Adam Silver Says NBA Players Are Unhappy, But How Can We Fix This?

At the Sloan Sports Analytics Conference a few weeks ago, renowned sports columnist and analyst Bill Simmonssat down in a one on one interview with NBA commissioner Adam Silverto discuss various basketball — and, in typical Bill fashion, a couple of non-basketball — related topics.

Adam Silver, who is in his sixth year as commissioner, used the interview to reflect back on his tenure, discuss the current NBA landscape and talk about the future of the league.

Among some other topics that they addressed include tampering in the NBA, tanking with teams, the one-and-done rule, and basketball’s continually increasing worldwide popularity.

Though the one topic that has really stuck out in many people’s mind is Silver talking about how unhappy some of the young players are in the league.

At one point in the during the interview, he expressed a genuine concern for the future players of the league going on to quote:

“To the outside world, they see the fame, the money, all of the trappings that go with it, they are the best in the world at what they do and people think, how is it possible they could even be complaining? Some of these players come from difficult circumstances and some of them are amazingly isolated…”

A few days after this interview, NBA commentator and former player Charles Barkley said on the ESPN morning show “Get Up,” “That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard any commissioner say — these guys are making twenty, thirty, forty million dollars a year. They work six, seven months a year. They stay in the best hotels in the world — they ain’t got no problems.”

At the same time, Charles Barkley has been known to say a lot of outlandish things that can rub people the wrong way.

The thing is that it doesn’t take much to realize and understand that depression and mental illness has little to nothing to do with fame or money. In fact, those things can actually increase depression in many instances.

There are probably many players who are happy in the NBA but make no mistake about it, just because they have fame and money, that doesn’t mean that every single one of them is living a “perfect life.”’

How Can We Solve This Issue?

During the interview, Adam Silver also alluded to the fact that social media and lifestyle comparison has played a major part in the reason why players are experiencing unhappiness.

At the same time, mental health awareness seems like it is reaching an all-time high in society.

Organizations like We Are All A Little Crazy, Eustress Inc & Project 375, all of which are organizations founded by former athletes, are making major strides by telling the stories of athletes and people alike who have battled mental illness in one way or another.

Athletes are starting to become more vulnerable, but comments made by Charles Barkley simply don’t help to move the needle forward when it comes to bringing mental illness to the forefront.

If anything, it prevents other athletes from sharing and discussing the problems that they face for fear of backlash from the media and fans.

What we all need to really start realizing is that mental health as a whole is unquestionably important and real.

What we need to realize is that we can’t hold physical health and fitness to a high standard without factoring in the fact that the brain is what’s most critical to performance.

Solving mental illness isn’t a fight that happens in a day or a month. It’s about constant, ongoing progression and ensuring that we can talk about the experiences that we all go through openly, without judgment.

We start working towards a solution not by shunning and putting down athletes in need, but by getting them to realize that’s it’s ok to not be ok and even more importantly getting them to know that what they’re feeling is normal and valid.

Trauma can manifest itself in different ways for each of us and the reality is that we all go through it in life which can seem to limit us and hold us back; talking about our trauma and dealing with it head-on is the key.

Regardless of how it plays out in your life, it’s vital to understand that even though it’s there, it doesn’t have to defeat you.

For athletes, who constantly live in the spotlight, and face the constant pressure to perform from the media, fans, friends, and family, it can seem 10x worse, but the way we help them get through this is we keep bringing light to this issue.

We have to keep combating naysayers and people who don’t believe that mental health is as significant as it is.

Most of all, we have to continue helping one another and continue allowing one another to be transparent.

Mental illness is a real thing no matter if you’re a billionaire or if you’re living on the street. Remember that everyone has a right to heard and accepted because the reality is that we’re all in this game together.

Malcolm Lemmons is a former professional athlete turned entrepreneur, author, and speaker. He is the founder of Players Point Agency and host of Players Point Podcast. He has been featured in the Huffington Post, TVOne, ABC & WJLA. To check out more from Malcolm, visit his website at www.malcolmlemmons.comor connect with him on Twitter& Instagram.

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