In our modern day, sport is highly valued and supported in our society. Our sports hero’s are role models of society and are easily viewed as invincible. However, this is a dangerous assumption as mental illness in sport is beginning to receive light due to the drastic negative effects it has already had on athletes. Athletes develop mental illnesses because of many pressures in the sporting community. This includes the sponsors and sports fans demands and expectations on the athlete’s performance. It is clear that the athletes need support to deal with and eliminate mental illness. However, Stigma promoted by the media encourages athletes to believe that mental illness is a weakness. The …show more content…
The fans viewing the athletes as sporting hero’s and hero’s are not allowed to be flawed, fans will quickly push aside an athlete they feel is not living up to their expectations, be it realistic or not. [The UK's leading Sports Psychology Website . 2017.] Issues and conflict present within society on political/ethic grounds inadvertently get directed at the athletes that fall within these prejudices, by providing mental support to these athletes the fans disdain of such an athlete is enhanced, thus these easily hyped up fans will openly turn on an athlete and openly mock and reject such an athlete causing more psychological pressure on such an individual. This was clearly evident in the case of AFL player Adam Goodes. [SBS News. 2017. What's a good sport?] The fact that athletes receive psychological support brand the athlete as weak and therefore the individual athletes need to be replaced by a better athlete. Having psychologists work with these athletes does not solve all the problems and may even create problems, this issue deserves more