Footballer: Fans and players mock my mental illness hell
A FOOTBALLER has told how he has faced sickening taunts after speaking publicly of his mental health struggles.
David Cox, 28, said opponents and fans called him a “psycho” and mocked him about “slitting his wrists”.
He first spoke to our Scottish sister paper the Daily Record in 2014 and revealed he had selfharmed and taken two overdoses.
The Cowdenbeath forward said: “I had fans shouting to me, ‘go hang yourself and do it right this time’. “I’ve had other players mentioning me slitting my wrists and stuff. “Maybe after a bad tackle, or it’s been rough, [they’d say] ‘watch your wrists, wee man, oh, I better not wind you up ’cos you’re a psycho’.” Speaking in a radio interview yesterday, David called for such abuse to be treated the same as racial slurs. He added: “It’s just as bad as racism for me.”