Welcome back to my new series “Making Your Mental Health a Priority,” in which I delve into sports' biggest names as they’ve battled mental health issues in their careers. If you’re new to this series, I encourage you to read my previous articles here on The Gryd webpage. Today, we’ll dive into Chicago Bulls all-star DeMar DeRozan; one of the first NBA athletes to open about his struggles with mental health. A journey to healing and understanding the stigma surrounding mental health, DeMar’s story is one that’ll give you plenty of hope.
DeMar’s openness about what he was feeling started in Toronto; his former team drafted him back in 2009. A lot of highs and defying lows while television cameras followed his every move. It wasn't until a tweet on February 17th, 2018, which gave fans a look into his psyche: “This depression gets the best of me…” A dangerous oxymoron which can strike fear into any and everything someone is passionate about. A lot of hurdles to jump; high to intermediate in hindsight. The most common cry for help is cryptic social media posts, which is a loud siren nobody pays attention to.
The plan wasn’t to be vocal about his statement centering around mental health. Like most people, the results of feelings kept under wraps due to negative backlash from national sports shows. This started to weigh on DeMar as he laid in his bed away from his loved ones. Another sign of hopelessness when you distance yourself from people you unconditionally love. Being mentally drained with no energy to do anything. Now, you may say: “NBA players have all the money and amenities regular people don’t have and they’re mental health is the last thing to worry about?” This is where I’ve pointed out many times that money doesn’t cure internal unhappiness. Running away from your struggles leads to silent battles as DeMar was facing.
When DeMar posted that tweet, the support was well received by many in sports and common everyday people. You see, one tweet saved a lot of people who were dealing with the same symptoms and having an all-star player reveal his own maddening struggles made others say: “He’s human like us and there’s hope in the end.” It has become a trend for many athletes and celebrities.
Another element to this was DeMar’s summer of 2018-19 which he was traded to San Antonio for Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green. It was a shock which had many trials and tribulations for DeMar. He’d spent his best years with Toronto and helped lead them to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2016. Even with having the best record in the East, Toronto was swept by Cleveland in the 2018 Semi-Finals. A shocker to which Toronto didn’t expect; but the team had hit its ceiling with DeMar and former teammate Kyle Lowry.
Amid this trade, DeMar found himself being traded from the only team he knew. He wanted to win a title with Toronto and was loyal upon signing a max contract extension in 2016. Feelings of being let down and not knowing what was on the horizon is typical business for any athlete. A trade became an element of finding DeMar’s true self from a basketball perspective. Many thoughts of questioning himself and if he could avoid being caught up in the media’s narratives of him not delivering a championship to whichever team he plays for.
DeMar was able to navigate and use his voice to give athletes space to confront their struggles with mental health. If he decided to walk away from basketball, his post-NBA career is cemented in advocating for mental health. We look through the optics of athletes and we see them as larger than life personalities. Billboards, commercials, magazines, all the above. But when they struggle with common everyday issues, we’re quick to throw them to the side. Championships are everything in legacies, but winning in life is far more rewarding than any bottle of champagne cork popped open. DeMar has won his title in mental health advocacy for all athletes.
To close this article if you need help with your mental health; please seek treatments. Don’t allow society to dictate your health and force your life into shambles. Mental health is a real illness and affects us in more ways than one. You don’t have to fight alone, reach out to as many resources as you can. Together, we’ll continue the dialogue and break the stigma. As always, make your mental health a priority.
Stai tuned.
