Everyone Is Going Through Something
Just in the past month or so there have been NBA players that have come out and talked about their mental health. The two most known players to come out and talk about it are DeMar DeRozan and Kevin Love. DeRozan came out publicly first and said to the world that he struggles with depression and then Kevin Love wrote this piece talking about his anxiety. This has not been something NBA players have talked about openly before. Men are socialized to not show or talk about their feelings because that makes them look not “manly” or not strong. Especially for a high profile athlete, people often think that they are indestructible or that these things could not affect them. Seeing these athletes talk about a subject that they have been socialized to not talk about I think could help others who are going through similar issues and also get rid of the stereotype that men are supposed to bottle up their feelings and get over it.
A couple years ago there was a player who was very transparent with his mental illness and was not as widely accepted by the league. I’m not sure if because these are bigger stars talking about it now or the NBA just wasn’t ready to accept his mental illness. It is a shame for Royce White that he was unable to get a real shot because of it but at least the some NBA players are more comfortable talking about these issues now. I hope that by these players speaking out that kids watching will not have to hide their feelings or their experiences with mental illnesses.
