Tony Dallas

Published: 20 February 2014

THERE’S is a darker side to fame and fortune that those of us without it often misunderstand.

Maybe we choose to be blinkered because sports stars and celebrities evoke different emotions in all of us. We become unsympathetic to the “richer than I am” footballers when we hear that they’re tired because they’ve played too many games. How’s the ordinary nine-to-fiver ever going to accept that a player, who plays two competitive matches a week at most is suffering from depression?

Yet, just one year after being launched, the PFA’s counselling network has already worked with nearly 150 footballers suffering depression, addiction and anxiety.

For years footballers suffered in silence because of a perceived stigma attached to speaking out. The fear of nobody understanding, especially when you’re a multi-millionaire.

Wales manager Gary Speed’s death in 2011, however, increased awareness of the problems faced by many current and retired players.

Speed’s agent Hayden Evans said: “On a personal basis it has been a huge loss to everybody but there’s been some gain in terms of benefiting for his fellow professionals.”

I think part of the problem for some players is that the riches arrive way too early. To suddenly be able to have everything you want results in you wanting everything – and once you’ve attained that and got bored of it, the trouble begins. You’re susceptible to every negative influence possible.

Statistics show that, on average, a person will have 10 to 14 different jobs over their lifetime and around three or four career changes.

But once a footballer’s career is finished, whether through injury or old age, many have no idea what to do next because football is all they’ve ever known. The adoration is gone. They might still be respected but very few are revered.

When the applause stops, sportsmen and women have to find a way to rediscover an adrenaline buzz that most of us couldn’t even imagine.

I know that the FA are taking matters surrounding young players’ wellbeing very seriously, with training and enrichment programmes that look at building emotional resilience around the ups and downs of professional football. For that, they are to be applauded. We’ve all been depressed or anxious at some time in our lives and, for whatever reason, haven’t felt strong enough to reveal it.

We need to equip ourselves with the skills that enable us not only to speak out when there is something troubling us, but to also have the empathy and compassion to listen and not judge when somebody else is suffering.    
                  
TONY DALLAS

• Does society care enough about the hidden malaise of depression that afflicts so many sports stars? Have your say at sports@camdennewjournal.com