Earlier this week, Kevin Love published an article at the Players’ Tribune describing in detail a panic attack and explaining how much psychotherapy has helped him since then. On Wednesday, the Cleveland Cavaliers forward said that this message could become his “life’s work”.
“After this game against the Hawks in November, I felt like I had to face up to myself, but I also thought yesterday that this could be a great opportunity to help other people. That’s why I tried.”
The positive reactions would have surprised him:”I never expected the reactions to turn out like this. It’s unbelievable what we can achieve with our platform, but as I said before, everyone is going through something. Everyone experiences things that others can’t see, that they have to live with every day.”
Love once again emphasized that DeMar DeRozan’s statements about the All-Star Weekend encouraged him to make his own problems public:”I might not have pressed’ Send’ yesterday,”Love said,”He opened the door for me. I have enormous respect for him.”
On Twitter, Love has already given out a private email address to people who feel they can talk to him about their problems. He has already received a lot of news:”The right word is overwhelming, but I mean positive. Especially as men we are really behind in this respect and still have to learn how to communicate in this case. This could be a life’s work for me.”
On Wednesday, Wizards-forward Kelly Oubre also spoke about the subject and said that he could identify with it,”I’m good at keeping a poker face because I was taught that way. But deep down inside I go through a lot,”says Oubre.
LeBron James was also asked if the Cavs would see Love differently, but he denied it:”As athletes we are often put on a podium, but we experience the same things as other people. We’re all human. I think it’s impressive that he recognizes this in himself and realizes that he can also help other people.”