Support Beyond the Sport

2017 NLI Signing day with high school friends

Introduction

Mental health plays an important role in our lives; everyone has their own perspective on what it means to be mentally healthy. Sports offer us opportunities to connect with strangers and form lasting friendships based off of shared interests and activities we partake in while participating within team settings. Mental health is a prevalent concern on college campuses across America. Many college students are now being given more responsibility, autonomy, and a new environment. This can be especially difficult for people who have mental health illnesses. Student-athletes face unique challenges when it comes to their mental health that come with their lifestyle as a collegiate student-athlete. They have to balance the responsibilities of attending college while also practicing and competing in competitions on top of team commitments. Athlete mental health has been an increasing concern, magnified by the hardships of the COVID-19 pandemic. As the stakes for athlete well-being increases, the NCAA is unable to fully accept and make changes based on the demands of athletes, coaches, and others involved.

Everyday new cases of struggling athletes arise and everyday it becomes a matter of life and death. The NCAA is a business at the end of the day and treats its athletes as so. Pouring millions into making money off of ‘amateurs’ while failing to provide them with basic human needs is the basis for the implications of needing change. While introducing the allowance of Name, Image and Likeness, athletes have received the fruits of their labors. Nevertheless, the NCAA treats athletes as employees and cogs in a machine rather than actual humans, but in order for a machine to keep running, it has to be maintained and cared for. The NCAA could be in charge of its own downfall if they choose to continue to disregard the mental health concerns of its athletes. They own a complete monopoly over the athletic industry and laws must be put in place in order to not violate antitrust laws. Said laws need to be put into place to protect not only the athletes, but the NCAA themselves.

While every decision comes with criticism, it is important to think ethically and reasonably when making choices that regard the lives of other people. To what extent laws can be put into place and enforced is outside the scope of this article, but are important to consider when future arguments are made. Laws including Tort’s Law are an interesting perspective to take when introducing factors and protocols in order to preserve athlete well being and provide justice to those affected. What can be done at an educational level is even more important as many institutions are hesitant to implement certain protocols due to lack of funding, etc. All the above must be analyzed in order to ensure a future of strong athletes and a strong organization both ethically and legally.

Case Scenario:

A female athlete is admitted to a university under the NCAA to play Division 1 Women’s Basketball. Lured by recruiting tactics, the athlete quickly discovers that it was all a façade and there is much more going on behind the scenes than initially proposed. Stress quickly increases and demands become higher and higher. She struggles to keep up with her school work as being a student is not prioritized. Her performance determines her play time and she finds herself beginning to hide injuries both physical and emotional. Threats are made including loss of scholarship and her place on the team. Eventually she becomes so exhausted trying to find a way to balance it all, she seeks help from an outside therapist who tells her to take a leave of absence.

In her case, and many athletes, worth is placed in performance and a leave of absence would be more detrimental to her self worth than her current conditions. Feeling defeated with the lack of resources surrounding her, she is left alone with her own frustrations, illness and no healthy way to cope. She is called into a meeting with her head coach in which she leaves emotional. She doesn’t show up for their next away trip, yet no one (coaches, staff, administration) reaches out to her or her family. Realizing that the external pressures surrounding her are too much to handle, she only sees one way out. She leaves behind her team, her family, friends, and the world. It took place in her dorm room on campus. She was found five days later when her teammates returned from their away trip. Now the family is filing a wrongful death claim against the university. What more could her teammates, coaches, institution, and the NCAA have done to help protect a life lost too soon?

Issue Presented:

The issue presented here is the lack of support by universities for student-athletes. In many cases, athletes are not prepared for the world of college athletics and its obsessive nature. They struggle transitioning from an athlete to a normal human outside of college. There are many pathways of support for athletes in terms of school and athletics, however, there is no program in place to teach these people how to function outside of their sport. In college as an athlete, you are told where and when to sleep, your whole schedule is dictated, what you eat, what you wear, etc. In all actuality, there are not many decisions you can make as a person without first having approval of the coach. Athletes need more than academic help, they need care as a human. Young and impressionable individuals are leaving home and going to an environment where nobody really values them as an individual, but rather their talents and abilities are valued. There are no true resources set in place to protect these athletes from mental health issues and it is an epidemic that continues to take young lives across the country. More can and should be done in aiding the minds of those who need it most especially when it involves young adults.

