Vulnerable

By USC Athletics Black History Month

February 25^th, 2020

Growing up in Compton, DeMar DeRozan had to act tough.

When he made it to the NBA, he had to stay tough and conform to the stereotype of masculinity that comes with being a professional athlete.

But in early 2018, the USC men’s basketball alum hit a wall.

He had been dealing with depression, loneliness and anxiety, and he was fed up with internalizing it. He broke his silence with a simple tweet.

“The response that I got back [from the tweet] was a positive one,” DeRozan explained. “That just led me to be more comfortable expressing and talking about it. I saw how much it helped other people, so I just stuck with it. I began trying to speak out, give other people the confidence, the same way I needed it.”

DeRozan’s tweet and the ensuing interviews in which he discussed mental health created a domino effect. Just a few weeks after DeRozan’s tweet, fellow NBA player Kevin Love spoke out about his own anxiety, including a panic attack that forced him to exit a game in 2017. DeRozan and Love’s advocacy has led to more and more athletes feeling comfortable discussing their own issues, and has pushed the NBA to expand its mental health resources. The league now requires every team to have at least one mental health professional on its staff, plus a psychiatrist on retainer.

DeRozan’s openness about his mental health is even more striking when you consider the intersection of his identities as a black male elite athlete.

Although culture is changing, men in our society are still often expected to adhere to the stereotypical characteristics of being male that include things like being strong and containing emotion (except perhaps anger) according to USC sport psychologist Robin Scholefield. Similarly, athletes are often expected to be aggressive and stoic.

Interestingly, when it comes to inner strength, it is actually the opposite according to Scholefield. It takes courage to be vulnerable.

Scholefield further remarked that the history of some black/African-descended people in the medical world is one of misdiagnosis and subsequent mistreatment. Individuals in some black communities may be more likely to take mental health issues to their family or religious leader than to a licensed mental health professional. Scholefield noted that there is a tremendous shortage of clinically trained sport psychologists in part because it is a relatively new field, and the demand has increased as the stigma has fallen among a generation that is generally more resourceful. There is an even greater shortage of clinically trained sport psychologists of color. Together, these factors may create more barriers for some black male elite athletes seeking help for mental health issues.

Scholefield noted the power that elite athletes have when it comes to shifting the conversation about mental health.

“The media coverage alone illustrates how people often look up to elite athletes,” Scholefield said. “These very competent, capable, high-achieving members of our community represent strength — physical and mental strength. Elite athletes demonstrate this strength when they knock down the walls surrounding mental health.”

DeRozan’s advocacy has touched countless peoples’ lives, but it has also improved his own. In March 2019, DeRozan lost a friend when musical artist and activist Nipsey Hussle was shot to death. In January 2020, DeRozan lost an idol when the legendary Kobe Bryant died in a helicopter crash.

But thanks to his openness, he didn’t have to suffer through those dark times by himself.

“The support is beyond anything that I could imagine,” DeRozan said, “That’s the thing I want to express: There’s so much support out there, that’s such a helpful way to help you continue to grow with depression, feeling down, the dark place that so many people live in. It’s OK to talk about it and seek help because it’s all out there. It’s everywhere.”

While DeRozan’s advocacy changed the way people see masculinity, so too did the death of Bryant, alongside his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna.

After his sudden death, the masses lauded Bryant’s achievements on the court, but a heartfelt anecdote from ESPN’s Elle Duncan made people celebrate a different side of Bryant: his love of being a “Girl Dad” to his four daughters.

Bryant calling himself a “Girl Dad” launched a movement on social media of male athletes sharing photos and loving messages about their own daughters, and showing off a more tender side of themselves.

DeRozan himself is a Girl Dad, to six-year-old Diar and three-year old Mari.

“My daughters are my best friends. They definitely bring the kid side out of me. The happy side of me. The smiles, the giggles. And the innocence. We live in a world where you kind of have to carry yourself with some type of toughness. Kids break that wall down without you even knowing,” DeRozan said. “I think that’s another element to show how vulnerable we really are. Sometimes it takes your kids, sometimes a girl, to be vulnerable. That’s the softest spot to get to a man, I believe, is your daughters. Just showing that side of men that people don’t get a chance to see and just being the father figure to women — that’s the biggest way to show it.”

The norms of masculinity are certainly shifting in the sports world. More and more, athletes are opening up about their feelings of vulnerability and their mental health struggles.

Just last week, former NBA player Ben Gordon penned an essay in The Players’ Tribune on how he became suicidal after leaving the NBA. In the essay, he described how much going to a therapist helped him get back on track and strongly encouraged other athletes to do the same.

DeRozan shared the article on his personal Twitter account, as he continues to try to change the conversation around mental health in the NBA.

The responses to DeRozan’s tweet prove how far society has come in terms of erasing the stigma of mental illness:

“Excellent read. Thank you DeMar DeRozan for giving others the courage and strength.”

“Thank you so much DeMar for sharing this courageous confession by Mr. Ben Gordon ... Now I understand getting some help, including talking to a therapist, can really make a HUGE difference.”

“I just went to my first counseling session last week. I was nervous and scared to tell a total stranger all of my issues. I still have a long way to go, but I made the first step. Thank you Ben, DeMar & Kevin. There is no shame in getting help. MH is real. You guys make it easier.”