The curious case of Larry Sanders. What are we to make of it? A player deemed to be on the rise in the NBA and just 26-years-old, he’s abruptly retired. There’s a lot to say about his story and this week we found out that he’s become the person to say more about himself than any outside writers.
The other day, Sanders wrote a story in an online publication called The Players’ Tribune. In that story, which is accompanied by an interview, Sanders opened up about his situation.
He acknowledged that he disappeared for awhile, and he attributed that to a stay in a hospital for treating his anxiety and depression. He professed to continue to have a love for the sport, but he said of basketball, “it’s not there for me” right now. He hoped to be able to play basketball at a professional level, but said that he wasn’t currently able to. He acknowledged all sorts of rumors and hateful speech, recognizing that many fans would view him as selfish for walking away from a million-dollar job. Yet, he tried to explain that he is many things more than and other than a basketball player.
Sanders said in the interview that while the money is hard to walk away from, his relationships and more personal commitments were what he had to focus on. He couldn’t devote the head space needed to play basketball as well as he could. He said that playing basketball (at least playing it effectively and well) is “90 percent mental.” He had to find a deeper and fuller way of not only responding to stress, but learning how to handle it and work with it in the right way. He hinted at the need to listen to his own self, and not to do something which other people felt he should do.
Sanders clarified his situation by saying that nothing the Milwaukee Bucks did was responsible for his decision to step away from basketball. He affirmed the claim that everything the Bucks did was fine and that he was treated “awesome” by the organization. It seems that Sanders, in a statement which lasted almost five minutes and can be seen on YouTube, was as forthcoming as one could reasonably be about a very difficult set of circumstances – primarily for him, but also for the Bucks.
What is next, then, for Sanders? Rehabilitation is what’s next, and in a certain sense, that process has already begun. It has been set in motion and is something Sanders must figure out himself – what pace he wants to work at, what questions he needs to answer for himself, what problems he needs to straighten out so that he can find peace and understanding. This seems like the kind of thing that is not solved quickly. There are no guarantees, but Sanders sounds like a man who needs to take a long break from basketball. Everyone will have a different definition of what this means, but Sanders gives the impression that he will take a full season off to really get to the heart of his anxiety and depression issues.
On the other hand, at the risk of being insensitive, it’s entirely possible that we see Sanders much sooner than we expect. We all know that Sanders is a bit of a pothead and that can impair judgment. Some people compare him to Ricky Williams, who retired at the height of his career too after winning both the NFL rushing title and Heisman Trophy. Then he came back, serviced is suspension, played in the Canadian Football League and returned to the NFL. Would you really be surprised if Sanders was going down the same road?
It’s one thing to step aside and realize what’s important but at the same time, when he realizes that he’s pissing away millions of dollars, he could reconnect with his passion very quickly.
We’re happy for Sanders and if this is what he truly wants to purse, than by all means. Please do enjoy the pursuit of happiness. At the same time, feels like we’ve seen this before and no matter how he wants to spin this from a public relations perspective, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him back playing in the NBA, in Europe or wherever else he can collect a huge paycheck and fund the lifestyle he wants to have.
