Cleveland Cavaliers forward Kevin Love suffered a panic attack in a game against the Atlanta Hawks on Nov. 5. Since then, the five-time All-Star has been using his voice to help others with similar afflictions, including one 11-year-old Cavs fan who suffers from anxiety and depression.
Ryan Bradley mentioned Love in a tweet on Monday morning, noting that his daughter has stopped eating due to her mental health issues. Love saw the note and decided to reply with an uplifting message.
It sounds like this little girl will be meeting K-Love in the near future.
Love’s in-game panic attack was quite scary. During a timeout in the third quarter, the former UCLA standout made his way to the Cavs’ locker room. This was no ordinary break, though, as he was experiencing an increased heart rate, dizziness, and shortness of breathe.
“After halftime, it all hit the fan,” Love told NBA.com. “Coach (Tyronn) Lue called a timeout in the third quarter. When I got to the bench, I felt my heart racing faster than usual. Then I was having trouble catching my breath. It’s hard to describe, but everything was spinning, like my brain was trying to climb out of my head. The air felt thick and heavy. My mouth was like chalk. I remember our assistant coach yelling something about a defensive set. I nodded, but I didn’t hear much of what he said. By that point, I was freaking out. When I got up to walk out of the huddle, I knew I couldn’t reenter the game — like, literally couldn’t do it physically.”
Love was taken to a nearby hospital, where his vitals and heart checked out fine. He has since written an essay for The Players’ Tribune, which is titled “Everyone Is Going Through Something.”
In his article, Love revealed that he was reluctant to talk about his mental health for the majority of his life. Now that he’s opened up about his disorder, it seems he’s ready to help those who share a similar ailment.
“For 29 years, I thought about mental health as someone else’s problem,” Love wrote in his piece.
“Mental health isn’t just an athlete thing,” Love added. “What you do for a living doesn’t have to define who you are. This is an everyone thing.”
These are important sentiments from Love, who’s trying to get rid of the stigma of mental health issues in sports.
