Recent Deaths of Female College Athletes Bring Attention to Mental Health

In 2021, sports fans around the world learned about the mental health of women in sports from Simone Biles and Naomi Osaka.

Osaka is a Japanese tennis champion. But last year she said that she didn’t want to talk to reporters at the French Open tennis competition. After her first match, Osaka decided to withdraw from the event. She said critical questions from reporters made her lose. confidence in his ability to play.

Osaka later said that she felt long periods of intense sadness known as depression after winning the US Open in 2018.

At the postponed Summer Olympics in Tokyo, top American gymnast Simone Biles did not compete in some of her best events. She said that she felt too much pressure to act. She said that she was “fighting” with herself. Biles left the gymnastics team competition, and the American gymnastics team took the silver medal instead of the gold.

Biles competed in the Olympics again, winning a bronze medal. When the Olympics ended, he said he would take some time off, but has not said if he will try to compete at the 2024 Olympics in Paris.

Almost a year later, Osaka returns to playing tournaments. He recently reached the final of the Miami Open in the US state of Florida.

Not just professional athletes

Osaka and Biles are two of the most famous women athletes in the world. But college athletic officials in the US are concerned that not enough is being done to support the mental health of young female athletes.

Many women compete in sports for colleges and universities. His softball and soccer games are not watched by millions of people on television. But his health is still an important issue.

In addition, some young athletes now earn money in their sports and feel pressure to present an image and meet the requirements of sports. Business issues.

But this year, the deaths of female athletes showed that mental health is just as important as physical health. Three American college athletes have died by suicide. Katie Mayer was 22 years old. She was a soccer player for Stanford University in California. Sarah Shulze was a 21-year-old runner from the University of Wisconsin. The third was Lauren Bernett, 20, one of the best softball players on the team at James Madison University in Virginia.

Efforts to support mental health

Paul Newberry is a writer for the Associated Press. In a recent op-ed, he wrote: “Let his deaths not be in vain.”

That means he expects officials who oversee college sports to consider mental health as important as physical health. He suggested that they should do more to prevent young athletes who may be depressed from hurting themselves.

Jane Timmons-Mitchell is a professor of psychology at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. She spoke with Newberry and said that often when people hear of young people committing suicide, they ask “why?” But she wants people to ask, “’What?’ What can we do about it? How can we be the most helpful and the most effective?”

Paul Myerberg writes about sports for the USA Today. He said some groups from big universities with sports ties, known as conferences, are trying to help athletes with their worries and concerns.

In late 2021, three major sports conferences came together to work to bring attention to the mental health issues of college athletes. The mental health plan is called Teammates for Mental Health.

Kevin Warren leads a group of schools called the Big Ten Conference. He said: “This initiative is designed to remind all of us, especially our student-athletes, that prioritize our mental health and seek professional help when necessary.”

Dr. James Borchers is the Big Ten’s medical director. He told USA Today that adults who play college sports should make mental health “a topic that’s okay to talk about … without any kind of stigma or without any kind of trial.”

Newberry said the stories of the three young women should cause people to “renew” their commitment to helping those in need. Newberry called for vigilance and for “love and compassioninstead of judging others.

out of the dark

Allison Schmitt won four golds medals in his Olympic swimming career. She said she thought about harming herself even after winning medals at the London Olympics in 2012. She said no one wants to feel like this “but this feeling is a reality for many people and their families.”

Schmitt said many people who feel like they want to hurt themselves are scared but don’t know how to “get out of the dark place.” It took him three years after the Olympics to find professional help.

Timmons-Mitchell said many people have felt lonely over the past two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The restrictions made it difficult for athletes to keep in touch with friends who weren’t on their sports teams.

pandemic changes

As much as they love their sport, Timmons-Mitchell said, some athletes felt the sport took over their identity.

“It’s really the perfect storm,” he said of the pandemic.

Dr. Ashwin Rao is a sports medicine physician at the University of Washington. During the pandemic in late 2020, he gave a presentation to the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine. He said that depression affects young women more often than other groups. Rao said that during the pandemic it has been more difficult for coaches and sports doctors to spend time with college athletes.

As a result, they have failed to recognize changes in behavior. He suggested a solution:

“(Spend) time with your athletes to the best of your ability to get to know who they are. So if his behavior changes, you can identify him,” he said.

I’m Jill Robbins. And I’m Dan Friedell.

Dan Friedell adapted this report for Learning English based on a story by The Associated Press.

words in this story

confidence– north the feeling that you can do something well and be successful

athletes– north a person who is trained or good at sports

in vain – phrase: used to mean not producing the desired result

initiative – north a plan or program intended to solve a problem

prioritize – v make something the most important thing in a group

stigma – north a set of negative or unfair beliefs that a society has about something

compassion – north the feeling of wanting to help someone who is sick or in trouble

medal – north a coin-shaped piece of metal, given in honor of an achievement, such as winning a competition