DeRozan is among those who have acknowledged they were dealing with mental health issues while playingNBAE/GETTY IMAGES
The NBA and the NBPA are close to naming a Dir of Mental Health & Wellness, a role that would "run an independent mental wellness program that is being jointly funded by the league and union," according to David Aldridge of NBA.com. The league has had programs "dealing with wellness be part of the Rookie Transition Program, Team Awareness meetings with players during the season and its Player Assistance Program over the years," but this new effort will be the "most comprehensive program dealing with mental wellness created to date." The new program, which is the result of almost a "year of discussions" between the two sides, "will allow players to seek treatment and counseling outside of the framework of their individual teams." Current team physicians and other resources "will still be available to them." But it is "not clear if the director will have the ability to unilaterally decide if a player dealing with a mental wellness issue should not play in a given game or games to deal with those issues, regardless of what the player’s team medical staff may think." The new program also "dovetails with the league reviewing mental health and wellness policies and programs in the NBA, WNBA and G League." Jed Foundation Chief Medical Officer Victor Schwartz since last year has been "reviewing the NBA’s policies." Mental wellness outreach also will be a part of the inaugural Jr. NBA World Championships in Orlando next August. Many players in recent years have "acknowledged they were dealing with mental health issues while playing," including Raptors G DeMar DeRozan and Cavaliers F Kevin Love (NBA.com, 3/12).
DIFFERENT TAKES: ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith said of the program, "I totally applaud what they are doing. My issue is with it being publicized, because I think the more aware Joe Public is about the help provided to multimillionaire athletes, I think it's going to elevate the level of cynicism, dissipate the level of empathy and sympathy, and as a result who knows what that's going to materialize into." ESPN’s Max Kellerman: "It’s good if people see publicly that even these big strong athletes can deal with it. This relates to all kinds of issues, from domestic violence to drug abuse and a lot of that overlaps, to suicide to serious societal issues, and if athletes can be an example publicly for this, that they are also strong enough to accept help and to seek it out, and the league is smart enough to offer it, I think it's a good thing if it's publicized” (“First Take,” ESPN, 3/13).
