Overview

A comprehensive examination of the mental health challenges that elite athletes face in America’s most popular sports. Athletes that compete at a high level—whether in professional, college, or Olympic sports—face numerous mental health challenges as they strive for perfection and ultimately victory in their sports. And while mental health awareness for athletes is better than it once was, efforts to hide the existence of these mental disorders and challenges remain well-ingrained. In The Burden of Sports, John Weston Parry examines the mental health and emotional well-being of elite American athletes generally, as well as in relation to spectator sports propaganda, the legal system, politics, and the effects of the Covid pandemic. This book covers mental health conditions that any elite athlete may encounter, from depression and anxiety to substance abuse and concussion-caused brain damage, to the special challenges of female, queer, transgender, and intersex athletes. Featured throughout are narratives of well-known American athletes, including Simone Biles, Naomi Osaka, Michael Sam, and Tiger Woods. From individual and team pressures to win and attain sport perfection to the prejudice and ignorance of fans, management, and corporate sponsors about mental health, addressing the mental health of athletes and challenging the public perception of such struggles is long overdue. This is a timely and necessary book for readers that want to see sports change for the better in support of America’s athletes.

Full Product Details

Author:   John Weston Parry
Publisher:   Rowman & Littlefield
Imprint:   Rowman & Littlefield
Dimensions:   Width: 15.70cm , Height: 2.90cm , Length: 23.50cm
Weight:   0.630kg
ISBN:  

9781538175538

ISBN 10:   1538175533
Pages:   376
Publication Date:   23 January 2024
Audience:   General/trade ,  General
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Manufactured on demand  
We will order this item for you from a manufactured on demand supplier.

Table of Contents

Preface Introduction PART I Three Spectator Sports Characteristics That Threaten Athletes’ Health and Mental Health: An Overview Chapter 1: A Single-Minded Pursuit of Spectator Sports Rewards Chapter 2: The American Legal System Unreasonably and Unfairly Favors Spectator Sports Organizations Chapter 3: Sportswashing, As Part of an Expanding Spectator Sports Propaganda Arsenal PART II Athletes’ Spectator Sports Mental Health Challenges Chapter 4: Mental Conditions That Athletes, Like Everyone Else, May Experience Chapter 5: Sports-Related `Yips, Stress, Anxiety, and Depression Chapter 6: Evolving Covid Risks: Known, Suspected, and Unknown Chapter 7: CTE, Brain Damage and Related Erratic Behaviors Chapter 8: Athletes’ Substance Abuse and Dependency PART III Mental Health and Emotional Well-Being Challenges of Marginalized Athletes Chapter 10: Female Athletes Chapter 11: Queer Athletes and Sports HomophobiaChapter 12: Intersex- and Trans-Athletes, Not Being Female Enough Conclusion Notes Bibliography Index About the Author

Reviews

"In the illustrative tradition of Leonardo Da Vinci, Parry's work provides us with a beautifully researched and written atlas of the dynamics of a win-at-all-costs mentality. It vividly portrays sports' ableism, physical perfectionism, and exploitation and marginalization of ""losers"" and those who do not conform to conventional heroic stereotypes. From experts and students of sports medicine to bioethicists to sports fans and the general public, all will learn from, enjoy, and cheer on the thoughtfully artful author as he gives new meaning to being ""a good sport"". --Harold J. Bursztajn M.D., co-founder, Program in Psychiatry and the Law at Harvard Medical School The struggles of superstars such as Naomi Osaka, Simone Biles, and Michael Phelps have put the issue of the mental health of athletes front and center in our discussion of sports. John Weston Parry's timely book, The Burden of Sports: How and Why Athletes Struggle with Mental Health, is a much needed and even-handed look at the various issues athletes face in their quest to entertain us and become the best they can be. While Parry focuses mostly on the problems in major American spectator sports, I think this important book will resonate throughout all levels of the national sports landscape. --Fred Bowen, Washington Post sports columnist for kids and children's book author"

"Lawyer/legal editor/mental health specialist Parry presents an in-depth study of the mental health and emotional well-being of professional athletes, particularly those who are stigmatized in the sports industry and in society for seeking professional help or taking a break to improve their mental health. This book shows that some athletes--especially the more famous ones--who seek help from a psychiatrist or counselor often find themselves barraged with criticism and outright nasty or hurtful comments from people on social media and in the press. Parry's book is ripe with current scholarship, including personal statements from dozens of well-known athletes and potential solutions to many related social issues. Of particular interest is a distinctive and memorable chapter about 'evolving COVID risks.' It would be hard to find a current work in this area more thorough and complete than Parry's. Timely and important, this title has the potential to change the sports industry worldwide. -- ""Library Journal, Starred Review"" In the illustrative tradition of Leonardo Da Vinci, Parry's work provides us with a beautifully researched and written atlas of the dynamics of a win-at-all-costs mentality. It vividly portrays sports' ableism, physical perfectionism, and exploitation and marginalization of ""losers"" and those who do not conform to conventional heroic stereotypes. From experts and students of sports medicine to bioethicists to sports fans and the general public, all will learn from, enjoy, and cheer on the thoughtfully artful author as he gives new meaning to being ""a good sport"". --Harold J. Bursztajn M.D., co-founder, Program in Psychiatry and the Law at Harvard Medical School The struggles of superstars such as Naomi Osaka, Simone Biles, and Michael Phelps have put the issue of the mental health of athletes front and center in our discussion of sports. John Weston Parry's timely book, The Burden of Sports: How and Why Athletes Struggle with Mental Health, is a much needed and even-handed look at the various issues athletes face in their quest to entertain us and become the best they can be. While Parry focuses mostly on the problems in major American spectator sports, I think this important book will resonate throughout all levels of the national sports landscape. --Fred Bowen, Washington Post sports columnist for kids and children's book author"

"In the illustrative tradition of Leonardo Da Vinci, Parry's work provides us with a beautifully researched and written atlas of the dynamics of a win-at-all-costs mentality. It portrays vividly sports' ableism, physical perfectionism, and exploitation and marginalization of ""losers"" and those who do not conform to conventional heroic stereotypes. From experts and students of sports medicine to bioethicists to sports fans and the general public, all will learn from, enjoy, and cheer on the thoughtfully artful author as he gives new meaning to being ""a good sport"".--Harold J. Bursztajn M.D., co-founder, Program in Psychiatry and the Law at Harvard Medical School The struggles of superstars such as Naomi Osaka, Simone Biles, and Michael Phelps have put the issue of the mental health of athletes front and center in our discussion of sports. John Parry's timely book, The Burden of Sports: How and Why Athletes Struggle with Mental Health, is a much needed and even-handed look at the various issues athletes face in their quest to entertain us and become the best they can be. While Parry focuses mostly on the problems in major American spectator sports, I think his important book will resonate throughout all levels of the national sports landscape.--Fred Bowen, Washington Post sports columnist for kids and children's book author"

Author Information

John Western Parry is a lawyer, writer, and former substantive legal editor with many years of experience covering issues related to sports, mental health law, and disability rights. He has been the host and primary content provider for the website and blog, Sportpathogies.com since 2016. He also is the author of The Athlete’s Dilemma: Sacrificing Health for Wealth and Fame (Rowman & Littlefield, 2017) and Mental Disability, Violence, Future Dangerousness: Myths Behind the Presumption of Guilt (Rowman & Littlefield, 2013). In addition, he is a past recipient of the Manfred Guttmacher Award from the American Psychiatric Association and the American Academy of Psychiatry and Law. He lives in Silver Spring, Maryland.

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