Carmelo Anthony Says Athletes Are ‘Naturally Depressed’

Carmelo Anthony Says Athletes Are ‘Naturally Depressed’

Carmelo Anthony,37, is opening up about mental health in professional athletes.

While promoting his new book, Where Tomorrows Aren’t Promised, the 10-time NBA All-Star got candid about how athletes are susceptible to depression and other mental health concerns.

Anthony said,

“I think athletes, like, we’re naturally depressed being an athlete. I mean, what we have to go through on a day-to-day basis, dealing with media, competing at the highest level. We spend more time with our teammates than we do with our family during the year, so you miss holidays and so on and so forth. So it’s a lot of things that, you know, the average person [doesn’t] really understand that an athlete has to go through.”

He continued,

“It wasn’t until I actually started writing the book and going through that process where I was able to kind of get the real, true meaning of, kind of, who I am and putting everything into perspective.”

Carmelo Anthony, who was selected third in the first-round draft by the Denver Nuggets in 2003, also explained the purpose behind his book.

“I’ve never really wanted to tell this story. But I really thought that the time was now to really tell my part of the story, that most people don’t know.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=di6hbGPHvRI

He added,

“You got to be vulnerable because you’re letting people into your world. If you’re not honest and vulnerable and appreciative at the same time, there’s no need to tell that story. If you’re going to sugarcoat a lot of things, there’s no need to write a book or tell those stories. So I really had to humble myself and be like, ‘Okay, listen I’m taking the gloves off basically. And I’m just letting you into my world and then into my childhood.” 

Although Anthony’s career is not over, he felt it was important to tell his side while he was still relevant. On why this was the perfect time he said,

“I wanted it to still be relevant. I feel like I’m still the connected tissue to a lot of this generation and to the generation before. So I really felt like this time, like I had to do it right now. For me to still be able to touch different generations and still be relatable to different generations, younger and older, the time was perfect for it.”

Back in August of this year, it was announced that Carmelo Anthony would be joining LeBron James and Russell Westbrook to play for the Los Angeles Lakers. On joining his new team Anthony said,

LeBron James

“It’s been a long time coming. We’ve been trying to figure this out for a long time, but through the time it didn’t work, the situations were different. But we are here now, so we going to make the best out of it.”

Do you think athletes are more prone to battle mental health issues? Tell us in the comments. 

[VIA]