WHEN EMMA KEELING MET TYSON FURY
WHY I'VE MISJUDGED THIS FOUL-MOUTHED GYPSY KING
What do England rugby star Jonny Wilkinson, boxer Tyson Fury and American runner Mary Cain have in common? It’s not a question you’ll hear at a local pub quiz, but they and other athletes are opening up about their mental illness. Grateful fans dealing with their own issues are listening but what about the people at the top?
When I first met Tyson Fury he was acting like one of the lads, watching on as cousin Hughie prepared to fight Joe Parker. In the past he’d made insulting comments about women and homosexuality and when he went on a foulmouthed rant after Parker was awarded the fight I felt I had a good idea of the kind of man he was. But you shouldn’t believe everything you see and hear.
The Gypsy King has just released his autobiography Behind The Mask, and talks about his suicidal thoughts, his struggle with depression and the role boxing has played. Fury started playing a part, being arrogant and cocky because nice guys didn’t get the attention. ‘‘I eventually lost myself in this character.’’
In almost every interview I’ve seen with him during the past year, he talked about mental illness and urged people to seek help like he did. The issue is far bigger than most of us realise. Athletes are helping us see that. But as our awareness grows is the support and response keeping up?
The pressures at the top of professional sport are often hidden from fans, who are there for the joy of it while the media are just hoping for an interview that doesn’t contain too many ‘full credit to the boys’ and ‘we’re focusing on our own game’ comments. Gradually, athletes have become more willing to show their vulnerability, which must be frightening when you’re supposed to be superhuman and you still desperately need to make the team.
Jonny Wilkinson certainly never let his game-face slip. It was September, as I geared up for the excitement of the Rugby World Cup, when the World Cupwinner’s words left me stunned. He had always suffered from anxiety. The World Cup became the defining moment, ‘‘so it reinforced this idea that I needed to destroy myself physically and mentally.’’ He spoke about the amateur-era guys having a better balance and the many modern players who suffer like he did.
Six months earlier, former Wasps forward Kearnan Myall had revealed the suffering at the top of English rugby. He was on the brink of suicide and felt unable to seek help for fear of being dropped. He said several current English squad members dreaded Eddie Jones’ training camps because of the workload and scrutiny. With so many alarm bells being rung before their World Cup final disappointment, you hope the sport has being paying attention.
You wonder if Nike has kept it’s eye on the ball after runner Mary Cain recently accused trainer Alberto Salazar of ‘‘emotional and physical abuse’’. He coached her at the now disbanded Nike Oregon Project. Cain said he constantly demanded she lose weight, shaming her in front of team-mates. She stopped menstruating for three years, broke five bones because of osteoporosis, and began to feel suicidal. ‘‘I started to cut myself. Some people saw me cutting myself. And nobody really did anything.’’
Former Project Oregon members have backed up her claims. US 10,000m runner Kara Goucher explained how athletes will often follow instructions, no matter how uncomfortable they feel. ‘‘Your careers are so short . . . You want to capitalise on your career, but you’re not sure at what cost.’’
During the week, Salazar apologised, sort of. He insisted the focus on weight was to help athletes’ perform. ‘‘If any athlete was hurt by any comments that I have made, such an effect was entirely unintended, and I am sorry.’’
Nike says it’s taking the allegations seriously and is launching an investigation. Maybe they could take inspiration from some of their world famous slogans? ‘‘Failure’s not an option. It’s a step.’’ ‘‘Rewrite history. Redefine the position.’’ ‘‘You don’t get it by wishing.’’
With the addition of two ITF tournaments and the Fed Cup, it could be said there’s a genuine summer of tennis coming up in New Zealand.
But Tennis NZ highperformance director Simon Rea wants this to be just the start of an expanding schedule to help young players make the jump to the professional ranks.
In 2012, Tennis NZ decided to scrap its professional ITF tournaments to save money. These are events well below the level of the ASB Classic, but provide an important stepping stone for players, enabling them to pick up ranking points and move to bigger tournaments.
Since then, aspiring players have had to pick up the extra expense of going overseas to play their first tournaments and hope that they get into the draws as they’ve got no chance of picking up wildcards.
But tournaments back in this country offer a cheaper pathway in an expensive sport.
‘‘It’s really important to have aspirational targets domestically for the athletes to shoot for,’’ Rea said.
‘‘Our elite juniors have had to travel abroad to get their first taste of professional tennis, with the exception of some wildcards at the ASB Classic, which have been greatly appreciated.
‘‘For us to be serious about