Kevin Love was inspired by Toronto Raptors swingman DeMar DeRozan to write a revealing piece in The Players’ Tribune, detailing his struggle with panic attacks.
The Cleveland Cavaliers power forward; who is still out after fracturing the fifth metacarpal in his left hand, talked about how DeRozan opening up about his battle with depression opened the door for him to take a similar approach and share his inner battles with the fans.
“One of the reasons I wanted to write this comes from reading DeMar’s comments last week about depression. I’ve played against DeMar for years, but I never could’ve guessed that he was struggling with anything. It really makes you think about how we are all walking around with experiences and struggles — all kinds of things — and we sometimes think we’re the only ones going through them. The reality is that we probably have a lot in common with what our friends and colleagues and neighbors are dealing with. So I’m not saying everyone should share all their deepest secrets — not everything should be public and it’s every person’s choice. But creating a better environment for talking about mental health … that’s where we need to get to.
Because just by sharing what he shared, DeMar probably helped some people — and maybe a lot more people than we know — feel like they aren’t crazy or weird to be struggling with depression. His comments helped take some power away from that stigma, and I think that’s where the hope is.”
DeRozan’s confession was shocking, often seen as a confident, but rather a quiet player that keeps to himself in most instances — yet he received an outpour of support from others inside and outside the NBA community.
Love has been showered with an equal amount of support, now knowing that is becoming far more acceptable to talk about issues outside of basketball and open up about his inner struggles.