Welcome!
The Institute for the Study of Sport, Society and Social Change's mission is to enrich the lives of its students, to transmit knowledge to its students along with the necessary skills for applying it in the service of our society, and to expand the base of knowledge through research and scholarship.
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It Is Time: From Protest to Policies, Programs, and Progress - A Paper Summarizing the Challenges and Options faced by Athlete Activists was written by Dr. Harry Edwards in 2018 as a response, as education, and as a call to action for athletes to prepare to shift the conversation. It was a call for leaders and organizations that a shift in their mindset and response to athletes and social conditions is necessary to promote social change in sport and society. In this second annual "virtual" conference, ISSSSC will discuss the social activist work of Dr. Edwards through an examination of a pivotal year of social movements, social change, and the sporting voices of athletes. This year’s virtual conference will host keynote panels, change agent organizations, sharing of athlete activist experiences, and educational teachings with ISSSSC’s Words to Action workshops. Moreover we invite our allies, supporters, and novice to sports justice to develop their understanding, and grow in their ability and leadership to promote change.
KEYNOTE #2 | media and mental health
This keynote panel was designed to discuss the role of the media in sports. As pre and post-competition interviews play a significant role in sport media traditions, this keynote examines the media's influence on the mental health of athletes. Over the past decade, as recent as the 202O Olympic & Paralympic Games, this topic has been amplified with recent notions on athlete mental health, wellness, and illness.
This conversation will discuss such issues as:
- Analyze the concerns on how media affects athlete mental health
- Explore how athletes have become affected by the advent of social media
- Examine the ways journalists can report news while respecting the mental health of the athlete
Moderator + Panelists
Moderator
Dr. Shaun J. Fletcher serves as the Faculty Advisor for the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) - SJSU chapter, as well as sits on the Academic Advisory Board for The Institute for the Study of Sport, Society and Social Change. Dr. Fletcher has communications experience with corporate and non-profit organizations for whom he has provided counsel on strategic messaging, executive communications, employee engagement and brand management and development. Dr. Fletcher also established a private consultancy where he works with leaders and organizations around cultural diversity, resilience, and communications aimed at progressing the employment diversity disparity in Silicon Valley.
Panelists
Objective #1
In an excerpt from The Sport Journal, the media and its impact on athlete performance is examined below:
"Many athletes are targets of media prey. Win or lose, their performance and life is publicly dissected by the media. Winning brings about media glorification and expectation, and/or jealousy and criticism. Losing brings forth negative judgment and more criticism" (Ott & Puymbroeck, 2008, p. 1).
American sports television personality, radio host, and journalist, Stephen A. Smith criticizes and deconstructs the New York Knicks NBA basketball team and the performances of its individual players after their loss to the Brooklyn Nets.
This figure represents the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) Toolkit on Mental Health for Elite Athletes, which has a reference to media attention being a stressor (highlighted in blue).
International Olympic Committee & International Paralympic Committee on Mental Health
In 2018, recognizing the importance of mental health, the IOC Medical and Scientific Commission assembled a team of international experts to review the scientific literature addressing mental health symptoms and disorders in elite athletes. The result was a landmark Consensus Paper, published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine in May 2019, which recommended prevention and management techniques for doctors, psychiatrists, and other professionals who work with elite athletes.
A number of the authors of the study have since joined the IOC Mental Health Working Group, which is continuing to take action to create effective ways that the Olympic Movement can support you with your mental health.
Both IOC and IPC created the Mentally Fit Helpline which is a free and confidential helpline available to Olympians and Paralympians during the Games. The service supports the mental health and well-being of athletes.
Objective #2
An article published by Well + Good includes statements from sports psychologists and athletes that describe the reality of social media:
"With social media, athletes have a closer proximity to fans, so they’re getting immediate feedback on themselves, their brand, and their ability to perform. It puts athletes under the spotlight and opens them up for criticism not only about their ability to perform, but also about their daily life, which absolutely impacts how they see themselves when they’re playing their sport." (Carter, 2021, p. 3)
NBA Legend, Vince Carter, joins Outside the Lines to discuss the emotional rollercoaster athletes deal with on a daily basis with social media in today's society.
