Men and boys often associate caring about sports with images of fierce competition and fighting to win. This view of caring leaves little room for self-care, safety and health, or emotional vulnerabilities. These are topics fraught with dangers for boys and men who live in a hypermasculinity culture.
Recently, the National Hockey League Players’ Association released its first line program in support of player mental health. This program signals that the men’s game is finally acknowledging that “a player who struggles with mental health will do so in silence.”
The issue was not the game, but the stigma attached to having to be a “tough man ” as Corey Hirsch told CBC News.
In an interview that Thierry Henry gave on the Podcast Diary of a Chief Executive Officer, he spoke about the depression he experienced throughout his soccer career.
“I am a human.” I feel. Since my birth and throughout my career, I’ve probably been depressed. Was I aware of it? No. Did I do anything about it? “It’s obvious that I didn’t, but I did adapt.”
Thierry Henry discusses his mental health experience as an elite athlete in the ‘Diary Of A CEO Podcast’
We are witnessing a long overdue shift in the way men and male athletes seek help and speak more openly about mental health.
Silence is a culture
Men and boys are forced to adapt and not seek help, and they must be tougher than ever before. Men and boys are reluctant to speak out and raise safety concerns and sexual assaults because of this culture. This has created a culture where men and boys feel pressured to keep quiet about their mental health.
Henry also said the following:
You’ve heard it since you were a child, either at home or on the job: “Don’t let them see you as vulnerable.” If they cry, then what will they think?
It is this culture against which sporting organizations must implement initiatives such as the First Line Program.
In men’s sports, we need to redefine the meaning of care. Progress has been made. In September 2023, Hockey Canada will host the Beyond the Boards Summit in addition to the NHLPA’s First Line Program. It was a way to tackle “toxic masculinity” while also trying to understand it.
Hockey Canada has not used the words sexual assault or homophobia in this poster, which hangs on the Olympic Oval of the University of Calgary. (Michael Kehler)
In October 2023, Hockey Canada released a Dressing Room policy in order to “improve inclusion and safety” as well as “minimize incidents of bullying and harassment.”
This is a positive sign, but there are still some who refuse to call out issues like sexual assault or homophobia.
Norwich City Football Club, in honor of World Mental Health Day, 2023, launched the campaign #youarenotalone to encourage us all, as a community, to keep an eye on our neighbors.
These initiatives speak to a caring masculinity which is essential if the men’s sports is to be a space of mental health and support.
Complex relationship
Sometimes, new ideas come out of crises. We are only just beginning to understand the socio-cultural impact of the COVID-19 epidemic. When sport facilities were closed due to social distancing, it had a negative effect on boys’ social, mental, and emotional health.
The COVID-19 pandemic caused depression among many of Allegri’s players, including the young players in his academy.
Massimiliano Allegri, Juventus’ coach, gives instructions to his players at the Allianz Stadium in Turin, Italy, on May 3, 2023, during a Serie A match between Juventus and Lecce. (Tano Pecoraro/LaPresse via AP)
This disruption has forced boys to confront their emotions. One boy said: “I was able to be more in tune with my feelings and myself.” Henry also expressed the same sentiment.
Understand that anger and jealousy are normal… I was crying every day for no reason… it was weird, in a good way. Understand that anger and envy are normal…I was crying every single day without reason…it was strange in a good kind of way.”
What can we learn from this about mental health and sport? Sport in its traditional form does not allow for the vulnerability of men and boys, nor their mental health.
Men’s sports: a healthy sport for men
Reimagining sports as inclusive, diverse, and safe will allow us to harness the positive potential that sports can offer. It is important to redefine what caring means. It does not mean that the sport of men should be discarded, but it is about recognizing the value of self-care and support.
In the research we conducted with male athletes, we discovered that creating diverse sports spaces encouraged open and vulnerable discussions and fostered a culture that cared for and supported these athletes.
The efforts to include and promote diversity did not come without pain. Some men, particularly queer males, felt marginalized and unsafe because of the traditional culture surrounding men’s sports. The creation of spaces that allowed for emotional vulnerability and support showed what was possible when the power of sports was harnessed.