Ben Gordon Being So Honest And Open About His Mental Health Is Going To Save Lives

I just wanted to make sure everyone saw this incredible post by Ben Gordon because it is absolutely worth your time and it's a really important topic. The more people speak up about mental health, especially high profile athletes, the more it's going to help those who are currently struggling realize they are not alone and it's OK to not be OK. It's pretty heavy right off the bat where Gordon talks about wanting to commit suicide and it goes into the struggle he faced every day towards the end of his career. I can only imagine what it must have been like to go through what he did and the fact that he is open and willing to talk about his struggles in a real and honest way is going to save lives and is truly awesome to see. It just goes to show it doesn't matter if you're a regular Joe or a world famous basketball player, we're all human. We all have our issues and it's OK. You are not alone. If you're reading this blog and don't have the time to read Gordon's whole story, just know you are not alone and there are resources out there to help.

Growing up Ben Gordon was one of my favorite players. My whole life I wanted to go to UConn since that's where my Dad went and played for Jimmy V, and I was obsessed with those 90s-2000s UConn teams. Hell the whole reason I ended up going to ASU was because when I was 16 we flew out to Phoenix to watch UConn play in the Sweet 16 and took one step on the Tempe campus which was by far the greatest decision of my life. Back in the early 2000s, Ben Gordon was like Kemba before Kemba for those UConn teams. Dude was a flat out stud. He took the reigns from Khalid El-Amin and kept the baggy shirt/jersey look which looked so cool to me at the time. Gordon/Emeka Okafor/Charlie Villanueva, that team was 33-6 Gordon's last year and won the whole damn thing. I was certain he was going to be a monster in the NBA.

And how could we forget that epic Celts/Bulls series back in 2009. Ben Gordon was literally one of the most terrifying offensive weapons I'd ever seen during that series

There really was no stopping either him or Derrick Rose in that series and the Celts were fortunate to pull it out in 7 games. You'll remember he then signed that big deal with the Pistons and that didn't exactly work out, and then we didn't hear much about him. 

Hopefully this story encourages other athletes or high profile people to be willing to open up about their mental struggles, because even if it only helps one person who might be going through something similar it's worth it. I can only imagine it helps seeing someone like Ben Gordon make it through and continue to get better, so credit to him for being brave enough to put it all out there like he did.