Education Literature Review:

In the case of Madison Holleran, many knew of her being unhappy, but not many could understand the full depth of her struggles. Born (2017) speaks about her issue, “she was left on her own to find help on campus, a task she could not complete” (p. 1221). The article continues on saying that her coach knew she was unhappy but still did nothing to aid her. This aligns with the issue as there is simply not enough being done to help these athletes. While Madison’s story is devastating, it is unfortunate that she is just one of many athletes who struggles and finds themselves without help. The NCAA has refused to take a course of action against mental illness as they claim they are ‘not a medical organization” (pg. 1222). Not only is this ignorant, it is dangerous.

The NCAA wants to continue to profit off of athletes, but does not care about the implications and consequences that come with not protecting their athletes. The way that the NCAA has designed their organization is one with no loopholes and one that does not care about its athletes. There needs to be a duty to provide mental health services as outlined in the article by Mawdsley (2021) ‘Research by the NCAA emphasizes that student-athlete entail health has become a serious issue in recent years:” (p. 244). The death and suicide rate in athletes is astounding and needs to be evaluated further. There is an extreme injustice occurring and many universities and institutions are choosing to ignore these issues. As educators, the main purpose of the job is to provide help to those you teach. There should be reform taking place that allowscoaches to be a part of this change rather than be a part of the issue. College age students face depression at a higher rate than any other population according to Mawsdley (2021). The article talks about the umbrella term of ‘mental health issues’ and all of the things this could possibly encompass. There are many different symptoms and diagnoses that travel with the term. The COVID -19 pandemic increased feelings of depression in college aged students. For athletes, this was multiplied as they were forced to play their sport in isolation.

Figure 1. Comparing Mental Health of Athletes and Non-athletes as They Emerge From a COVID-19 Pandemic Lockdown

A common misconception outlined in the article is the idea that athletes are at a lower risk of depression due to increased exercise and access to certain resources that a typical student wouldn't have access to. That is far from the truth. However, ‘nearly a quarter of student-athletes—23.7%—suffered from clinically relevant depressive symptoms” (p. 247). The risk factors for mental illness are the same for athletes and non athletes and may even be heightened due to immense pressures and demands from coaches, teammates, and family members( maybe add from themselves too as athletes are usually hardest on themselves).

There are many barriers preventing student-athletes from receiving correct treatment regarding mental health issues. For starters, there isn't enough time in the hectic schedules that are provided to student-athletes. As mentioned previously, student-athletes are often given a predetermined schedule with specific obligations and there is an overwhelming taboo surrounding seeking mental health help.

However, for those who place their worth on athleticism and strength, therapy can be vital to restoring balance. There is nothing wrong with asking for help and that precedent needs to be set. The histogram above that is presented by researchers at Ulster University shows the comparison of mental illness in both male and female, athlete and non athlete, and age group. As shown it is clear that athletes both male and female are affected by mental illnesses at a higher rate. The highest rate being 21-30 which is primarily college students. In non athletes, the age group is also affected but not to that same capacity as 41-50 year olds. The articles summarized the importance of the need for mental health protection for athletes and it is an educational institution's job to provide for the athletes who continually provide for them.

Applicable Law(s):

Given the case scenario which entails that the student-athletes felt a lack of support and connection from the coaching staff and the fact that the family is suing the school claiming wrongful death the applicable law would be Tort Law. This all falls under the 14th Amendment which states that “granted citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the United States—including formerly enslaved people—and guaranteed all citizens “equal protection of the laws”. Tort is “an act or omission that gives rise to injury or harm to another and amounts to a civil wrong for which courts impose liability. In the context of torts, "injury" describes the invasion of any legal right, whereas "harm" describes a loss or detriment in fact that an individual suffers”. Tort law is a branch of private law that involves civil wrongs committed against individuals. These legal proceedings can offer relief to the individual who has been harmed in some way by another person's wrongful actions. Tort Law is classified as one of the most important branches of Civil Law.

