The Mental Olympic Games
📌THE FACT OF THE MONTH
Within every story of triumph, there is also a story of obstacles.
Even though the Mental Health Awareness Month was in May, the topic couldn't have been more important now than ever before. ESPN amplified stories and voices within the sports world that pulled back the curtain on the inner workings of how athletes, coaches and other sports figures live with the highs and lows of mental health and why the path to recovery is not always linear.
And right now, the Olympic Games is in full-blown, but we have already seen two great athletes feeling unhealthy.
🎾 Naomi Osaka (best female tennis player):
"Lesson one: you can never please everyone. The world is as divided now as I can remember in my short 23 years. Issues that are so obvious to me at face value, like wearing a mask in a pandemic or kneeling to show support for anti-racism, are ferociously contested. I mean, wow. So, when I said I needed to miss French Open press conferences to take care of myself mentally, I should have been prepared for what unfolded."
Read more from Naomi and her text, Its O.K. to not be O.K.
🤸♂️ The American gymnast Simone Biles, the biggest star at the Tokyo Olympics and the greatest athlete in the sport’s history, yesterday walked away from the women’s team competition after admitting she had “freaked out in a high stress situation”.
----
⚽️ FIFPRO and FIFA have signed a three-year cooperation agreement to provide health support to hundreds of recently retired professional footballers facing the challenges that come with career transition.
----
🧠 Above all, these stories will continue to emphasize the need to end any stigma associated with mental health and remind all of us that you never truly know what someone is going through until you've heard their story.
|