By: Skye Slatcher
Thursday 10 October. World Mental Health Day. First observed in 1992, it marks a day to have open conversations about mental health and the importance of taking care of one’s mental state. Since the mid-2010s, these conversations have moved into the mainstream and the sports industry has not escaped this trend.
Anyone who has sat through any talk or session on mental health will have no doubt heard that physical activity can work wonders. While that is no doubt true, it is always worth considering what those who do physical activity professionally might have to say.
At the elite level of sports, the pressure is imaginably immense. Athletes are competing at the top of their game, against other top-tier athletes. Most have dedicated their whole lives to their sport. They are competing for their livelihoods. Their careers are short so every moment matters – they have immense expectations to live up to, not just from the public but internally.
On 28 September The Sunday Times published their interview with Lewis Hamilton. In that conversation, the seven-time F1 world champion was honest about his struggles with his mental health, saying that he has suffered from depression for many years. As the most accomplished driver in history, his mental strength in reaching the heights he has is admirable, and hearing that he has faced these mental struggles is important and inspiring.
In 2022 Yuki Tsunoda published an article in The Players’ Tribune about his career and journey to F1. Reflecting on his Honda Formula Dream Project finals, he said, “Back then, my mental game was poor. At the final trials, before the race, I was so nervous my whole body tensed up. My fingers holding the steering wheel were frozen … my usual self was nowhere to be seen.” He made a false start and received a penalty. He discussed crying on the train ride home and feeling like he had failed.
Simone Biles is one of the most incredible sports people in history and her impact on the discourse we are having around mental health is significant. Biles cancelled five competitions at short notice because of her anxiety, later saying in a press conference, “I say mental health comes first. That’s why sometimes it’s okay to even skip the big competitions to focus on yourself. It shows how strong you really are as a competitor and a person instead of just fighting through it.” She has been candid about her struggles with the twisties and needing to prioritise her own sanity in those moments.
In 2021 Naomi Osaka dropped out of the French Open. At the time she was ranked second in the world in women’s tennis. She has been open about having struggled with depression since the US Open in 2018. In Paris 2021 the situation escalated when she did not want to talk to the media, saying that the press showed no consideration for the mental health of athletes. Her comments ought to have served as a reminder that the media (journalists but also any of us reading, liking, or posting on social media) owe these incredible athletes the respect of treating them like human beings.
These same ideas have been discussed in sports-related TV, of which the most notable in my mind is Ted Lasso on Apple TV. In season two, AFC Richmond recruit a sports psychologist, initially to support Dani Rojas in dealing with his guilt after killing a dog while taking a penalty. The mental struggles he went through in the episode and those that other characters including Coach Lasso went through in subsequent episodes are indicative of the wider conversations we need to be having. After the press wrote about his panic attack, Ted Lasso addressed the media directly during a conference, underlining the need to rethink how we speak about mental health in general and in relation to athletes specifically. In many ways though, it seems like these pleas through the medium of TV have fallen on deaf ears in the real world.
All of these stories remind us that mental health MUST be a priority. It is only with constructive conversations that we can continue to enjoy sports as spectators or participants. How do we support the mental health of our athletes globally? Athletes are, in many ways, entertainers. They perform incredible feats of nature for the enjoyment of spectators.
I don’t have the answers but I do know that we have a long way to go in terms of truly opening these conversations up and ensuring that athletes feel supported at every level – including at LSE. 89% of people believe it is important to talk about mental health. Awareness is currently at an all-time high, but the crisis continues to worsen.
If you are in need of mental health support, contact LSE’s Student Wellbeing Service.
Or, call the Samaritans: 116 123