More specifically, under Tort, a wrongful death claim must contain four key elements that exist to move forward legally and have any chance of success with the claim. The four key elements are negligence, breach of duty, causation, and harm/damages.

Legal Analysis:

The practice of law is the analysis and interpretation of legal problems in order to propose a solution using existing laws. A legal analysis is set in place to truly understand what the legal case is presenting. It is simply the application of law, the rules, standards, and enforceable expectations of society to fact. Negligence defined in the legal manner: “the failure to exercise the care toward others which a reasonable or prudent person would do in the same or similar circumstances' '(LII).

Negligence lawsuits are the hallmark of tort liability, and they account for more than half of all civil litigation. The principle behind negligence law is that people have a responsibility to take care not to injure others. Under this legal premise, people are held responsible for their actions and must take proper precautions to avoid harming others.

Breach of duty: When discussing the concept of breach of duty we would have to look into the contract and legally of what is considered to be the coaches and universities duty/obligation to the student-athlete. Simple fact is that the coaches nor the administrationdecided to reach out to the student-athlete or her family.

Causation, Taking a deeper look into the case. The case scenario states that the student-athlete felt a lack of support and connection from the coaching staff. Perhaps this a causation of the toxic environment has been created over time which makes student-athletes feel as though they can’t converse with coaches.

Lastly, in this case with the student-athlete, the damage or harm that was done would be the student-athlete taking her own life.

Possible Counter Arguments:

We must always take into consideration the possible counter arguments and here we have a couple. First, since the coaches at the university are not mental health professionals they should have provided the proper access to the mental health professional such as a sports psychologist.

As a senior she is over eighteen which by the law makes her an adult. It indeed comes down to what she signed off for regarding the release of information. In other words what the university and coaches are allowed to release to her parents even though she is legally an adult.

Conclusion and Proposed Resolution:

Mental health on college campuses has become an ever present concern. This is reflected in the responses from the student’s involving depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts. For universities this is an area where they could look to improve upon so that students reporting mental illness feel confident in seeking help. This could also mean that students are reaching out to other staffmembers that are not mental health professionals.

Creation of a screening tool for athletes that will identify potential mental health issues prior to participating in a college sport will be greatly appreciated by student-athletes. Another beneficial improvement would be for coaches taking on more of a hands-on approach. This would mean that coaches on all levels, head, associate and assistant, will conduct different training courses similar to the training and test that they need to take for rerouting purposes. Part of the training will include a course for coaches for how to best support their players on whatever is going on with them. In the training session there will be an opportunity with coaches across the country to learn more about mental health and what their student-athletes are going through.

This will allow them to get the full picture of the mental state of a student-athlete. Coaches would also be required to to take part in administration communication. It would also be in the best interest for not only the coaches but for the university to give student-athletes the proper access to behavioral health, a sports psychologist, and a mental health specialist. This installation of these new programs will start to chip away at the root of the problem. If the sports programs and universities can implement these steps to help student-athletes they can in the long run help themselves legally but more importantly help the lives of these young athletes. Implementation of these changes to the university and sports programs will in the long and short run before the better.

An overall take away from including these changes will insure student-athletes will feel as though they will be taken care of in a different way. Parents especially will feel as though they are more comfortable with letting their child continue their education and perform their sports at the university that has the proper resources for their children. With change there will always be challenges that come with the growth which in this instance is the cost of providing these mental health options. In the future, to help universities and different sports programs be successful in the effort to support student-athletes in the journey to better mental health solutions local members of the community can donate money and other resources. The donations will be put towards providing student-athletes with the access to a sports psychology program with licensed professionals to ensure they are provided with the best care possible.