Three Point Shot!
For most of his 32 years, five-time All-Star Kevin Love of the Cleveland Cavaliers had shared with no-one his struggles with depression related to the death of his beloved grandmother. Despite that loss and his grief at not being able to tell her goodbye, he buried his emotions inside himself, afraid that others would see him as weak if he shared his loss with anyone. But, like most buried emotions, they came back away, in a way he had not planned or expected – a panic attack in November 2017 during the Cavs’ 10th game of the season, at home against the Atlanta Hawks.
Three minutes after tip-off, Kevin Love had to leave the game and the arena, unable to play.
The Cavs’ management encouraged him to see a therapist, and he continued to see one several times a month when his team was in Cleveland. In his first game back and after he had broken his left hand, he returned to the court and scored 18 points in the Cavs’ seven-point win over the Milwaukee Bucks. Kevin Love’s advice to all of us who are struggling with such feelings as loss, depression, or anger is that ‘everyone is going through something.’ And that we must be willing to try to find what that ‘something’ is and then deal with it in a way that makes sense.
It may be something that we can’t see. Maybe something that’s happened to us or to our families. Maybe a stigma that we feel we can’t talk about or share with others.
Please remember that if we keep that ‘something’ inside ourselves, it’s going to come out one way or another. Maybe a panic attack. Maybe harm to others, like fighting or bullying someone. Or a school shooting. Or maybe harm to ourselves, such as cutting. Or even suicide.
A person you know or a stranger you meet may be going through something that neither you nor he or she can see without some help from someone who will listen and try to understand. Kevin Love feels that the biggest lessons for him was: One, accepting the fact that he had a problem. Two, seeking help for it. Three, following through and getting whatever help he needed. A three-point shot! Not a free-throw. Not a close-in jump shot or tip-in. But a shot beyond the arc!
That three-point shot got Kevin back on the court. And has kept him in the game.
Read Kevin’s essay titled ‘Everyone Is Going Through Something’ which was published by The Players Tribune on March 6, 2018.
To learn more about Kevin’s work, check out his foundation: