It’s been a tough summer for the sports world with a startling sequence of curious passings by prominent names, most notably in hockey & in baseball.
I’m sure the circumstances in each individual case are vastly different, but the passings of Wade Belak, Derek Boogaard, Mike Flanagan & Rick Rypien all had a common, almost murky element attached to them.
Furthermore, the most common link in the aftermath of those four departures was the follow up assertion that the professional leagues and their respective players associations aren’t doing enough to aid and assist the performers when they play, and when they complete their playing careers.
Sorry, but I don’t subscribe to that theory, and as a result in certain circles I’ll be perceived as being an insensitive jerk.
Here’s what I believe;…..
There are very, very few examples of suicide that I can sympathize with, part of a personal upbringing in which suicide was labelled as a supreme act of selfishness.
Furthermore, existing far from the glamorized world of pro sports, I find it difficult to identify with the personal needs of the opulent.
Who among us couldn’t be a great drunk, an abuser of drugs or an out-of-control gambler ?
Within a block of where I’m sitting, and where we live, there are thousands of people under far greater pressure, financial or otherwise, than most professional athletes.
What prevents almost everyone from a personal slide is self responsibility, accountability, strength of character and most of all, common sense.
I do feel sad for families left to deal with so many aspects of these seemingly strange departures, but I really don’t think the onus for personal caretaking should be the responsibility of the NHL, Major League Baseball or their respective players associations
I’m Fred Wallace