Everyone views athletes as people that are able to overcome any obstacle. They are portrayed as these superhuman beings that excel in their respective sports. Mainly idolized for their physical strength and skills, one thing gets left out, their mental health. Being pressured to always perform better than everyone else can have a huge toll on an athlete’s mental state. Two articles that speak about the impact of mental health on athletes are an article written by Cleveland Clinic titled “Athletes and Mental Health: Breaking the Stigma” and an article written by NBA player Kevin Love titled “Everyone Is Going Through Something.” These articles utilize three conventions to address the topic of mental health affecting athletes.
One writing convention that is present in both articles is tone. In Kevin Love’s article published on ThePlayers’Tribune, he speaks on a personal experience that he faced himself. Love goes on to share that he never thought mental health was an issue he would personally have to deal with, but him suffering a panic attack changed that. His word choice is very casual, as if he is having a one-on-one conversation with the reader. He is able to impact the readers and indulge them to connect with him. On the contrary, the Cleveland Clinic’s “Athletes and Mental Health: Breaking the Stigma” word choice leans more towards a serious tone. The author and Dr. Sacco speak more formally throughout their article compared to Kevin Love since they have a more formal background. Due to their background, readers can’t help but approach the article in a more serious tone. There is less personal connection compared to Love’s writing, but there are some suggestions Dr. Sacco makes at the end of the article towards parents of athletes.
Moreover, a second writing convention both articles use is their credibility. Kevin Love is an athlete who is directly affected by the impacts of mental health. He speaks about what went on through his mind prior and after his panic attack. His experience is one-of-one, and makes readers willing to believe his words since other players like him are the center of this topic. A combination of ethos and pathos is present. Love uses ethos due to his athletic credibility and further emphasizes it with the use of pathos to make readers feel what he went through. Alternatively, the Cleveland Clinic leverages their article with the use of their medical platform. The Cleveland Clinic is a nonprofit medical center that encourages learning and teaching. As a result, their article uses resources such as a study conducted in 2016 on college athletes and details from their own scientific research. For instance, the article provides several possible “signs that an athlete may need an assessment of their mental health…” (Cleveland Clinic). Towards the end of the article, Dr. Sacco gives their input on what should be done to improve the mental health of athletes based on the information presented.
The third convention present in these two articles is presentation. There is a difference in the way the words are provided between both articles. “Everyone Is Going Through Something” is formatted in such a way that it almost comes off like a story. The article starts out with a sentence separated from the rest, “On November 5th, right after halftime against the Hawks, I had a panic attack” (Love). It is clear how the writing is meant to be interpreted because of its formatting. Love is able to share his inner thoughts by italicizing specific sentences to give off a storytelling feeling. However, “Athletes and Mental Health: Breaking the Stigma” is formatted similarly to an interview. The writer of the article brings up important topics such as how athletes are people too, how mental health affects performance, and how mental health should be a priority for athletes. After laying out different points, Dr. Sacco adds on by providing professional knowledge and potential solutions. Bullet points are also used to list important factors related to signs of stress. As mentioned earlier, it makes the article feel less personal to the readers.
All in all, Kevin Love and the Cleveland Clinic use different writing conventions to their advantage in order to highlight important points. Kevin Love is able to connect with readers on a casual level by sharing a personal experience. His story-like article makes it easy to follow along and clearly show his intentions and feelings all throughout. The Cleveland Clinic creates a more formal vibe with its use of academic vocabulary. Readers aren’t able to follow along with their writing on a personal level like Love’s article. Additionally, both authors have different forms of credibility. Kevin Love is an NBA athlete who experiences the effects of mental health on the court. The Cleveland Clinic is filled with medical professionals who study the effects of mental health on athletes such as Kevin Love. Last of all, the style of writing is different in both articles as Love is able to tell a story but is also able to inform at the same time. The Cleveland Clinic’s writing is formatted more neatly and separated into different topics. This allows for Dr. Sacco to give his professional input where necessary. The way each author uses these writing conventions allows them to touch on the importance of the impact mental health has on athletes.