There’ve been a bunch of announcements like this, both before…& after Simone Biles, in the world of sports. You’ll see why I’m using Simone, below.
Before, we had college basketball players like Noah Freidel announce they were taking off entire seasons. Naomi Osaka bowed out of the French Open, Wimbledon & then stepped away for an indefinite amount of time.
Andrelton Simmons took off the entire end of a baseball season, as his team was making a push, even w no fans to play in front of, bc of what he was dealing w.
After Simone, we had the likes of Jonathan Droiun from the Canadiens miss an entire playoff run to the Stanley Cup Finals. He shared his why – as the following season (this season) started.
Carey Price, star goalie & Drouin’s teammate w the Canadiens was applauded for stepping away to enter the league’s substance abuse program. Then came the Eagles Lane Johnson – who opened up abt his crushing anxiety. He had to miss a # of games this yr. He’s the picture of “combat warrior” in a sport like football, & his action & now transparency opened a lot of eyes.
This now leads us to Calvin Ridley, yesterday – a prolific WR for the Falcons – on a team w Hayden Hurst, who’s been VERY open abt his own battles. Calvin’s stepping away to work on himself.
Back to Simone – one of the most common comments I read abt Simone’s case, that irked me, was: “Well if she knows she has anxiety/depression, she should’ve let another American go compete for her.” Oh so you have “it” & can’t compete if you do?
Few questions for those of you reading this, to consider: How many have heard this list above ALL strung TOGETHER by the media, to show a trend? If any media outlets, how many have showed that this is the SAME issue: MH? Or, have they showed: one’s anxiety, one’s depression, one’s addiction, another fear of interviews? How many have shown MH on a continuum, where they each have competed, come back, competed, come back over stretches – showing their “challenges” are not an ALL or NOTHING issue…& can be worked on?
So as Calvin shows bravery & openness, we gotta ask, is the media really helping the narrative improve?