How Vince Young's rise and fall Illustrate a growing problem in professional sports

With training camps set to open next month, Vince Young enters Titans camp as the definitive number one quarterback after leading the Titans to the brink of the playoffs after a dismal 0-6 start, capped by a 59-0 throttling at the hands of New England. In only 10 starts after taking over for Kerry Collins, Young threw for 1,879 yards and 10 touchdowns and lead the Titans to an 8-2 record, making them a trendy pick among NFL insiders to make the playoffs in 2010. Looking back, it’s hard to believe that not long before his resurrection, fans were wondering if Young would ever play again after it was reported that he was suicidal and hadn’t been in contact with his family or team.

When Young was found the next day, he stated that he simply needed to get away from the pressure of being a starting quarterback and the questions surrounding his poor start to the season. By this time, the groundwork had already been paved for the public to second guess him for not being tough enough to be a professional athlete. Nearly two years later in the May 31, 2010 issue of ESPN the Magazine, Carmen Renee Thompson continued to speak of his mental toughness by stating, “He says he was in no mood to talk after the game and got sick of friends and family clamoring to know he was okay.” She continued, “And ever since, he’s had to fight the perception that he was a headcase.”

If the public would have simply taken the Vince Young situation for what it was—a young professional struggling with adjustment disorder, likely a result of the growing changes and mounting pressure in his life—his abilities as a professional wouldn’t have been questioned as ruthlessly as they were. The sad part about the sports world is that most athletes are expected to be gladiators—robots who are immune to the pressures of performing at a high level without any sort of mental lapses, in the game or in life. Athletes simply aren’t allowed to struggle with mental illness and are stigmatized negatively by the public if they dare take any time off for something intangible that the fans can’t see. The fact is that mental illness is readily treatable today with positive prognoses that rivals most physical injuries in terms of time lost and recovery to full strength.

Delonte West of the Cleveland Cavaliers has struggled with Bipolar disorder and has been scrutinized by the Cavaliers organization for off the court incidents which were likely a result of the manic episodes he was experiencing as a result of his disorder. Instead of talking publicly about possible disciplinary actions for West, the Cavaliers would have been much better off treating West as if he had an injury and given him time to learn how to deal with the symptoms of his disorder.

Speaking on West, Kenneth Robbins, M.D., a professor of psychiatry at the University of Wisconsin-Madison stated, “If people don’t know what he’s going through, it runs the risk of further stigmatizing mental illness and looking like he’s taking advantage of the system,” he said. “But it’s also an opportunity to educate people and help them understand what he’s struggling with and how, with treatment, he’s likely to respond and these events will hopefully not continue to take place.”

With the lifetime prevalence rate of mental disorders at nearly 50%, it’s time that front offices and the general public gain an understanding that professional athletes are not immune to psychological and emotional crises and that they need treatment, not criticism.