Robert Enke, Football, and the Acceptance Of Mental Illness.

By Neal Hepworth, writing from Middlesbrough

The death of any athlete is always guaranteed to shock a nation. After retirement it’s often easier to dismiss, as they’re not seen as the bastion of physical fitness they were on the field, you only need to look at much of the reaction to Paul Gascoigne’s recent issues to know this. So for somebody to be cut down (Marc Vivien-Foe being the one that sticks most in my memory) in their sporting prime is a wound which club and country often struggle to deal with.

Much of this is strictly physical however, as ‘mental strength’ is a much loved phrase in sporting culture, no less in football. During the World Cup we heard remarks that Asamoah Gyan (upon missing a crucial last minute penalty) didn’t have the neccessary ‘mental strength’ for the situation. We hear that Wayne Rooney is losing form because he doesn’t have the required mental strength to deal with the allegations about his private life and kick a ball about for 90 minutes. Dressing room ‘banter’ picks out any perceived weakness and amplifies it, and players tackle this head on in the name of team building.

Robert Enke took his own life a year ago today.

(Source: philosofooty)