The Tampa Bay Lightning’s season came to a close recently, but the Victor Hedman sabbatical is making headlines. On Tuesday, the captain revealed that the reason he missed the last 22 games of the season was because he needed to focus on his mental health. During this break, he had conversations with former teammate Steven Stamkos and former Ottawa Senator Linus Ullmark, who also took time away from hockey to work on his mental health.
Modern sports is an intense pressure-cooker for athletes, and seeing someone of Hedman’s stature seeking help should be a powerful example for all sports fans. As he stated on Tuesday: “If this moment helps make it easier for others to take care of themselves when they need to, that matters.”
Why The Victor Hedman Sabbatical Is So Powerful
The truth of the matter is that athletes have never faced the amount of pressure that they face in the current sports landscape. A player’s legacy is debated on a daily basis through social media, podcasts, and traditional sports media outlets. With the rampant betting across sports leagues, vile interactions between fans and players on social platforms are much more common than they used to be.
Add NIL deals to the mix at the college and even high school levels, and there’s a deeper sense of entitlement among a team’s shareholders regarding how they view players. All of these things combined create a supremely toxic environment for athletes, especially younger players who may not be able manage this pressure in a healthy way.
The high-pressure environment of sports also doesn’t typically empower an athlete’s humanity. Any time a player is vocal about something they believe in outside of the playing field, they are typically met with a “stick to sports” response from fans and talking heads in the media. In the case of Hedman’s sabbatical, the usual reaction to someone taking a break for their mental health is outrage from casual fans. Their entitlement is ruining sports and the lives of athletes, but mainstream sports media will never talk about it, because outrage is what drives business.
Hedman’s break from hockey represents a significant shift in sports. He is a captain of one of the NHL’s flagship franchises, and the organization supported his sabbatical away from the sport. This is not standard operating procedure for athletics, or most employers for that matter. The team allowed him to step away while it was pushing for a playoff spot and competing in an extended series in the first round (in what has been a compelling postseason). The Lightning need to be commended for their role in supporting their captain.
Hopefully, Hedman’s sabbatical will be an example to people of stepping away and seeking help when someone needs it, especially for men, who generally have a hard time managing their mental health. They tend to bury their feelings and try to soldier on through life without ever confronting the things that are bothering them. With any luck, the actions of a hockey player might be enough for the people who need help to actually seek it. There will always be people who mock someone’s mental health because they don’t understand it, but Hedman is an inspiration to those who need support.
