black and brown communities. With an intentional plan to educate, amplify and mobilize for action, the WNBA and the WNBPA focused on engaging educators, activists, community and business leaders with players, team and league staff, and fans."

    Ironically, the WNBA viewership was up this season. More people heard the message and joined the movement. It's not just the everyday person who is, finally, noticing the WNBA, NBA players have been wearing the orange WNBA hoodie all season. I have always believed that if the NBA players joined in supporting the league more everyday people would also. Increased viewership has come at the best possible time. The WNBA's voice is being heard loud and clear.

LeBron supports the WNBA

                                                              SAY HER NAME!!!!!

                

                                            

78 Consecutive Wins, Bad for Women’s Basketball?

Unfortunately, this has been a question University of Connecticut Coach Geno Auriemma has had to answer all too many times lately. He has made an important observation, if his team were a men’s team he wouldn’t be asked this. Did John Wooden have to answer this question on his teams? 78 wins in a row, that’s pretty impressive. I don’t care if it was men or women. It’s impressive.

Obviously, this win streak points out a divide in women’s college basketball. Beating teams by an average of double figures (32.7 point average to be exact), only trailing opponents for 115 minutes in the first half and 9:10 in the second half…in 2 years. Uconn never plays a schedule full of fluff teams either, each year they take on the best teams across the country. The Stanford’s, the North Carolina’s, the Duke’s, the Rugter’s, the Oklahoma’s all the Women’s basketball powerhouse’s have all fallen. The one name that is missing from this list is Tennessee, but I have a feeling that even Pat Summit’s young team would have been no match for the giant that is Uconn.

Unlike the Men’s college game currently, the best women’s teams are only getting better. Teams like Maryland and Baylor have joined the powerhouses like North Carolina, Duke, Uconn, Tennessee, Stanford but the top teams remain the top teams. They all have 2 things in common: great coaching and women’s players are required to remain in college longer than the men. This gives players a chance to develop and allows top programs to remain on top because they don’t have to refill their roster every year. Year after year the top schools are adding High School All-Americans to teams already filled with former High School All-Americans. Sometimes it just doesn’t seem fair. There is a reason the top players want to come to a university like Uconn; besides the strength of the academics at the university, the coaching and program history plays a huge roll. Players know they are coming in good players and will leave great players.



Coaching has everything to do with how great the women of Uconn have become. Coach Auriemma has always been a master motivator, able to get the absolute best from his players. Much like any coach, motivating and winning is his job and he just so happens to be great at it. Auriemma has always had an unfair advantage that few coaches could claim; top, elite players every year. It can be argued that only Pat Summit at Tennessee has had the level of talent Auriemma has had in his career at Uconn. Currently, Uconn has 9 players playing in the WNBA and 22 in total. Names like Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi, Swin Cash, Rebecca Lobo all flourished under Auriemma and have used the knowledge gained under him to becomeNCAA Champions, WNBA champions, Olympic Gold Medalist’s, and World Champions. Always known to be an arrogant man, Auriemma once famously stated before the 2003-2004 Women’s College Basketball Championship game, “We have Diana, and you don’t.” It’s not that he had Diana and others didn’t, he has had Bird, Maya Moore, Tina Charles, Lobo and others didn’t and he got the absolute best from them all.


This is a couple years old, but the point is well taken

There was a moment amongst the celebrating last night that was very telling of the relationship Auriemma has with his players. He expects the best and often gets it from his players, but when his expectations aren’t met the player knows. Over the years he has broken down the best of players, only to build them back up better. One of the biggest examples is Tina Charles. A talented player who didn’t always live up to her talent and Auriemma let her know every time. Charles had tremendous potential and may never have lived up to this had Auriemma not been her coach. He was always hard on her and like most coaches he never gave her more than she could handle. But often came close to crossing that line. Last night, the camera caught Auriemma and Charles in a touching embrace. Uncontrollable tears streamed from Charles’ eyes as she gave the hug one would save for father. In many ways he has been a father figure to his players; teaching, nurturing, and scolding. He is all this and more to his players. By the way, Charles is the 2010 Naismith Trophy winner and sure to be the number 1 pick at Thursday WNBA draft. Not all because of Auriemma, but mostly.



