Mental Health in College Athletics: It's Time for Social Work to Get in the Game

The mission of the social work profession is to enhance human well-being and to help meet the basic human needs of all people, with particular attention to empowering people who are vulnerable, oppressed, and living in poverty (NASW, 2000).When thinking of vulnerable populations, social work theorists, researchers, and practitioners are not likely to think about college athletics. In part because student-athletes are not considered to be in need because of their physical prowess and their privileged, albeit temporary, status. College sports is one avenue used by adolescents who come from hazardous environments where crime, gang involvement, and poor secondary educational conditions have left them vulnerable (Edwards, 1995). However, just because student-athletes earn the right to attend elite universities, their vulnerability does not diminish. For some African American and international student-athletes, the journey toward empowerment is even more complex because they are oftentimes imported from communities that are very different from the predominately white universities they represent (Hawkins, 2000). The lack of family support, absence of a community, dearth of trusted role models, and student-athlete stereotypes make adapting to their new environment difficult. The case of Anthony Vontoure, a former University of Washington football player, supports the notion that student-athletes are a vulnerable population in need of social work intervention. Vontoure, a cornerback with NFL talent, was dismissed from the football team after frequent outbursts, uncontrollable anger, smashed windows, and conflicts with coaches. On the evening of May 31, 2002, while Vontoure was staying with a friend, the police were summoned to the apartment because Vontoure said he was frightened that little green men in masks wanted to kill him, and his roommates feared he was having a nervous breakdown (Miller, 2002). University of Washington coaches and officials claimed that Vontoure was diagnosed with a bipolar disorder, prescribed medication, and saw counselors. To the contrary, his mother, who battled two bouts of depression, said she was not informed of Anthony's diagnosis and saw no signs that he was on medication. One coach surmised that Vontoure was off his medication when the All-America candidate shared he did not have any money. Five officers were needed to restrain Vontoure, but after his breathing changed from rapid to shallow, he was transported to a local medical center where he was pronounced dead. According to Vontoure's geology professor, "I wasn't surprised something ill overcame him. He was carrying an enormous weight" (Miller p. 1). For student-athletes, earning an academic degree entails more than coursework as evidenced over the past several years by the increase in mental health issues on college campuses (Benton, Robertson, Tseng, Newton, & Benton, 2003). The perception is that student-athletes are immune to the difficulties other college students face; the reality is that they may be at even greater risk of poor mental health because of the pressure of commercialized college sports (Sack, 2001). It is estimated that 10 percent to 20 percent of the 360,000 college student-athletes suffer from depression (Gardiner, 2006), student-athletes suffer from depression more often than their non-student-athlete peers (Maniar, Chamberlain, & Moore, 2005), and student-athletes with positive psychiatric symptoms have higher rates of substance abuse (Miller, Miller, Verhegge, Linville, & Pumariega, 2002). The research foci and findings imply that social work is an appropriate profession to promote student-athlete development and to fill an apparent gap in student-athlete services. ATHLETIC DEPARTMENTS RESPOND A growing number of athletic departments recognize the need to address mental health issues. A handful of Division I athletic departments have hired in-house sport psychologists, others refer student-athletes to sport psychologists, and some have created a mental health component within athletics. …