For far too long in MH, athletes, entertainers, & the media have focused the on disorder labels & their corresponding fixes. A simple sales formula: I’m so & so w X label, & I’ve used Y to heal. (So if you have X, you should seek out Y to heal as well).
When John Wall revealed his “stuff” a few wks ago, it put a wrinkle in the simplistic formula above. He got into the trenches of the messiness of his life & revealed vulnerability, & in a raw way, what had actually happened TO him.
That delivery made the topic of MH way more palatable – way easier for others to relate. Has anyone NOT dealt w either the loss of a parent, or loss of an older fam member, or even had cancer in their fam?
Josh Primo, who played one year for Alabama, was selected as the No. 12 pick in the 2021 NBA Draft to a rebuilding Spurs squad. The 19-year-old played 50 games his rookie season
The Spurs waived Primo the other day even while, in his second season, his numbers jumped to 7 points, 4.5 assists and 3.3 rebounds in just 23.3 minutes a game.
But the numbers aren’t what’s most impressive in this story. What’s most impressive is what Primo revealed in this quote (more detail on next page➡️):
“I know that you all are surprised by today’s
announcement. I’ve been dealing w the previous trauma I suffered and will now take this time to focus on my mental health treatment more fully.“
This is the first example, to date, I can remember a pro athlete controlling the narrative, leading w TRAUMA as to why their MH declined & they needed to take off. That’s HUGE. We don’t even need to know what the trauma was. But this pokes hole in the narrative that’s been out there too long, thar some have “it” & and some “don’t.” More of this!
Speaking of sports making waves, huge props to the NHL for making MH a priority & asking me to keynote their opening session w all their sales leaders in Denver this past wknd➡️. Did it for the AHL league meetings, but this wk was the 1st time someone from the big 5 leagues asked us to come in & lead w this topic (more to come on the vulnerability they were able to show).