With the emergence of social media, athletes today face more instant criticism which in turn, increases the pressure that is put onto them to perform, and may decrease positive mental health growth.
Objective #3
The Stanford Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences launched a Media and Mental Health Initiative that aims to understand and improve the impact of media on mental health through partnerships, collaboration, and projects aimed to enhance the prosocial safe use of media in multiple forms. One goal within journalism media is to:
"Increase reporting that normalizes the prevalence of mental health conditions and emphasizes stories of help-seeking and recovery. Reduce copycat suicides by increasing reporting that adheres to the safe reporting guidelines for suicide prevention." (Standford Medicine, 2021, p. 3)
Journalist Molly Mita writes on ESPN sports reporters Liz Merrell and Molly Knight, explaining their journalism techniques on taking "Cautious, human touch approach" to covering athlete mental health stories:
"Even with different approaches to the writing and reporting, it was paramount for both women [Merrell & Knight] to establish trust, gain deeper understanding of mental illness and show sensitivity" (Mita, 2018, p. 3).
More Research, Articles, and Resources Relating to the Conversation
Generational and cultural differences regarding the stigma surrounding mental health were discussed when panelists considered younger generations to be more open towards mental health and whereas culture can influence the stigma behind mental health.
Headspace, a great meditation app and coping tool, as mentioned by Dr. Stephany Coakley, is filled with a variety of guided mediations for to help with sleep, stress, and mindfulness.
To Marc Spears' powerful point on how using the word 'minorities' to describe people of color can have a negative connotation, the company Forbes describes their reasoning for dropping 'minorities' out of their writing and vocabulary.
Learn More About Our Panelists' Advocacy & Activism
Dr. Stephany Coakley | Mental Health & Wellness Service for Collegiate and Professional Athletes
Anna Johannes | Coaching
Marc J. Spears | THE UNDEFEATED
Ron Thomas | Hey, Black Mom! and Make A Play Foundation
Books, Articles & Podcasts
Dr. Stephany Coakley | Tye the Dreamer
Anna Johannes | HOW BRANDS ACTIVATED FOR MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS MONTH (2021)
Johannes | Feature | Minority Report Podcast
Marc J. Spears | Chris Paul Continues to Shine Light on HBCUs (2021 October)
Spears | 'We're Moving in the Right Direction'. Black Coaching hires in NBA Bring Excitement (2021 July 19)
Spears | What's Next for the Basketball Africa League (2021 June 1)
Ron Thomas | Primary Researcher | Film | Fields of Fire: Sports in the 1960s
Thomas | Feature | His love of sports led to a dream career. It started at War Memorial (2020 May 17)
Thomas | They Cleared the Lane: The NBA's Black Pioneers
Resources + Best Practices
BABJA | Bay Area Black Journalists Association
NABJ | The National Association of Black Journalists
NAMI | National Alliance on Mental Illness
The NILE List | Support Black Owned Businesses
Thrive DC | Supporting the Homeless in Washington, DC
Toastmasters International | Public Speaking and Leadership Education
Concluding Thoughts Based on Dr. Shaun Fletcher's Final Question
“What would you say is the biggest opportunity we should look towards in our investment [in mental health]?”
Dr. Stephany Coakley - "Making mental health synonymous with health.”
Anna Johannes - "Treating people as people.”
Marc Spears - "Younger generations pushing mental health initiatives forward.”
Ron Thomas - "Do a better job with relationship building with people we cover and get to know players as individuals.”
2021 SPORT, SOCIETY & SOCIAL CHANGE CONFERENCE
Keynote Conversation #2: Media and Mental Health
Thank You for #JoiningtheConversation!
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Creation Credit: Marissa Ramos | ISSSSC Intern 2021-2022 | E: marissa.n.ramos@sjsu.edu
Credits:
Created with images by Pexels - "athlete runner sprint" • Pixelkult - "media social media apps" • lil_foot_ - "journal book desk" • Wokandapix - "mental health wellness psychology"