The tweet immediately raised public attention as NBA players usually display their upbeat, energetic side to the world. People believed that NBA players, who play their beloved sport as a career, gained abundant money and fame that ordinary fans couldn't have imagined.
Therefore, when DeMar DeRozan, who is a top scorer and multiple All-Star selection, came out and claimed that he has been struggling with anxiety and depression, plenty of people criticized his expression as an excuse for poor performance. In response, DeRozan elaborated in an interview with ESPN: "People say, 'What are you depressed about? You can buy anything you want...I wish everyone in the world was rich so they would realize money isn't everything".
Without a doubt, NBA players gain money and fame in a way that people desire- to reach the pinnacle of a sport, to be an elite athlete. However, most people often neglect that they have been training for years and have to monitor themselves to maximize their performance continuously. Behind the scenes, the amount of effort they put in is unimaginable. While basketball athletes get better, the spotlight will also be brighter. Every single move on them, regardless of whether they are related to basketball or not, will be examined by the public and left them with no privacy. Therefore, many basketball athletes suffer from anxiety and depression.
Unfortunately, despite the fact they are devastatingly in need of mental support and medical treatment, they are often banned from revealing their trauma as the stereotype of basketball athletes expects them to "man up" or get through it on their own. As a result, countless basketball athletes choose to keep their mental issues a secret and move on with the invisible burden.
Here is a video clip of when DeMar DeRozan spoke about mental issues on ESPN:
“We all got feelings…all of that. Sometimes…it gets the best of you, where times everything in the whole world’s on top of you." -DeRozan to The Star
Nowadays, The exhaustion, depression, or anxiety These basketball athletes are dealing with have been diagnosed as "Mental Fatigue".
Mental Fatigue is a state of mind when basketball athletes are mentally exhausted while playing or doing related activities. Some of the most common symptoms include anxiety, depression, or a lack of motivation to play and train. Mental Fatigue could be caused by work overload, poor performance, or fans' critiques, and can lead to resentment of the sport, lower performance, or even physical illness.
But how, exactly, does Mental Fatigue affect basketball athletes?
After DeRozan revealed his mental fatigue to the public, many players were encouraged to share their trauma and seek medical treatment. As a result, ESPN interviewed those players who claimed to suffer from mental illness, aiming to provide a thorough perspective to fans of mental fatigue's effectiveness. The video clip below is from an ESPN interview with another NBA star, Kevin Love.
Love is a 5-time all-star veteran who has played in the NBA for 15 years.
"It’s hard to describe, but everything was spinning, like my brain was trying to climb out of my head."
During a timeout in the third quarter, Love felt his heart beating, dizzy, and hard to breathe. He ran out of the court, wandering between the hallway, and felt refused to get back to the court. Although he eventually returned to the game, he was afraid that someone would discover the reason for his momentary absence. However, he refused to accept the fact that the issue has haunted him and denied medical treatment.
"I’d never heard of any pro athlete talking about mental health, and I didn’t want to be the only one. I didn’t want to look weak."
Love later discussed how medical treatment is necessary for athletes who have been suffering from mental fatigue. At first, Love also felt skeptical about therapy, but he realized that therapy made him realize how his personal life, which is related to his professionalism, also played a role in his mentality. When Love's grandma Carol, his biggest fan, passed away, he never got a chance to say a proper goodbye because he was too focused on training and playing. Despite being haunted by this memory, he refused to share his story, which ultimately became a factor leading to his mental issues.
Besides his memories, Love acknowledged that the most beneficial lesson he had learned was that he dared to confront and talk about his issues. He thanked DeRozan for encouraging him to come to the interview and believed that he should spread a positive attitude toward his problems to motivate people like him to seek help.
"A Scientific Analysis of the Effect of Mental Fatigue on Basketball Athletes"
"A Scientific Analysis of the Effect of Mental Fatigue on Basketball Athletes" is research led by Dr.ShuDian Gao. Since no scientific research proves Mental Fatigue affects basketball athletes' performance, Dr.Gao decided to collect limited data and design an experiment.
Dr. Gao and his team used the "Systematic review search"- a method that first researches from previous studies, then designs the experiment, later analyzes the results, and finally concludes.
The research includes four categories: physical, technical & tactical, and cognitive experiment approach.
The physical experiment includes the essential performances of the sport, including running, jumping, court sprinting, and shuffling.
The technical and tactical experiment includes the shooting percentage, ball reversals, and post entries, all challenging players’ skills.
Last but not least, the cognitive experiment includes decision and game-reading.
The results are as shown below:
As athletes are considered the symbol of bravery and fearlessness from the ancient Olympics, they tend to appear in the public's insight as the stereotype. With societal expectations and inner coercion, whether from themselves, coaches, or fans, it is crucial for people to know that these athletes are just human when they take off their disguise. Before DeRozan confessed to his mental issues, many NBA players had already lost enthusiasm for the sport they were once in love with. Despite being traumatized, they were still too arrogant to confront their internal devil.
I chose to pick the issue of mental health as my Project 4 because I can resonate with these athletes as I was also a basketball player in high school. I remember being criticized for missing a massive free throw even though we won the game in overtime. Since then, my playing minutes have decreased, and I have begun to lose confidence. There was a time when I stepped on the court; I started to feel hard to breathe as I almost suffocated. This symptom continued for months, and I had a tough time dealing with my problems. I had insomnia the day before the game and always thought about quitting, and I had no one to express my feelings.
I am grateful for the opportunity to express my emotions during this project. With DeRozan and Love's words, I realize that athletes do not have to act tough. People should show compassion to those players and not blame them too harshly when they do not perform as expected because, just like DeRozan said, “It’s one of the things that no matter how indestructible we look like we are, we’re all human at the end of the day.”
List of References:
Love, Kevin. “Everyone Is Going through Something: By Kevin Love.” The Players’ Tribune, The Players’ Tribune, 28 Feb. 2022, www.theplayerstribune.com/articles/kevin-love-everyone-is-going-through-something.
Terry, Byron Jamar. “Mental Health: The Human Side of DeMar DeRozan by Byron Jamar Terry.” Medium, Medium, 1 Dec. 2023, medium.com/@terrybyron1/mental-health-the-human-side-of-demar-derozan-63a26eca1682.
Joe Vardon, Cleveland.com. “Kevin Love Thought He Was Dying during Nov. 5 Panic Attack.” Cleveland, 20 Aug. 2018, www.cleveland.com/cavs/2018/08/kevin_love_thought_he_was_dyin.html.
Cao, Shudian, et al. “Mental Fatigue and Basketball Performance: A Systematic Review.” Frontiers in Psychology, U.S. National Library of Medicine, 10 Jan. 2022, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8784842/.
Santos-Longhurst, Adrienne. “Mental Exhaustion: Definition, Causes, Symptoms, and Treatment.” Healthline, Healthline Media, 21 Mar. 2023, www.healthline.com/health/mental-exhaustion#What-is-mental-exhaustion?