Kevin Love has become the latest high-profile athlete to open up about mental health issues after admitting he suffered a panic attack during a game.
Writing for the Players’ Tribune, the Cleveland Cavaliers forward revealed the attack came during a game against the Atlanta Hawks in November.
“I was having trouble catching my breath,” Love wrote.
“It’s hard to describe, but everything was spinning, like my brain was trying to climb out of my head. The air felt thick and heavy. My mouth was like chalk. I remember our assistant coach yelling something about a defensive set.
“I nodded, but I didn’t hear much of what he said. By that point, I was freaking out. When I got up to walk out of the huddle, I knew I couldn’t re-enter the game—like, literally couldn’t do it physically.
“Coach [Tyronn] Lue came up to me. I think he could sense something was wrong and blurted something like, ‘I’ll be right back,’ and I ran back to the locker room,” continued Love.
"The next part was a blur. Someone from the Cavs accompanied me to the Cleveland Clinic. They ran a bunch of tests. Everything seemed to check out, which was a relief. But I remember leaving the hospital thinking, ‘Wait [...] then what the hell just happened?’”
Love has now joined those of a number of other stars who have spoken candidly about mental health.
Olympic swimming legend Michael Phelps has been outspoken about his battle with depression and last week Toronto Raptors’ guard DeMar DeRozan admitted he was battling the same issue, while New York Giants wide receiver Brandon Marshall has described raising mental health awareness as “the civil rights issue of our era.”