Over at the Sporting Blog, Bethelem Shoals explains that the stories of Delonte West and Michael Beasley are intermingled:
West Forces the NBA to Confront a Difficult Reality
To put it bluntly, Beasley was the nutjob, West the goofball. When West missed some time last season while seeking treatment for depression (reported later to be “a mood disorder,” then bipolar disorder), all the emphasis had been on his increased role on the Cavs and just how important he would be to a championship run. He was a veteran with a kooky streak.
But I prefer to believe that, for lack of a better term, the Beasley fiasco was a gateway story. Had it not been for that hectic few days of full-on “what’s in Beasley’s brain?” talk, people would just be flat-out alienated by West. At least the pump’s been primed. Now, instead of clinging to preconceptions and side-bets about who’s the craziest NBA player, we can take a cold, hard look at Delonte West and maybe learn a little something about how mental illness really works.
The entire article is thought provoking, so check it out. And indeed, it’s a subject that has been ignored in professional sports since the beginning of time. There are two areas of adult life that have consistently remained taboo among athletes and even management in the NBA and other leagues: homosexuality, and people with mental illness.
That West’s behavior—three guns on a motorcycle means you’re either mentally imbalanced or making a beer run in Iraq—may have a significant bearing on his future, and by extension the Cavs’ success this season, means that at least in this case, the league will have to pay it some attention. But with both West and Beasley, the league and the media have an opportunity to go beyond the quick fix, here, and put a structure in place whereby these issues are confronted before they mushroom into disastrous circumstances.
Neither West’s nor Beasley’s circumstances could be called a disaster, of course, but what about when Nets C Jayson Williams allegedly murdered someone? Keep in mind: all three of West’s guns were loaded.
Delonte West and Michael Beasley are symptoms of a disease (broadly speaking, psychological disorders) that’s far more prevalent than anyone in the league office would like to acknowledge. But they should, and soon. Here’s to hoping that these public incidents will speed that process along—before someone gets seriously hurt.
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