This story is big for a number of reasons.
– First, it’s an important example of a player prioritizing the pause, on a big stage, in a sport where it doesn’t happen often. Even in NBA circles, most of the openness about players struggling has been abt struggles WHILE they are playing. To have a guy take off, w big international competition – that he’s shown he lives for – coming up, is massive. It shows how much he’s willing to put his MH, first.
– Second, he’s an international player. Rubio is from Spain. We need MH conversations opening up all over the world. To have a guy known in NBA circles in the US, but also who is a big deal overseas for the Spanish National Team, take this action – it’s big for the goal of normalization.
But to me, the greatest takeaway from this story is – we are SO used to public figures saying things like: “The court is my sanctuary. It’s my therapy. It’s where I’m able to put all things behind me.” We’ve had them say that the world doesn’t feel right to them, but for when they are playing. In Rubio’s case, he was a kid who was drafted by the Wolves, who was a gym rat & just loved being arnd the game. Had fun. Smiles all the time. For a guy w THAT background to say, I need to get away from the sport itself to truly get healthy, is HUGE. And not just for sport…for anyone who buries themselves in what they love, as their coping mechanism.
As I shared on the 2nd slide➡️, knowingly or unknowingly, how many guys tried to bury their emotional pain from things in the past, & COVER-UP that pain, w the dopamine that comes from the addiction of playing their sport? And how many tragic outcomes came as a result? I think to the long list of male & female athletes we have lost after their playing days, all too young, & wonder what might’ve happened had they taken a pause too.
Last slide, we have done MH programming w the Cavs before. They are a caring org, & that should help Rubio during this period. We are confident in it bc of the care they have shown.
This is a great example we need to share widel