They鈥檙e some of the strongest people on the planet, but NBA stars DeMar DeRozan and Kevin Love struggle with mental health.
DeRozan, the Toronto Raptors point guard, launched a conversation in February when he tweeted:
On Tuesday, he helped the NBA launch its which aims to reduce stigma and offers resources for people to manage stress, anxiety, and depression.
鈥淎 lot of people suffer from a lot of things," DeRozan told reporters ahead of the first game in the Raptors鈥� second-round playoff series against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
鈥淭hey're afraid to share, they're afraid to bring to the light and be better,鈥� he added. 鈥淎nything that's beneficial to (bringing) this to light and being happier, that's what it's all about,鈥� he went on.
LeBron James offered his support, saying that while people think professional athletes are 鈥渋nvincible or we don't have problems and things of that nature ... we're human just like everyone else.鈥�
Cavaliers teammate Kevin Love is also speaking out, telling CTV鈥檚 Peter Akman that it was DeRozan鈥檚 admission that empowered him to share his own story.
Love said that mental illness 鈥渄oesn鈥檛 discriminate,鈥� and 鈥減eople shouldn鈥檛 hide from it. They should create a sense of community and face it head on.鈥�
鈥淓verybody is going through something that you can鈥檛 see,鈥� Love added. 鈥淚t鈥檚 definitely something people should face and not be ashamed about.鈥�
Men and boys are less likely to open up, according to Love, who described his struggle with a panic attack in a feature article
It was November 5, and Love writes that a 鈥減erfect storm鈥� collided on the court during the 10th game of the season.
鈥淚 was stressed about issues I鈥檇 been having with my family. I wasn鈥檛 sleeping well. On the court, I think the expectations for the season, combined with our 4鈥�5 start, were weighing on me,鈥� Love writes.
Love explains that at halftime he could feel his heart racing faster than usual and was having trouble catching his breath.
鈥淚t鈥檚 hard to describe, but everything was spinning, like my brain was trying to climb out of my head,鈥� Love writes. 鈥淭he air felt thick and heavy. My mouth was like chalk. I remember our assistant coach yelling something about a defensive set. I nodded, but I didn鈥檛 hear much of what he said. By that point, I was freaking out.鈥�
Love describes running for the locker room while hoping that his heart would stop racing.
鈥淚t was like my body was trying to say to me, You鈥檙e about to die. I ended up on the floor in the training room, lying on my back, trying to get enough air to breathe,鈥� he writes.
After that, Love went to see a therapist, despite having 鈥渟coffed at the idea of seeing one鈥� in the past.
鈥淚 remember thinking, What are my problems? I鈥檓 healthy. I play basketball for a living. What do I have to worry about?鈥� he adds.
鈥淚鈥檇 never heard of any pro athlete talking about mental health, and I didn鈥檛 want to be the only one,鈥� he goes on. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 want to look weak.鈥�
Love writes that one of the biggest breakthroughs came after talking about his grandmother Carol, who was like a parent to him.
鈥淒uring my sixth year with the T-Wolves, Grandma Carol made plans to visit me in Minnesota for Thanksgiving. Then right before the trip, she was hospitalized for an issue with her arteries. She had to cancel her trip. Then her condition got worse quickly, and she fell into a coma. A few days later, she was gone,鈥� he wrote.
鈥淚 was devastated for a long time. But I hadn鈥檛 really ever talked about it. Telling a stranger about my grandma made me see how much pain it was still causing me. I鈥檇 never had a chance to really grieve, and I felt terrible that I hadn鈥檛 been in better touch with her in her last years.鈥�
Love says that he鈥檚 sharing that personal story because of how 鈥渆ye-opening鈥� it was simply to 鈥渢alk about it.鈥�
鈥淲e are all walking around with experiences and struggles -- all kinds of things -- and we sometimes think we鈥檙e the only ones going through them,鈥� he writes.
Fardous Hosseiny, from the Canadian Mental Health Association, said that he believes the campaign will help reduce stigma.
鈥淲hen a powerful athlete like DeMar DeRozan openly talks about his struggles, it gets everyone else to also speak up,鈥� he said.
But Hosseiny stressed that governments should also step up.
"Canada ranks last in G7 countries when it comes to mental health spending, so there鈥檚 been a chronic under funding within the system,鈥� he said.
With a report from CTV鈥檚 Peter Akman in Toronto
