Young Black Athletes and Mental Health

Considered to be the greatest gymnast of all time, Simone Biles was expected to dominate at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. However, she proved her greatness in another way by prioritizing her mental health and the success of her U.S. Olympic Team. Under an immense amount of pressure to perform on the world’s biggest stage, Biles experienced the twisties, where a gymnast's mind and body fall out of sync, and lost awareness of her surroundings while in the air. Afterward, she understood how her mental state risked her being seriously injured and decided another teammate would be better suited for competing in her position. While Biles has received praise from many athletes and non-athletes alike for understanding the value of her mental health, she’s also been subject to a great deal of criticism for this same issue. Many people remarked that Biles just needed to be tough and push through, as Black women are often asked to do. Throughout American history the stereotype of the ‘Strong Black Woman’ has been used to dehumanize Black women, as it pressures them to perform for others while neglecting themselves. But Simone Biles is helping to change the narrative surrounding Black women and mental health. While others may not be able to see her value as a person outside of gymnastics due to her race, Simone chooses to do what is best for her, which is prioritizing her mental health and overall well-being.
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Oftentimes, Black athletes are forced to choose between their mental health and the demands of their sport. Naomi Osaka, the second-highest-ranked women’s tennis player, has dealt with this firsthand. Osaka revealed that she has struggled with depression in the past, and still experiences great anxiety speaking at press conferences. At the French Open, Osaka refused to speak to the press due to concern for her mental health. The tournament then fined her and threatened to expel her rather than taking her mental health issues seriously and attempting to accommodate her. This resulted in Osaka taking a mental health break and not competing leading up to the Olympics. Instead of seeking to understand a Black woman who was opening up about her mental health struggles and asking for help, they chose to chase away one of the world’s top tennis players. This ties back into the ‘Strong Black Woman’ stereotype. Black women are expected to suppress their emotions and not show any vulnerability. This is why it was so vital that Naomi Osaka chose to express herself and, seeing how the French Open reacted, remove herself from the situation altogether in order to protect her peace. In this way, Osaka is helping to get rid of the stigma surrounding mental illnesses in sports by speaking up about her struggles and not compromising on her mental health. She later went on to write a TIME Magazine article titled, “It’s O.K. to not be O.K.,” which was about her experience, the ways in which the tennis policy and mentality needed to change, and the support she received from other athletes. 

Many times when Black athletes have needed support, they’ve been given quite the opposite. This was definitely the case after the Euro 2020 soccer final. British players Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho, and Bukayo Saka all missed penalty kicks in England’s heartbreaking loss to Italy, and were immediately subject to racial abuse on social media from soccer fans. The same people who had been relying on the three Black players to bring home the cup were then flooding the internet with racist monkey and banana emojis. Rashford, Sancho, and Saka took to Instagram to apologize for their missed goals but also to stand up for themselves by calling on social media companies to support and protect them from racist attacks. Although it was not their ideal ending to the game, playing a bad game does not equate to experiencing racism. That ideology dates all the way back to chattel slavery in England when Black people were literal property owned by other humans. Essentially, Black people had to perform to satisfy the white English people and could be subject to racial abuse at any point. This feeling of entitlement is evidently still existent in England centuries later. However, athletes like Rashford, Sancho, and Saka are helping to turn a new leaf by standing against racism in soccer. They refused to compromise their dignity and sacrifice their mental security to appease racists or anyone else.

These instances just go to show how Black athletes are often seen as commodities. When they are winning cups and medals, they are touted as champions representative of their country. When they are not performing up to standards, they are called racial slurs and told to go back to where they came from. When they push through at the expense of their mental and physical well-being, they are applauded. When they take necessary breaks, they are seen as not sacrificing enough. However, young Black athletes like Biles, Osaka, Rashford, Sancho, and Saka are helping to break the mold and set a precedent that prioritizes the mental health of Black athletes first and foremost which, in turn, benefits their athletic career.