Elite level athletes can become genuine heroes for kids and grown ups, no matter the age, the success stories and struggles endured by sporting icons for some reason manage to resonate incredibly well with their fans. It’s precisely on those grounds why over the last few years stars from all kinds of sports have begun to open up on their own experiences dealing with mental health issues.
Part of mental health discussion becoming more commonplace in the world of sports has a lot to do with Will Smith’s 2015 film Concussion, which helped in great lengths to expose the hardships suffered by some big names in the NFL as a direct consequence to constant brain injuries picked up during their careers. Yet, football is not the only sport trying to level up their game in this regard.
As part of a recent effort, the Campaign Against Living Miserably -an English suicide prevention charity- launched an incredibly smart ad, starring England and Harlequins rugby player Joe Marler, that aims to show just how even the most intimidating 6-foot and 260 pounds men can be hiding their fair share of demons beneath such hulking presence. Watch thoroughly and prepare to be amazed for an unexpected twist.
The brilliant call to place a hidden message inside the video timeline does wonders to show how even the greatest idols could unknowingly be hiding forms of depression or other mental health issues, so perhaps the NBA will take some notes from it. Whether it’s the much publicized clips of former player Delonte West ending up homelessness, to written pieces by former players like Ben Gordon or outspoken tales of their own by stars like Kevin Love and DeMar DeRozan, over in the United States it’s the NBA that seems to be on the forefront of raising mental health awareness.
In other sports, figures like Olympic record-setter Michael Phelps and Cincinnati Reds’ Joey Votto, are also living examples of athletes who have opened up on the matter. The same goes for German goalkeeper Robert Enke, who tragically committed suicide in November 2009, after struggling with depression for several years following the death of his daughter. One recent case of this came from Italian soccer, as Atalanta striker Josip Iličić dropped out of his team’s crucial UEFA Champions League run, due to the Slovenian becoming depressed due to the COVID-19 outbreak and lockdowns in the city of Bergamo triggering flashbacks of him growing up during the Bosnian and Slovenian wars in the 90’s.
No matter the sport, CALM’s lesson is there for everyone paying enough attention to see, in that even the biggest, strongest and fastest heroes are also frail humans like everybody else.
Source: CALM|YouTube
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