The belief that athletes are supposed to be immune from emotional problems is based more on myth than reality. According to the American College of Sports Medicine, 30% of females and 25% of male student athletes suffer from anxiety. Moreover, 35% of elite athletes in addition to anxiety reported having burnout and depression.
At the Tokyo Olympics in 2020, Simone Biles, world class gymnast, experienced, the “twisties,” a mental performance lapse. Here the gymnast becomes disoriented in mid-air and is unable to do a twisting skill, an athlete, like Simone, previously had done countless times. When Biles withdrew from participating in the Olympics, she was widely criticized for not overcoming issues that stemmed from mental rather than physical factors. To her credit, subsequently, Biles pursued therapeutic treatment and, and much to the admiration of her fans won four gold medals at the Paris Olympics in 2024.
Insofar as I am a Boston Red Sox diehard fan, I follow their players quite closely. In 2022, Jarod Duran, the Red Sox outfielder was having difficulty coping with the long grinding schedule of major league baseball. His batting average had gone down precipitously from where it had been the year before along with his skills as a fielder where he was committing a lot of errors. As the season progressed, it had been reported that Duran was suffering from depression. Furthermore, during the offseason, there were rumors that Duran had had some suicidal ideation.
However, as was the case of Simone Biles, Duran attended to his mental health issues and has performed, as well as management expected, in the ensuing years. His current level of play is on par with the way he executed prior to the onset of his emotional problems that obviously had affected him.
A few weeks ago, the Red Sox were playing against the Cleveland Indians at Progressive Field in Cleveland, and a fan at the game began heckling him about his past struggles with his mental health. Duran responded verbally resulting in the two of them escalating their intensity. Security personnel at the event then escorted the fan from his seat out of the ballpark. Management and security then made the decision to ban this fan from coming to any further Cleveland contests for a lifetime. Major League Baseball applauded this decision. Moreover, the Yankee captain, Aaron Judge, who is having a spectacular so far, added his emotional support to Duran and any player succumbing to the emotional stress that often confronts great athletes. I am not a Yankee fan, but I very much respect Judge in backing up a player from a rival team, as sincere and well-intentioned. The public needs to better understand, that athletes like the rest of us, are not immune to the stressors borne by their profession.
Dr. Bernard F. Natelson 