Kevin Love. He’s an NBA champion, 5 time NBA All-Star, and a 2012 Olympic gold medalist with Team USA. He’s a UCLA graduate who became a fan favorite through his knack for grabbing rebounds and being able to shoot three pointers as a big man. He gave many players the idea that you skill and finesse can win over athleticism and power. He was known to be LeBron’s wing man when the Cleveland Cavalier’s won their first ever title in 2016. When Love hit the court, fans saw a man passionate about winning; however, what they didn’t see was what was going on behind the scenes.
Despite thriving on the court, Love was dealing with an extensive array of mental health issues such as anxiety and depression. He thought all he didn’t to do was to become a man and get through the struggles that so many of us share. He believed in the so called “masculinity” idea that it was a weakness to show your emotions. On November 5th, 2017, this all changed. During a game early in the season, a timeout was called and Love was out of breath. He ran to the trainers room and hit the ground as he was suffering his first panic attack. No one knew what happened and Love would not share with his teammates what happened because he simply was comfortable doing that. Despite Love’s teammates expressing their anger with his absence, he stuck to himself until his mind began to heal.
Now you may be thinking… “This guy is getting paid $120 million over the next few years playing a game that he loves, how can he be this down about life?”
Between the stress of his family and the expectations that people had on him to preform, it all weighed him down. He was angry that his relationship with his brother was not as strong as it could have been and he wasn’t treating people the way that he wanted to. Thanks to teammate Channing Frye, Kevin Love began to improve and became comfortable with sharing his experiences to help others. His leadership went from a great basketball player to a mental health advocate.
His emphasizes to the community dealing with these struggles that it is okay to feel down, but it isn’t okay to ever feel alone. Don’t be embarrassed about what is going on in your head, we all have a story and our difficult times will become a strength. When we feel down we must share our story because we never know who is struggling or who needs to hear it. Mental health disorders do not have a demographic. No matter the economic status, race, gender, no one is immune to these mental problems. It’s not weak to go through tough times; however, it is weak when we keep our emotions to ourselves. Share what you are feeling because chances are, you’ll help someone else.
