In late November, college students across the U.S. tuned in not to watch Cleveland Cavaliers star Kevin Love play basketball, but to listen to him speak about his own mental health struggles.
Love spoke directly to college students during a New York Times Live event at Tufts University in Medford, Mass., where he detailed his own challenges with depression and anxiety. He first revealed his mental health stumbling block in a personal essay published on the Players’ Tribune, where he talked about having his first panic attack during a game.
“I thought I was fully having a heart attack and that I was going to die,” he said.
College campuses held watch parties to view the live broadcast, and it made an impact on many students.
“I thought it was interesting when he said mental illness does not discriminate,” Katelin Melling, a nursing student at Kent State, told Kent Wired. “From the outside, it looks like he has it all. But you never know what someone is going through on the inside.”
During the very personal discussion, Love divulged that he didn’t speak up about his feelings because he was worried his teammates would see him as “weak.”
“For me, it’s really cool seeing a guy − like a really big sports guy who is famous for being tough and an all-star champion − talk about something so personal and his mental health,” Alexa Marco, a public relations major at Kent State, said.
Love has made countless big plays during his NBA career, but he says that the impact he’s made off the court by coming forward with his mental health challenges has, by far, been the most meaningful to him.
“The biggest thing in my 11-year career so far that I’ve done has been this,” he explained.
For those who missed the discussion at Tufts, the full version can be found below:
