STUDENT-ATHLETES AND MENTAL HEALTH

STUDENT-ATHLETES AND MENTAL HEALTH

Jarrod Stiver

There has always been a common misconception that student-athletes do not struggle with

mental health issues outside of sports. Typically, athletes believe  must be tough, show no signs of

weakness or they will be beat. Many people who see these athletes, automatically think of who they

are on the field, court or track; and envision themselves doing that and being that “star” with their

abilities, and fame. The people who believe their heroes have the most perfect lives going to school

for free to play sports, and having people flock after them at any given second of their lives.

However, we can day dream about their lives all we want but the fact is that mental health issues such

as; anxiety, depression, substance abuse, eating disorders, and many more still apply to our heroes on

the field. No matter the amount of money someone makes or the things that are given to them,

mental health issues can still take a toll on them.

Student-athletes have all eyes on them; their coaches, peers, families, and their university

officials. Being tough has been mentally ingrained to people as the most necessary characteristic of

every athlete, we see this perception in many movies such as Rudy and Remember the Titans. In

Remember the Titans, there is one scene where Ronnie Bass was forced to cut his hair to make the

team. He was visibly distraught about this decision by the coaches and upset about the chirping from

his other teammates. Instead, Ronnie disguises his emotions by making it into a joke and forcing the

embarrassment onto Jerry Harris by kissing him. This thinking originally started on the field and has

carried over into their own daily lives. Some jocks go about their lives trying to prove their

toughness by taking advantage of the nonathletes who most of the time can not stand up for

themselves. The stereotype of constant toughness is also a big theme in the show Glee, the jocks

assert their dominance by pouring red slushies on the losers. The jocks even make fun of one of their

best friends and fellow jock for joining the glee club, even though later in the show they also join him

in that club.

The eyes of others adds pressure on to their already busy lives with having to go to practice, classes, meetings, jobs, clubs and on top of that a social life. The constant watch from these people leads the athletes to believe they must be tough in every aspect of life, not giving them the comfort to go out and talk to somebody about their problems. Gulliver and co-authors (2012) stated “athletes have even less positive attitudes towards seeking help from a counsellor than non-athletes” (p.2), this reaction is due to them believing that their coaches and peers will see them as “weak” or that it is embarrassing to openly talk about their issues. Gulliver and company(2012) also go on to talk about the standard student-athletes are held to, “‘You also have the pressures of being an elite sportsperson so you know, you can’t behave like your average person on the street’” (p.5), the coaches and university officials expect their athletes to uphold the highest standard so that the university and team are seen as respected. When a student-athlete is caught with illegal substances or for doing some other illegal act, it automatically reflects back on the team, the player not only faces the consequences with the law but also with his coaches and officials from the university. The consequences from their stupid mistakes can be very detrimental to their lives by possibly losing a scholarship and embarrassing yourself and the team.

Mental health issues are no joke, they can affect anybody and everybody, even the toughest student-athletes. Many of the media outlets portray athletes as unstoppable, however, these athletes can suffer from these health issues just like nonathletes. Student-athletes are always willing to play through the pain but mental health is not something you can get through by yourself. We as a society need to let student-athletes know that there are ways to find help and that the circumstances will get better.

References:

Gulliver, A., Griffiths, K., & Christensen, H. (2012) "Barriers and facilitators to mental health

help-seeking for young elite athletes: a qualitative study." BMC Psychiatry. 2012,
Vol. 12 Issue 1, p157-170. 14p.

Word count: 701

for wednesday, had trouble posting to the right place as i said