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!!!!!