4 undefeated seasons, 7 national titles, 78 straight wins. I would say Auriemma and the University of Connecticut are doing pretty well for Women’s basketball. Eventually, it becomes about pride. Teams have to get the mindset that Connecticut “WILL NOT BEAT US!” and out prepare, out hustle, out play Uconn. That will be no easy task and will provide for some very competitive basketball to come. You know, once teams stop losing by 30 points to them.




So, the short answer is NO 78 consecutive wins isn't bad for Women's Basketball.

The 7% that could save the NBA or could it

With more than 17 or so months until the NBA collective bargaining brings the players' union and the owners together could be the cause of a lockout both sides have time to fight over money to talk gracefully discuss the financial future of the NBA. According to Billy Hunter, the executive director of the player's union, the two sides are far from reaching an agreement. It's a classic fight over money, both sides want it and neither wants to give it up.

One of the issues is who should get more of the basketball related revenue: the players or the owners? Currently, the players get 57% of the revenue. With the economic crappiness right now, most team owners are losing money. The NBA is suggesting a fairer split, 50-50 possible. I'm not sure how much the extra 7% will help, but I'm guessing that 7% is a large sum of money.

Let's think about this...

The players play the games. It's the player's talents bringing in fans and merchandise revenue. The players risk their health, present and future, in order to compete and entertain.

The owners own the teams and the organizations that own the rights to the players. The owners finance the team's expenses. The owners are responsible for everything except play the games.

Who deserves more of the revenue, the players or the owners?

Most of the leverage previously held by the players has been taken during prior negotiations. This 7% might be the only true leverage the players hold. If this is the case, hold onto it even if a lockout is the result.

Player's salaries have become outrageously high, increasingly to unproven players. That makes no sense at all, but what do I know?

I can understand paying Kobe, Lebron, Tim Duncan, and a handful of others who are on the top tier in NBA millions because they have proven they can win (well, Lebron hasn't won a championship but he sure does bring lots of people to the arena). Maybe the owners should be more selective of who they give these multi-year, multi-million dollar contracts. Extra psych exams, drug tests, something.

I do agree that contracts are getting beyond ridiculous. For a group of men who played for the love of the game, until they reached the NBA, getting millions should be considered an honor. But I guess if someone offered me millions to play the game I love, I would jump at the chance and get as much as I could. In a time when CEO's and VP's are making huge profits from the efforts of their employees with little regard for the employee's welfare, it is kind of refreshing to know the employees are taking in a bigger cut than the owners.

So, wouldn't the players want the owners to make a profit so they don't sell the team or worse, fold? Is the difference in the 7% really going to affect the players THAT much? Likewise, is 7% going to affect the owners that much? How much money are we talking here? How much is going to be taken from each player? If a player is making, say, 3 million a year and 2.8 million a year after the new agreement really going to break the players bank and so drastically change his families way of life? Given that he is being financially responsible, NO it won't hurt him at all in the long run. What this will do is ensure the NBA doesn't cut roster sizes or have teams fold, but for how long?

*Interesting tidbit*

Top 5 NBA players according to salary:


Tracy McGrady $23,239,561


Kobe Bryant $23,034,375


Jermaine O'Neal (now with the Miami Heat) $22,995,000


Tim Duncan $22,183,218


Shaquille O'Neal $20,000,000

Letter a Spoiled Athlete

Dear Mr. Gilbert Arenas and those like you,

Sadly, you have turned out to yet another poor Black male role model. I know Charles Barkley said he is not a role model simply because he is a professional athlete, but he was wrong. You and your athlete friends ARE role models, some of the only positive role models many young Black men have. You became their role model, idol, and their example once you put on your first authentic NBA jersey with your name on the back. They want to model their lives after yours. Young Black men want to be like you. Unfortunately, they pick the wrong idol.

