MENTAL HEALTH ON SPORTS TALK RADIO: KEVIN LOVE’S BALL

Mental health came up on sports talk radio, and Kevin Love was the reference.

As if we don’t have enough health problems, now it’s mental?

This is good, and we’ve got someone who stands up to talk about it in Kevin Love.

Is he the right guy? Is any NBA star the right person to talk about mental health?

Consider how they are recruited as boys, enrolled in travel teams, and flooded with the sort of gear that might make them sign an endorsement deal when they hit the big time.

Sometimes the special treatment doesn’t last if the player peaks in high school, or college, or goes to a bad NBA team and their career tanks.

Kevin Love was a force for the Timberwolves, good enough to make LeBron’s short list of guys he wanted on his team.

The results came with an NBA Championship for Cleveland before LeBron departed for the Lakers.

I have a feeling mental health takes a beating when you go from playing with one of the greatest of all time, to playing with everyone else.

K Love worked hard to keep up by hiring people so he could avoid eating himself out of the league, lazy-ing his way out, or just punching the clock until retirement. Love showed the sort of role model stuff younger players can adopt.

Eat right . . . workout hard . . . get your sleep . . . avoid the guys who aren’t invested in your future as much as you are . . . leave hard party life to guys who don’t want to eat right, workout hard, rest up.

Remember, everyone is going through something, and you aren’t always a part of it.

If you are, be a good listener.