SEPTEMBER 2021 • LONGISLANDPRESS.COM 77
FAMILY & EDUCATION
Simone Biles of the United States in action on the balance beam. (REUTERS/
Lindsey Wasson)
Naomi Osaka plays in the women's tennis third round singles during the
Tokyo 2020 Olympic Summer Games. (Credit: Yukihito Taguchi-USA TODAY Sports)
A WIN FOR MENTAL HEALTH
BILES, OSAKA DESTIGMATIZING MENTAL HEALTH STRUGGLES FOR STUDENT-ATHLETES
BY BERNADETTE STARZEE
The recent withdrawals for mental health reasons by gymnastics great Simone Biles
from the Tokyo Olympics and tennis star Naomi Osaka from Wimbledon, the oldest
tennis tournament in the world, will go a long way toward reducing the stigma of
mental health concerns among student-athletes, according to professionals at Long
Island universities.
“What Biles and Osaka did was open up the opportunity to bring what is often a
taboo topic to the fore, and, as a result, mental health, which is highly stigmatized
in athletic communities, is becoming less so,” said Josh Altman, Ph.D., LCSW,
associate director of the Student Counseling Center at Adelphi University in Garden
City. “With Biles and Osaka putting their mental health first and foremost, it provided
an opportunity for a conversation that sorely needed to take place.”
College athletes, like all people, may struggle with a range of mental health issues.
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