One would think, even if you didn’t give a damn about being a role model to young Black men without positive figures in their lives that $111 million would be enough of a reason for you to conduct yourself in a respectable manner. Money is the biggest motivator we have these days, but I guess you got use to being rich and spoiled. All those years you dreamed and worked hard to get to the NBA must not mean anything to you either.

In a time when young Black men have few positive role models, you should eagerly take this role. Step up to the plate and show what hard work and determination can do. Teach young Black men how to be responsible Black men. Give someone something you may not have had yourself. Instead, you resorted to guns just like Black men in songs, in the streets. You acted selfishly, just like the men in their lives who cannot be a father to them because of their own “me first” mentality.

Somewhere there is a little boy, in your jersey, desperately seeking someone to look up to. A little boy that looked up to you, wanted to be the next you. You let him down.

There was hope for you. After your knee injuries, you worked hard to get back on the court. It was a great lesson in hard work and determination. The whole “I got passed over by teams that should have drafted me” motivation thing was cute too. Sadly, those positive lessons were outweighed by your selfish behavior. I admit you are a great basketball player and probably do great things for the community, but one dumb move erased all of this. No one will care of all the positive things you have done, all the lives you have impacted. Your legacy will be one of guns and stupidity.

All of your crazy antics were funny before, but were they really? I mean, sure they were amusing but they were also telling that your sense of reality isn’t quite right. You have this sense that you are more important than you really are. You aren’t alone in this; most athletes seem to think this way. You, Mr. Arenas are not above the law, or even a misguided “joke”.

As a grown man, do you really not know the laws of DC or even the rules of your employer? Do you not care, or do you think you are above the law? Say “oh I just didn’t know” doesn’t cut it once you blow out the candles on your 5th birthday cake. You know right from wrong, well maybe not.

I know you have been pampered since someone realized you could put a ball in a hoop and allowed to get away with things others might not, so maybe this really isn’t your fault. Maybe you really don’t know any better. You probably never have been held accountable for your actions. Always told how special you are and use to people excusing your crazy behavior. “That’s just Gilbert being Gilbert, but man is he a great basketball player”.

I hope you invested well, it might be awhile before someone pays you to play ball for them again. I know what you are thinking; other athletes have done stupid things and recovered. Well, that may be true in most cases, but you endangered your teammates. I don’t know if anyone will want to have you on their team, to do battle beside you night in and night out. It’s more of a survival thing than you being a selfish ball hog with a me first mentality. No one wants to be teammates with someone who brings guns into the workplace and jokes with them. You PR team has a lot of work to do with this one. I hope you pay them well.

There was a big lesson in this, not just for you but all athletes. You are not above the law. You are not the only one who matters. Money doesn’t excuse the stupid things you do. But I hope you learned a lesson, learned to take the power you have to influence seriously.

I wish you the best of luck getting out of this one…

Sincerely,

A disappointed basketball fan.

The Business of O.J. Mayo

College athletics is big business, I mean like BIG BUSINESS. Coaches and universities make millions, what do the athletes get?(I wont say student-athletes, let’s face it the biggest names in college athletics don’t really seem to be much of students.) Sure there are programs like Duke that graduates high numbers of their athletes, but Duke sadly, isn’t the norm. Universities like USC and coaches like Tim Floyd are the norm.

Universities bring athletes in, kind of like free agents, to play and bring in revenue. The athlete gets to play student for awhile and move onto their next team in the NBA or NFL. While the coaches get HUGE endorsement deals with Nike or Gatorade, along with huge contracts. Once someone (the NCAA) catches on to them and their violations at one school, they get another coaching job making more money someplace else and never have to deal with the sanctions that are impose on their previous university.

How do coaches get away with running from job to job, leaving a trail of violations behind them?

Well universities want to win. I mean college athletics are all about competition, right? So, doing whatever it takes to win is the answer. Come on, everyone else is doing it.

