Chamique Holdsclaw, Sandy Brondello and Mental Health
Thought this sub would appreciate this.
Tamika Catchings and Chamique Holdsclaw, both Basketball Hall of Famers and two of the greatest women’s college basketball players in history, are guests this week on my Sports Media Podcast. They are now analysts for USA Network’s coverage of the WNBA. If you are not familiar with Holdsclaw’s story, she’s been incredibly public about her mental health journey — she lives with bipolar illness and has been open about her bouts with depression. She was a forerunner among star athletes on being public about mental health.
Here is what she said during our interview:
**“**People didn't know how to handle me being so open about it [mental health]. Former teammates and also men in professional sports would say to me, ‘why do you want to share these type of things? I'm struggling with it too but I can never do that because people are going to judge and people are gonna think your crazy.’ But for me, it came to a point where it was really impacting my quality of life, struggling with suicidal ideation. It was something that was really serious. I felt like, I can't hide behind this anymore. I have to I have speak about it. Then in speaking about it, I found healing. I found a different support. I wasn't the only one like going through this. I was able to share those spaces with people that were going through something similar, people who wanted to create change. So it's been a beautiful journey for me. It's been one growth. To kick down some walls and barriers, it feels damn good in that space.
I remember I played in San Antonio (in 2010) and I was having a really hard time. It was a stage where I took ownership. I went to my coach who is now the coach of the Toronto Tempo, Sandy Brondello. I said, “Sandy, I think I need to go see a psychiatrist because with my medication, something's a little off. It could be environmental, dealing with San Antonio in the heat or the change of scenery. She said okay, and the team got me an appointment. I went to the therapist and Sandy came back and she was so embarrassed, She goes, “They don't want to pay for it.” I said, “How much is it? I said I can pay for it, Sandy.” She says, no, no no, I'm gonna pay. It was like $350. I was like, “You guys [the org] have paid for me to have all these MRIs, but you wouldn't pay for this?" I'm just glad now that these women [in the WNBA] don't have to deal with that. When they have their preseason meetings, they give resources like how to contact a therapist and the benefits that will support you and align with your needs. That’s real growth.”
I wanted to make sure I heard what I heard. I asked Chamique: Wait, Sandy Brondello was willing to pay for your therapy out of her own pocket?
Said Chamique: “Yeah, she sure did. And that really stuck with me. Of course I had the money to pay for it but for her to step up and say that, I don't know, I never forget that. Every time I see Sandy, I always bring up that story because it really touched me.”
If you want to listen to the full interview, it's here: https://swap.fm/l/4apy5A6FmakGYZa2Tfop
