“Support is What Really Helped Me Get Through”: Understanding Athletes’ Online Disclosures about Pursuit and Receipt of Social Support During Concussion Recovery

This research examines the role of social support in athletes’ lived experiences with concussion injuries. Fifty-eight blog posts authored by athletes documenting their concussion injuries were analyzed to determine the types of support athletes sought and received while rehabilitating from a concussion. A deductive approach guided by Xu and Burleson’s (2001) social support typology guided analysis of the blog posts. Results indicated that to varying degrees, athletes sought and received emotional, informational, network, esteem, and tangible support. Analysis revealed that athletes experience support deficits with esteem and emotional support, while they appear to have network support needs met. The results enhance understanding of athletes’ lived experiences with concussion symptoms and their support needs as they recovered from this injury. The results also illustrate the types of support that parents, friends, teachers, teammates, coaches, and others can enact to better support athletes through concussion management

Examining the framing of mental health in Division I student-athlete handbooks

This study examined college athlete handbooks at 50 Division I institutions to understand how language focused on mental health was framed. Mental health is an important area of focus on college campuses, particularly for athletes due to increased demands as well as stigmas related to reporting. The researchers performed a framing analysis of college athlete handbooks during the 2020-21 academic year, focusing on all references to mental health, while also examining in detail specific sections devoted to mental health resources. The findings indicated that those specific sections provided supportive resources for college athletes, potentially eroding stigma surrounding the issue. However, some policies did connect support to athletic performance, thus diminishing the individual in the process. Additionally, a lack of reference to diversity and inclusivity may create barriers to mental health support. This research can provide a great resource for athletic departments focused on developing communication strategies to support athlete mental health

Privacy violations and mobile streaming video: examining organizational social media policies and Antonio Brown’s Facebook live stream

Mobile streaming video technology via social media has given anyone the ability to become a broadcaster. However, the platform’s simultaneous recording and distributing of video make privacy violations inevitable. One such violation occurred in January 2017 when football player Antonio Brown was recording a Facebook Live stream in the locker room and captured his head coach making profane remarks about an opponent. Brown’s use of social media in the locker room violated National Football League policy. This study uses communication privacy management theory to understand how this privacy breach occurred, how it could have been avoided, and how organizational social media policies can be crafted to avoid future privacy breaches. From the analysis of this privacy breakdown, recommendations are made about how social media and mobile streaming can be used within organizations, how social media policies can be crafted, and how similar breakdowns of privacy can be avoided in the future

Royce White, DeMar DeRozan and Media Framing of Mental Health in the NBA

This study analyzed media framing of two players from the National Basketball Association (NBA), Royce White and DeMar DeRozan, who both publicly addressed their mental health concerns within the last decade. Due to societal stigmas, such a public conversation was once a rarity in the NBA, making their discussion of mental health a worthy area of examination. A media framing analysis of 58 press articles for White and 42 articles for DeRozan revealed six frames for each athlete used to discuss their situation. Despite both being African American athletes playing the same sport, they were covered differently. Analysis discovered that frames for White, a first-year player who wanted changes in the system of how the NBA handled mental health, most commonly focused on him and his specific situation, while frames for DeRozan, an NBA All-Star who positioned himself solely as an advocate, most frequently discussed shedding the stigma of mental health and the increased awareness surrounding the topic. Additionally, while there were frames critical of White, there were no such frames for DeRozan. Still, for both players, this type of coverage humanizes the experience of mental health and leads to important insights about changes in masculinity among athletes

Mental Health, College Athletics, and the Media Framing of D. J. Carton’s Announcement to Step Away From His Team

This research analyzed the media framing of the decision by D. J. Carton, a collegiate men’s basketball player from Ohio State University, to take a leave of absence from his team due to mental health issues. While prior research has examined media framing of public mental health disclosures by professional athletes, this has yet to occur for a collegiate athlete, which is a necessary area of inquiry due to the prevalence of mental health issues among college students as well as the many differences that exist between professional and collegiate athletics. A media framing analysis of 63 press articles for Carton revealed five frames used to discuss Carton’s situation. Of those frames, four were largely positive in nature focusing on areas such as the support Carton received at Ohio State, his role as a mental health advocate, and the shedding stigma of mental illness in collegiate athletics. However, one frame within the coverage treated Carton as a commodity by focusing on his athletic value rather than him as a person or his personal issues. Overall, the positive types of news frames can normalize mental health disclosure on the college campus and set expectations for the level of support athletes will receive