National Basketball Association Commissioner Adam Silver made an important comment this week at the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference in Boston, saying that a lot of players are âunhappyâ and acknowledging the very real impact of mental health problems on people, no matter how much fame or money they have.
As a benefits writer who occasionally covers mental health, I think itâs genuinely positive when a powerful figure makes a straightforward, sympathetic comment about mental health issues.
Still, I donât agree with everything Silver said. According to CBS Sports, Silver said, âWe are living in a time of anxiety. I think it’s a direct result of social media. A lot of players are unhappy.”
I contend that this argument is too simplistic. Iâve seen this argument before in research and reading, this concern that technology or social media is making people more depressed or anxious.
I prefer a more nuanced approach. Yes, social media has become increasingly ubiquitous over recent years and so has this trend of people being more open about mental health problems, but this sounds more like correlation than causation. Thatâs a topic worthy of more research.
Mental illness isnât as simple as X caused Y. Being too focused on social media and technologyâs impacts could blind you from other factors that could influence mental health, like personal or professional problems, going through a traumatic event or something physical like brain chemistry. In the context of the NBA, there are understandably some stressors specific to being a professional athlete.
I also donât believe that mental illnesses are any more or less common than they have been historically. At least I havenât seen or heard any convincing evidence of that. We need to acknowledge the very real fact that because of stigma, this wasnât something that people talked about for a long time.
The lack of public acknowledgement doesnât mean it did not exist. Whenever someone makes the âtechnology/social media causes mental problemsâ argument, I wonder if theyâve ever stopped to consider historical context. I wonder if they truly think depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, borderline personality disorder and panic attacks just didnât happen before. That sounds naĂŻve to me.
Regardless of my preference for a more nuanced take on the causes of mental health problems, I love seeing that the league commissioner is talking about it. This also led to me read about the NBAâs mental wellness program and the organizationâs decision to hire a director of mental health and wellness.
The details of the mental health program are interesting. This story references the leagueâs old policies to deal with mental health problems, often by team physicians who had no expertise in mental health.
It talks about the NBAâs decision to create a wellness program and the time and considerations that went into it. Basically, this is a comprehensive case study that also brings up some philosophical questions about wellness programs.
It also brings up a noteworthy point about privacy and transparency. The wellness program is run independently of the teams, league and playersâ union. According to the article, Michele Roberts, executive director of the National Basketball Players Association said, âWe donât want players to be discouraged from getting help when they need it because theyâre concerned that it will get back to the team, or it may affect their play, or it may affect their next contract.â Yet, the article continues, âeven that can be debated when it comes to wellness.â
Data privacy and health privacy are topics I care about, which is why itâs intriguing to find debates like this. This story makes a point that when more people are open and transparent about mental health, thereâs less stigma.
Wanting anonymity when youâre seeking mental health treatment helps âcontribute to the continued stigma.â Further, one former player expressed concern that when people want anonymity, people like him are then persecuted for being up front.
I get this to a certain degree, and I understand this personâs idealized version of the world where everyone can be open about everything and thereâs no judgment or consequences. But mostly I prefer to be realistic.
In any organizationâs wellness program, privacy should be a clear choice. Health information is private, and no employee should feel pressured to talk publicly about something they want to keep private. HIPAA exists for a reason. And, yes, HIPAA doesnât apply to many wellness programs, but that doesnât mean that organizations should respect employee health privacy any less.
As employers get increasingly involved in employeesâ physical, mental and financial health, itâs worth a reminder that many people want privacy, and that a respectful employer doesnât pry into peopleâs personal data.