Are Athletes Being Pushed To The Breaking Point?

Are Athletes Being Pushed To The Breaking Point? | Sports Takes & News | TooAthletic.com

The Tokyo Olympic Games were placed on pause for one competitor Tuesday when Simone Biles withdrew from a team event. The cause was the mental health of one of the most popular athletes in the country and world. Biles was quick to receive praise from around the world as athletes showed their support. As those who live in the spotlight continue to let Biles know they understand what she is dealing with, my question is for her and those in other sports: Are athletes being pushed to the breaking point, and if so, by whom?

The level of attention paid on celebrities in modern society has reached monumental levels. That attention is highest for athletes who very often are demanded by the media to speak about their greatest achievements or most disappointing moments, mere minutes after an event is over.

Unlike actors who don’t need to rehearse or perform in front of the media live, athletes are in the spotlight from spring training and training camps to the final play of a season or tournament. For Olympic athletes, the pressure is on full blast once every few years when their biggest stage is prepared, and they are expected to perform their best or face the burden of failure. When the advent of social media and the demands that world-class athletes are expected to carry from sponsors and millions of followers are also factored into the equation, is it any wonder that so many physically gifted athletes are calling for a mental health break just as Simone Biles did?

The tennis media ran to their own defense when Naomi Osaka told them she would no longer require their services at the French Open this spring before withdrawing from the major. “How can she not talk to us,” they cried, “When she talks to us, she is talking to the fans,” they insisted.

Sadly, for the media, (and correctly noticed by Osaka) the notion that fans only connect with athletes through the media microphones is outdated, because if she or any other star athlete wants to communicate with their fans and followers, there are several social media platforms to do just that.

The time has come for society to closely exam how we treat our athletes and ask ourselves how well we would or would not be able to handle the level of scrutiny they are under 24/7/365. Because it is easy to say that they are paid well for their time, but when it’s more than time that is taken away from them, society has made that price too high and will soon notice that some athletes don’t think the millions are worth the migraines. 

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Are Athletes Being Pushed To The Breaking Point? | TooAthletic.com

The post Are Athletes Being Pushed To The Breaking Point? appeared first on TOOATHLETIC TAKES.

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By: Rafael Thomas
Title: Are Athletes Being Pushed To The Breaking Point?
Sourced From: tooathletic.com/are-athletes-being-pushed-to-the-breaking-point/
Published Date: Wed, 28 Jul 2021 16:59:50 +0000

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