With sports superstars like Naomi Osaka and Simone making shocking decisions to leave huge sports competitions and opting out of press conferences to take care of themselves and to protect their mental wellbeing from the ever-growing media pressure, mental health in sports has made headlines in the past few months.
Japanese American tennis player Naomi Osaka, four time Grand Slam singles champion, made headlines in July when she declared her decision to withdraw from this year’s French Open. She stated that her mental health to be a key reason behind the move.
Her decision to withdraw came after she was fined $15,000 upon skipping a press conference. Osaka later wrote about her experience after the French Open in an article published in Time Magazine, titled ‘It’s Okay to Not be Okay.” In her article, she shared her experiences with media, press conferences and the toll it has taken on her mental health. Furthermore, she also recommended changes to improve the system and help athletes cope better with any issues of mental health.
“Perhaps we should give athletes the right to take a mental break from media scrutiny on a rare occasion without being subject to strict sanctions,” wrote Osaka. “In any other line of work, you would be forgiven for taking a personal day here and there, so long as it’s not habitual.” Additionally, she also suggested that sick days should be allowed to all athletes without them having to share personal details if they simply do not feel comfortable attending press conferences once in a while.
The subject of mental health for athletes found itself once again in the spotlight after the renowned American gymnast Simone Biles pulled out from team and individual events in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, citing the toxicity of the media\’s pressure to be the reason behind her call. Biles, who had won Olympic gold in Rio and is considered as arguably the most decorated gymnast in the sport’s history, posted on Instagram, “I truly do feel like I have the weight of the world on my shoulders at times. I know I brush it off and make it seem like pressure doesn’t affect me but damn sometimes it’s hard.”
Like Osaka, Biles received an outpouring of support and love from not only her fans, but also from celebrated media figures and athletes. Swimmer Michael Phelps, one of the most decorated Olympians in the world, recognized Bile’s pressure and struggle with mental health.
“It can be overwhelming, especially during a competition,” Phelps said in an interview with USA Today after Simone Biles’ decision to not compete in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. He further explained that an unstable mental state can also lead to physical injuries, a reason Biles also stated after her withdrawal.
\”At the end of the day, it\’s like \’you know what, I have to do what is right for me and focus on my mental health and not jeopardize my health and my well-being,\’\” Biles said.
Biles also said that she wanted to compete for herself, not for the world. “I know that this Olympic Games I want it to be for myself,” she told Reuters. “I came in and it felt like I was still doing it for other people, so that just hurts my heart that doing what I love has been kind of taken away from me to please other people.”
While these recent events have sparked the conversation about athletes and their mental health in the spotlight, this is not the first time that an athlete has opened up about their struggles with anxiety and depression. Kevin Love, a professional basketball player for the Cleveland Cavaliers, has previously opened up about his struggles with mental health, writing an essay in Players’ Tribune. Phelps himself has battled with mental health issues and depression. Phelps, like Love, also wishes to see mental health for athletes get more attention in the mainstream media.
“I hope this is an eye-opening experience, I really do,” Phelps said. “I hope this is an opportunity for us to jump on board, and to even blow this mental health thing even more wide open.” Recently, there has been a lot of discussion about the pressure put on athletes to perform by the media, fans, and this can have a heavy toll on any sports person\’s mind. It is not only dangerous for their mental health, but also for their physical health as not being in the right mental space can increase the chance of injury.
Actions by sports stars such as Phelps, Osaka, Biles, Love have opened our eyes to the way sports stars are looked upon and the roles they are expected to fill. This everbuilding pressure can be especially damaging to their sense of confidence and mental state and could cause their performances to suffer. These recent events push to further have conversations about such topics, so more athletes can open up and get the help they need to heal. As Biles said, “It is okay sometimes to sit out even the big competitions to focus on yourself.” Osaka also wrote, her decision to open up had been “worth it,” if it had saved even just one life.