Athletes are only human, after all
Chinks in the mental armour, such as Jonathan Trott's acute depression, are still a source of ridicule in a macho world
On paper it seems an idyllic lifestyle, one that millions aspire to. Being paid a fortune to play a game you love while being fêted at every turn. Who among us doesn't have their Walter Mitty moment when they score the big goal or hit the game-winning home run? The crowd goes crazy, they chant your name and bow in your wake. You are superhuman and fame, fortune and mass adulation are all part of your haul. Men envy you, women desire you. Yes, it's so frighteningly intoxicating, who wouldn't want it?
Of course, the sacrifices are great and the expectations even higher. But you are now getting paid the type of money most fans will never see in their lifetime and you suddenly become public property where scrutiny and jealousy are the norm. Nothing is private any more in our saturated world of over exposure. Still, it's a small price to pay for living the dream, or so we have been told. Cricketer Jonathan Trott is a top-order batsman for the England national team and clearly one of his country's best and integral members. His performances were pivotal in helping England win the Ashes earlier this year, an often contentious showdown between England and Australia that is arguably the most revered international cricket series and has been played since 1882.
Trott is also a disturbed young man, deeply disturbed in fact. As the latest Ashes series started up again last week and England were destroyed by a vengeful Australia in the first test in Brisbane, Trott did a runner after his own abysmal performance. He announced that he was suffering from emotional trauma and acute depression and returned immediately to England to seek help. "I don't feel it's right that I'm playing knowing that I'm not 100 per cent and I cannot operate at the level I have done in the past," he said. "My priority is to focus on my recovery."
The old school dictum holds that you suck it up, get over it and get your ass back on the field or the pitch because we have a game to win
Again, Trott's body is healthy and his form, up until his last test, was impeccable. But his ongoing battles with depression have incapacitated him. His very public announcement would have been unthinkable even a few years ago. However, a new day is dawning in professional sport and the paying public is now being asked to take into account that these marvellous athletes are human as well and face all the vulnerabilities that you and I do. All of this comes on the heels of one of the most high-profile and startling cases of acute depression in an athlete when NFL player Jonathan Martin abruptly left his team, the Miami Dolphins, because of his woeful mental state brought on by constant bullying and hazing from teammates.
While the stigma of mental health is slowly being lifted and dealt with in most walks of life, in the harsh and macho world of professionals sport it is still somewhat beguiling and a source of ridicule. The old school dictum holds that you suck it up, get over it and get your ass back on the field or the pitch because we have a game to win. If you can't do that, then move over because someone else will.
Playing in Australia this week, golfer Rory McIlroy was asked about Trott's problem and said most people have no idea how intense the pressure and relentless demands are on professional athletes these days. "It's becoming more and more common that these sorts of stress-related illnesses are happening and it just shows how much of a mental toll it takes on you sometimes," he said. "Sport becomes so big and there's so much pressure and so much on the line."
I agree with McIlroy. It is sad and very disturbing. But the truth is most fans don't want to hear about it. They're not paying their hard-earned money to watch you melt down and be mentally weak at crunch time when they can stay at home and be mentally weak all by themselves without getting paid millions of dollars. Professional sport is a cruel and demanding world, one of high reward and even higher risks.
The NFL is perhaps the most physically gruelling of all sports, one where a man has to be a man. And yet the number of suicides among ex-players suffering from terminal depression is staggering. You would hope the very public admissions of Trott and Martin may change that. But real progress is yet to be seen in professional sport, even though we now know athletes are indeed human beings. The problem is most are still not allowed to be.
