San Antonio Spurs: DeMar DeRozan highlights importance of World Mental Health Day
By Dylan Carter
Leader of the Mental Health conversation in the NBA, the San Antonio Spurs’ star provided some inspirational comments for World Mental Health Day.
Inspiring as a leader is one of the most valuable things you can do. It’s a trait that’s stemmed from the days of George ‘The Iceman’ Gervin in the San Antonio Spurs organization and has been particularly prevalent since David Robinson led the franchise. Being a good leader means being having a strong moral character, which has been the San Antonio Spurs way since becoming a dynasty.
This is largely why the fit between DeMar DeRozan and the San Antonio Spurs has been so strong. Beyond just being a great basketball player, DeMar is a wonderful person. He puts his success and knowledge to use by giving back to communities near and far, representing his hometown of Compton, CA and teaching those who’ve come up after him how to carry themselves.
One of his biggest roles has been as a trailblazing advocate for mental health awareness and acceptance in professional sports. Beyond that, DeRozan has spoken out to make sure no one feels bad about facing their duels with mental health.
You don't have to struggle in silence. @DeMar_DeRozan | #WorldMentalHealthDay pic.twitter.com/WjBNv21P9Q
— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) October 10, 2020
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The first player to really speak out in this issue, DeRozan has used his platform to let San Antonio Spurs fans everywhere know that mental health isn’t something to be ashamed of. As a matter of fact, holding back and letting your frustrations boil over is an unhealthy way to cope with stress related to depression, anxiety, or any other mental health issues.
It’s a battle that’s becoming more normalized in our society today, which is why it’s pivotal that professional athletes like DeRozan are speaking out on it. When people see the athletes that they admire speaking about their own battles with mental health-related issues, they can begin to feel empowered.
As DeRozan said, it took him a long time to finally come out of his shell and talk about his mentality on a public forum. Once you can open up about these issues, the world becomes a lot easier to deal with from this perspective. It’s great to see the San Antonio Spurs social media team working with DeMar to speak on this event. World Mental Health Day is as good a time as ever to tackle the issues that you haven’t felt comfortable opening up about.
There’s always a way to make it better, even when it doesn’t feel like it.