Sports & Mental Health In 2021

8/16/2021

Remember, August is Mental Health Awareness Month for the Freedom Train Network. We will be dedicating this month's podcasts to raising more awareness about mental health in the black community.

This week on the Freedom Train Podcast Series, Joseph and Patrick continue their discussions about mental health in the black community. This show focused on the recent mental health events surrounding Sha'Carri Richardson, Simone Biles, and Naomi Osaka. Sha'Carri Richardson was already dealing with a new level of national and Olympic popularity when she learned that her birth-mother passed away from a reporter during an interview. Simone Biles was the last competing victim of the Larry Nassar Olympic sexual assault case, and she was expected to carry the U.S. gymnastic team to gold. It is reported that she too was experiencing mental health problems. She was dealing with the "twisties" which could cause a gymnast to hurt themselves. Lastly, we covered Naomi Osaka choosing her mental health over being interviewed at the French Open. She is doing her best to manage her anxiety, but the interviews after her matches trigger her anxiety. All three of these ladies are expected to compete at a high level, but not many people are concerned about the mental health of these ladies. Tune in to hear more!!