Derek Anderson played in the NBA for 11 years and was a member of the 2006 championship team.
But before being in the NBA, Anderson had to overcome a difficult childhood.
Anderson, who averaged 2.6 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 5.8 points for the Heat, was abandoned by his parents when he was just 10 years old. He later became a father at 15, raising a son alone when he was a teenager.
Anderson was homeless for brief periods until he moved in with his aunt and uncle. Growing up in poverty motivated him to play basketball.
Enduring so much at a young age affected Anderson as a professional basketball player and he said the NBA did not recognize mental health.
“I was going through stuff,” Anderson said in a washington post interview. “They were like, ‘You have to toughen up. You don’t take basketball seriously. No one felt that you could speak your truth back then. You could lose a family member and it will hurt a lot, but they want you to go back to work in a few days. It was tough back then. I’d delete it, keep it to myself. Sit at home. So I would be stressed the day before the match. I didn’t give my best, because I was thinking about things, about family life.”
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That led Anderson to become an advocate for mental health off the court. He founded the Stamina Foundation, an organization that offers educational programs and events for youth and young adults.
Anderson has used her life experiences to help others through difficult times.
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Jayden Armant is a contributor to Inside The Heat. He is a student at Howard University. He can be contacted at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter @jaydenarmant.
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