NBA stars DeMar DeRozan and Kevin Love took to social media on World Mental Health Day to express their support for those struggling with mental health challenges.
“There should be zero shame or stigma for anyone working to make their mental health a priority,” DeRozan wrote in a Twitter post.
It’s far from the first time DeRozan has spoken up about the need for open conversation surrounding mental health. During All-Star Weekend in 2018, with a seven-word tweet — ‘This depression get the best of me’ — he helped kickstart a league-wide conversation about mental health and wellness in professional sports.
“I just lost it, you know, it was just a moment where I just couldn’t take it no more,” DeRozan said of the All-Star game tweet during a talk at the 2019 Aspen Ideas Festival. “I couldn’t hide behind my shield anymore and I just came out and expressed it.”
Since then, both he and Love, who opened up about his struggles with panic attacks in a 2018 Players’ Tribune article, have been at the forefront of NBA players advocating for increased awareness and dismantling the stigma that often comes with mental health conditions.
Later that year, the National Basketball Players Association hired its first director of mental health and wellness in an effort to better support players around the league.
According to the Canadian Mental Health Association, in any given year, one in five people in Canada will personally experience a mental health problem or illness and 49 per cent of those who feel they have suffered from depression or anxiety have never gone to see a doctor about their experiences.
Love’s comments on World Mental Health Day, like DeRozan’s, took aim at the stigma that often presents a roadblock to seeking help.
“Start your day by checking in with your friends, family, and most importantly, yourself,” Love wrote in an Instagram post. “Lend an ear and listen. Start a conversation. And join our cause to help end the stigma around mental health.”
World Mental Health Day is observed every year on Oct. 10, with the overarching objective of raising awareness of mental health issues around the world and helping to mobilize efforts that support mental health initiatives.
