Athletes’ mental health must be protected from the press

The media affects the mental health of athletes in Jamaica. David Riley, president of Jamaica Track and Field Coaches Association, said there were several cases in which the media’s reporting of an event may have caused an athlete to be discouraged. This is observed in the reporting on international meets where the expectation of Jamaican athletes is exceptionally high. “Where an athlete competing in a relay did their best but the other athletes were better and just ran past them and then the press just made it seem like the athlete lost the race for Jamaica,” said Riley. Riley noted that the athlete he referred to had received counseling and recovered from the criticism but, “It was so bad that the person came to the point where they wanted to quit because of the kind of things that were being said,” said Riley.

Additionally, Riley noted that athletes do have a right to decline to speak with the press. “If they are not comfortable with the topic, if the topic is gonna lead to some kind of controversy which is gonna lead to more questions, I think they should,” said Riley. He said it was better for the athletes to gather their thoughts before deciding to speak to the press, and some training for the athletes in this matter might also be useful.

However, Tissanna Hickling, Jamaican long jump athlete, shared that she was more affected by the lack of publicity and attention given to field events. “My event is not really a highlighted event so when we do have significant results in the jumps and field events, it is not highlighted as much as the track events. We try to get feedback from the press to see how our country feels but they don’t really acknowledge us much as field athletes,” said Hickling. She stated that this was demotivating and had led her to train harder to get the same recognition as track and field athletes.

However, she said press reports did not affect her mentally. “As athletes, we have to be prepared mentally, not only on the track but outside of track and field. People will come, especially from the media, and say a lot of stuff so it doesn’t affect me,” said Hickling. She observed that she had to be open to the opinions of her colleagues and the media in order to do her job. However, she supported athletes who decided to take a break from the press and social media.

Garth Gayle, president of the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA), said the athletes’ management teams need to be able to help athletes to deal with the issues they face with the press. “Press in Jamaica tends to go hard and it is not understood at times, and sometimes deemed to be cold,” said Gayle. He noted that even though athletes had to interact with the press, it is important that the management teams guide athletes away from the press whenever necessary.