GRAHAM HRYCE LIKE A FISH OUT OF WATER
Life beyond the pool has proved tough for Grant Hackett, and he’s not the only athlete to struggle, post-career
THE incidents this week involving Grant Hackett, the Gold Coast based Olympic gold medal winning swimmer, raise important issues regarding the fate of elite athletes once their careers have ended.
In recent years, Hackett has been involved in numerous well-publicised incidents involving excessive alcohol consumption and troublesome behaviour. These incidents have led to the breakdown of his marriage, spells in rehab and the loss of well-paid sponsorships and work opportunities as a sports commentator.
They culminated in the events of this week, when Hackett behaved in an aggressive fashion towards his own family who called police and had him arrested. On Wednesday he was taken away from his parents’ Mermaid Waters home in handcuffs. On Thursday morning he disappeared after agreeing to be hospitalised only to re-emerge Thursday evening.
So concerned were Hackett’s family for his welfare that they went public, telling the media that Hackett was “a danger to himself and the community”. On Thursday even- ing they disclosed that Hackett was suffering from serious mental health issues – possibly induced by overuse of the drug Stilnox.
The sight of a dishevelled and disoriented Hackett in the back of a police car, and later emerging from the Southport courthouse, could not have contrasted more starkly with the media coverage of the successful young swimmer of only a few years ago.
Grant Hackett is not the only elite athlete to have gone off the rails once their careers have come to an end.
It is not uncommon these days for former elite athletes to succumb to alcohol, substance abuse and/or depression post retirement. Ian Thorpe, for example, has spoken publicly of his struggle with depression following the end to his unparalleled swimming career.
This phenomenon seems to have emerged only relatively recently. Sports stars of the distant past seemed to manage the transition to retirement much more easily. Many became successful sports commentators or coaches. Some created business careers. Some even became politicians.
At first glance it is puzzling that someone like Hackett has ended up where he has.
He is a multiple Olympic gold winner who had commenced an apparently successful post-swimming career as a sports commentator. He was well liked by the public.
Yet Hackett has been singularly unable to cope with life after the end of his swimming career – even to the extent that, like Thorpe, he made an ill advised comeback years after his initial retirement.
What causes this troubling phenomenon of elite athletes failing to adjust to life after their sporting careers end?
First, one has to look at the nature of modern elite sport. It is now a lucrative business and carried out in the full glare of ongoing intrusive media publicity. Modern sport has become a money and mediadriven spectacle.
Thirty or 40 years ago, elite athletes focused on training and performance. Occasionally they might have given an interview to the media.
Today that is no longer enough. Commercial and media obligations now intrude, often to the extent that it is not possible for elite athletes to have a private life.
Second, many elite athletes live a cocooned existence. Many do not have everyday jobs to keep them grounded. Often all their basic needs are taken care of by a retinue of minders and officials.
It is not surprising, then, that some elite athletes come to believe that they can do absolutely anything. Once in the real world, however – where they must fend for themselves – it becomes painfully apparent that they cannot.
The other side of this is the grossly excessive and undis- cerning public adulation heaped upon modern day elite athletes. Modern society has turned elite athletes into celebrities with all the dangers that dubious status entails.
Many elite athletes willingly accept “celebrity” status only to find that it brings them little or no real satisfaction, particularly after their sporting careers have ended. They live their lives on Facebook and Instagram where anonymous praise easily morphs into rabid abuse. Hackett continued to post on social media this week.
No wonder that some elite athletes suffer from acute adulation deprivation once their careers have ended.
What then can be done to prevent elite athletes from finding themselves in that situation? Unfortunately, there are no easy solutions.
Sports administrators have suggested that elite athletes be taught early on the benefits of planning for a post retirement life.
Others will no doubt suggest that counselling will help.
The only effective solution, however, lies in athletes taking responsibility for their lives and seeking proper professional assistance to enable them to re-adjust to reality.
Having a concerned and supportive family, of the kind that Hackett is fortunate to have, is an important factor in leading to recovery. So too is the support of colleagues, such as Libby Trickett and sports officials such as John Bertrand, which have been forthcoming this week.
Hackett is now attempting to get his life on track with the help of family and supporters. It may be a lengthy process, but all Australians who remember his achievements in the pool will wish him well.