![]() Giannis’ sense of humor is well documented, and what he said during his interview on media day was also disguised as a joke, but I think there’s actually some fairly sage wisdom in it. Then he pauses, raises his eyebrows and smirks, “I know it sounds bad, but you need it.” Like, you need that in order to be great.” Just kind of go away from the game, spend some time with your family and do what you love, and like just sit on the couch, eat Doritos and you know, be a couch potato. “.being able to take a break, not only physically but mentally. In a similar vein, Giannis spoke on his summer during the Buck’s media day and had this to say: The pressure-cooker that is the NBA creates an atmosphere that demands a lot of its players, and players like DeRozan and Simmons are no longer being silent about it. Statistically, they’re only two out of a potential 150+ NBA players that are struggling with some sort of mental health issue. ![]() Simmons and DeRozan are examples of something much larger. Some of the things that have been said about him because of this decision are atrocious, and only add to the issues he’s working through. We’ve seen this monster rear its ugly head recently in the NBA with various media outlets belittling Ben Simmons for choosing to sit out for the entirety of last season, citing his mental health as one of the primary reasons. Now, mental health has a stigma for the average citizen, but the stigma can get amplified for professional athletes because so many people view them as indestructible and if they show any signs of “weakness” or “needing help,” they’re clowned for it. That’s a potentially staggering statistic that comes with a lot of stigma. So that means that there could be as many as nearly 158 players in the National Basketball Association that are currently struggling with some sort of mental health issue. There are approximately 450 players in the NBA. The International Olympic Committee released a consensus statement in 2019 that found, among other things, that up to 35% of professional athletes suffer from a mental health crisis. The conversation around athletes and mental health is being had by people much smarter than I, and it’s been happening more visibly in recent times thanks to advocates like Skylar Diggins-Smith, Simone Biles, and Kevin Love, just to name a few. So what can we as fans do to help? More on this in a bit. I don’t think the entertainment of watching elite athletes ball out should come at the expense of their well being. Should I take the day off? No, no, no, I’mma just push through it.’ And you know you carry that so much to where you can’t really be fully happy until you walk away from it.”Īs a fan of basketball, and witnessing the athletic accomplishments of players like DeRozan, hearing quotes like this makes me feel helpless and incredibly sad. “It’s so much internal pressure to wanna be great every single day, every single day of like, ‘I gotta go back to the gym. One of the things that caught my ear during this interview is when DeRozen said,
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |