Bad sports, good sports: German soccer star takes his own life

Posted on November 16th, 2009 by Alan Spoll

It is very easy for those of us who longed to play professional sports but didn’t have the talent to think that those who have reached those heights are indestructible. Beyond that, I think we naturally think that those people are the luckiest people in the world, and must love their lives. Sadly, that is often not the case. Athletes have many of the same burdens as the rest of us. Sure, they likely don’t have the basic financial issues that ordinary people have to deal with, but it is naive to think that life is easy simply because someone gets paid to play a sport. In a sad example of real life intruding upon a gifted athlete, Robert Enke, the 32-year old goalkeeper and captain of Hannover 96 of the German Football League, took his own life this week after a six-year battle with depression.

Enke, who was expected to start for the German National Team in next year’s World Cup, had lived through every parent’s nightmare: the death of a child. His daughter died of heart problems in 2006 at the age of two. I don’t claim to have any special insight into the problems that Enke was experiencing, and it sounds like his issues had begun well before his daughter was even born, but as a father, I simply can’t imagine trying to deal with something like that. As he was already trying to deal with his depression, the death of his daughter must have been a crushing blow.

Many of us get at least a decent amount of our self-esteem from the work we do. I would think that it would be even more so for athletes. When you factor in injuries and the brevity of careers, it is not hard to understand how people who reached such a level of success as to have been a professional athlete could suffer from depression once those careers end. Enke was still in his prime, of course, but consider the situation of many athletes, washed up and retired while still young men and women in the eyes of the world, even if they are no longer young in terms of their sport. They likely worked on their particular sport from early childhood. Some of them may not be very well-educated, and may have no marketable skill outside of their sport. It seems like self-esteem would take a major hit. Considering that the self-esteem in question may have been extraordinarily high, having been built up by virtually everyone for years, the crash once those skills are no longer good enough has to be devastating.

Whatever caused Enke’s depression, he was clearly beloved by his countrymen, judging by the massive turnout at his memorial service on Sunday. There is no doubt he will be missed.

Bad sports, continued:

2) The Northwest High School gymnastics team from Shawnee Mission, Kansas, lost in the state finals despite outpointing its opponents. Penalties assessed to the team’s coach caused them to fall from first to third in the competition. The penalties were for arguing about scoring in one of the events. Apparently that’s a no-no in this kind of competition. Way to go, Jackie Cipollini.

3) After sitting out two full games due to the effects of a concussion he got during an October game against Washington, Bryan Westbrook of the Philadelphia Eagles returned to the field against the San Diego Chargers. He didn’t last long. He suffered another concussion in the game, and his ability to return this season is now in question. The NFL, as well as the other major sports, have been taking concussions increasingly seriously in recent years, and I expect the Eagles to be extremely cautious with Westbrook. My poor fantasy team aside, it would make sense for Westbrook to rest until this is really behind him.

Good sports:

1) Brandon Jennings endured a lot of criticism when he bypassed a basketball scholarship to the University of Arizona and went to play professionally in Italy. He was not eligible to play in the NBA, based on some rule changes that were made a couple of years back involving the minimum age required to play in the league. This season, Jennings, now old enough to qualify, was drafted by the Milwaukee Bucks and is now a rookie. On Saturday, in only his 5th NBA game, Jennings scored 55 points against the Golden State Warriors, setting a team record for rookies that had stood since 1970, and was previously held by none other than Lew Alcindor (better known as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar). Not bad, kid.

2) The Washington Redskins reversed their month old ban on signs in their stadium this week. I guess Redskins owner Dan Snyder realized he looked even worse with the ban than he did with all the negative signs, many of which have been directed at him.

3) Cleveland Browns return man extraordinaire Josh Cribbs showed what a good guy he is when he showed up at a high school football game in Berea, Ohio recently. He wasn’t there to watch the game, though. The son of one of his former coaches was set to play for Stow High School. It was Senior Night, and the player, Michael Drake, was set to be announced along with his teammates. Most of those teammmates were going to be accompanied by their fathers, but Drake’s dad Mike had died early in Michael’s high school career. Mike Drake had coached Cribbs at Kent State, and had clearly had a huge impact on the future pro’s life. Cribbs was their for Michael Drake just like Mike Drake had been there for Cribbs. Well done.

Bad Sports, Good Sports appears every Monday

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Alan Spoll

Alan Spoll is a software quality assurance director from the suburbs of Philadelphia where he lives with his wonderful wife and children. He has spent his entire life as a passionate fan of the Eagles, Phillies, Sixers, Flyers, and Penn State. Recent Phillies success aside, you will understand his natural negativity. Follow me on Twitter - @DocAlan02