Tim Floyd, former Men’s Basketball coach at USC during the recruitment and brief visit of O.J. Mayo, claimed he didn’t know Rodney Guillory was linked to a prior NCAA violation. Guillory had given a USC basketball player airline tickets during the 2000-2001 seasons, resulting in that player being suspended for 9 games, but I guess he forgot about that. When Guillory came calling, claiming he could guarantee Mayo to USC, Floyd should have turned him away and tried to recruit Mayo the old fashioned way…by promising Mayo all the riches of the world (we all saw He Got Game). Guillory might be the smartest man in this situation, he clamped onto Mayo when he was young.


Mayo at USC

Mayo has been used since he gained the national spotlight, making it to the NBA was never an option. Being sold to the highest bidder from 7th grade on, moving from school to school, and winning along the way.


Mayo at Huntington High In Huntington, WV

Mayo isn’t the villain here; he is guilty of trusting the untrustworthy. He trusted men who weren’t looking out for him as they should have been. It’s hard out there, and it won’t be getting any easier when it comes to knowing who has his best interest in mind. But at least now he is getting paid to play instead of everyone else getting paid.


Mayo with the Memphis Grizzles

Both Mayo and Floyd are employed by the NBA. Floyd left before the ink in the papers was dry. USC is left to deal with the consequences of the Mayo/Floyd area. USC isn’t the first and most certainly won’t be the last university to face violations for improper use of a student-athlete.

Gilbert Arenas is a Funny Man

Gilbert Arenas is possibly the densest athlete I have seen, well since Plaxico Burress shot himself in the leg with an unregistered gun while on gun related probation. This is supposed to be the man to bring the Washington Wizards glory, a savior of sorts…well now that he is finally back on the court. Instead, Arenas acts immaturely in his selfish actions on the court, his words to the media regarding the play of his team, and now bringing 3 guns (unloaded) into the Wizards facility and placing them in a locked box in his locker. Besides being incredibly stupid…bringing weapons into team facilities are against league rules and he decided to do so in DC where guns laws are very strict.

So, let’s recap and see if I understand this right.

- On or around Dec. 9 Arenas brought 3 guns into the Wizards facility because of the birth of his third child. As if it was ok to have the guns in his home with his other children (I don’t know if all his children live with him).
- December 19th, on a team flight back from Phoenix, Arenas and teammate Jarvis Crittenton get into an argument over a game of cards. Words and some type of gun references are exchanged. Come on men…it’s a game of cards. Get over it.
- December 20th, when the Wizards reconvened for practice, Arenas sets his 3 guns in a chair beside Crittenton’s locker with a note saying to choose one. Crittenton tosses a gun on the floor stating he had his own. Did Crittenton also have a gun in the Wizards Facility? Is this common?

Arenas claims this was all a joke, another immature act from the man the Wizards had signed to a $111 million contract to save the hypothetical day. Arenas also claims he never gambles and if anyone knew him they would know that. OK, I don’t personally know Agent 0, but I seem to remember something about him and online poker during halftime of games. Maybe I’m wrong and getting my overpaid, immature, superstars confused. Maybe.

So, it was a joke. Not even a slightly amusing one at that.

I understand many, many NBA players own and even carry weapons for their own safety, but there is a clause in the standard player contract, a morality clause against doing stupid things. Arenas could lose his contract because of this joke. He has jeopardized not only the safety of lots of people, but the financial well-being of his family. What team is going to sign a player who hasn’t played decent basketball in over 2 years with a surgically repaired knee, has an enormous contract, an attitude problem, and a history or gun related issues?


Will another NBA team want a player who has spent more time in street clothes than his uniform lately and likes to joke about guns?

Oh yeah, this is his second gun related incident for Arenas. In 2003, while playing with Golden State, Arenas failed to maintain proper registration of a handgun. Resulting in missing the season opener the next season with the Wizards.

So now he is a huge risk for any team, because it is pretty much a given that the Wizards will find some way to release him.

And all the while…remember…this was meant as a joke.


Who gets the last laugh?