Every so often there are incidents in sports that transcend sports. Things that invoke a strong response from even those who may not even follow sports. And, unfortunately, especially in today’s political climate, those things can often be polarizing. Everyone seems to need to weigh in with some strong opinion one way or the other.
Recently, two professional athletes saw their choices to step away from competition for mental health reasons met such strong reactions which included considerable scrutiny.
First, was professional tennis player Naomi Osaka, who pulled out of a tournament, citing mental health issues. And most recently it was 19-time Olympic gold medal-winning gymnast Simone Biles who pulled out of team competition at the Olympics.
Biles’s decision drew even harsher scrutiny than Osaka, primarily because the talking heads felt righteous indignation due to Biles representing the US in the Olympics.
Raiders defensive tackle Solomon Thomas has been an outspoken advocate for removing the stigma placed on mental health. For him, what Osaka and Biles did was vitally important not just for them, but for others who may struggle with mental health and speaking out about it. He had some powerful words of support for the two athletes.
“I paid a lot of attention to that with Naomi Osaka speaking out,” Thomas said Friday… “And Simone Biles, obviously. They are at the top of all athletes. And for them to be able to have that strength and vulnerability to say that ‘hey, I’m going to take care of myself, that is unbelievable strength and just unbelievable in general.
“People understand the pressure that’s on those athletes. They legit have the weight of the world on their shoulders, especially within their individual sport. I feel like it’s extremely important for them to be talking about it on the stage that they’re on and I think it’s huge that they’re doing that. I’m just very happy about that. Happy to see the positive responses from people, from people supporting them.
“All the negative critics and everything that you hear, that’s the stigma that we’re fighting. That’s what we’re fighting every day. That’s why we’re talking this way — athletes are talking, people are talking, psychologists and therapists are all talking. because that stigma that we’re fighting. If it was an ankle injury, we wouldn’t be talking about it. But because it’s a mental health issue we’re talking about it because people don’t understand how serious that can affect an athlete, how serious that can affect a person.
“For them to talk about it on the highest stage of the world is so huge and I’m just very thankful for them talking out and I stand with them in every way. And I’m very appreciative of their strength and vulnerability. That’s the definition of strength if you ask me.”