What We Owe Stephon Marbury
Every now and then in sports, there comes moments that supersede wins and losses, bad seasons, and just about everything else these athletic competitions can breed.
I say this now because tomorrow evening on HBO’s “Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel” there will be a revealing interview with former Knick Stephon Marbury that will probably give some context to his erratic behavior during the tail end of his Knicks career. Knick fans should probably make it a point to give this a view.
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Based on early reports, perhaps unsurprisingly, Marbury will reveal that he was suffering from a debilitating depression that lead to suicidal thoughts. Just a few weeks ago I wrote about the Knicks tumultuous 2007 season and said that one was actually worst than this current once because of the off the court drama, which much of it was driven by Marbury’s increasingly bizarre behavior.
Like most Knick fans, I was absolutely disgusted by that season and am still pretty bitter about it, especially Marbury. However, I admit that I forgot how cold we fans can be when we limit our views of a team or player in the confines of what happens on the court or what’s reported in the papers. I owe it to Marbury to watch this interview and encourage other Knick fans to do so as well.
Sure we can get irrationally passionate about sports and don’t owe it to anyone to have anything more than objective thoughts on a player or team, but sometimes it takes a moment like this to awaken us from the stupor sports can numb us to after following a team for so long. After all, on television these players can look like super-human gladiators we cheer and jeer for our entertainment. We sometimes convince ourselves, perhaps bitingly, that their astronomical salaries justify us treating them like jesters that exist solely for our entertainment, so harsh judgment of them is perfectly fine when we consider how difficult our personal lives can be.
As 2014 has shown us, our idols often go through the same struggles we do. Mental health isn’t a sexy
topic that gets debated a lot in the media because, well, there isn’t much there to really debate about. It’s not a subject that the right and left leaning “sides” can easily be extrapolated from and because of that, its not something that will get a lot of coverage on the cables circuits. However, just as we mourn the losses of respected luminaries Robin Williams, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and of course all the nameless others who’s lives ended because of a gripping depression, let us remind ourselves that athletes aren’t any different than us.
I think many of us suspected Marbury was going through a bout of depression during that season, but it was easier to make light of it than to be humane about it. I was one of those people that didn’t reflect too much on what his personal situation was because I convinced myself I only cared about the Knicks and just wanted him off my team to save our franchise the embarrassment of having a “vaseline eating weirdo” on our roster.
Looking back, I feel horrible about the things I said about him and will always remember this lesson when I get enraged over the current Knicks struggles. It’s the least I can do and frankly, its what I feel I owe Marbury. I’ll always remind myself that these players aren’t superheroes, they are just as human as the rest of us and deserve the dignity we would hope to be treated with despite our personal struggles. That lesson in itself is one those things that can really transcend sports.