Sports columnist talks about her interview with Giannis regarding mental health

AND THANKS AGAIN FROM MILWAUKEE JOURNAL CENTER REPORTER LORI NICOLE FOR JOINING US TODAY ESPECIALLY SINCE YOU HAD SOME MINOR SURGERY THIS WEEK. YEAH, I HAVE SKIN CANCER. SO ON TUESDAY, I HAD IT REMOVED. IT’S 18 STITCHES. I’M SORRY ABOUT THIS, BUT WE WANTED TO TALK ABOUT THIS, SO ONLY FOR YOU. WHAT I SAW WAS FANTASTIC AND A GOOD PSA TO GET, YOU KNOW? YEAH. ALL RIGHT. WELL, THIS WEEK YOU ALSO THE BIG PIECE ON JANICE’S MENTAL HEALTH AND THAT HE ALMOST WALKED AWAY FROM THE NBA BACK IN 2020. HERE’S WHAT GIANNIS HAD TO SAY WHEN WE ASKED HIM ABOUT IT EARLIER THIS WEEK. HOW SERIOUSLY RECONSIDERING THAT VERY SERIOUS AND HOW ARE YOU NOW. I FEEL GREAT I’M STILL HERE I WAS THREE YEARS AGO UM, WORKING MYSELF. UM, I’M IN A GOOD PLACE NOW. I’M ENJOYING BASKETBALL. I, I’M TAKING IT DAY BY DAY, TRY TO COMPETE, TRY TO BE THE BEST VERSION OF MYSELF EVERY SINGLE DAY. UH TRATT STREET. DOES A GAME, UH, I MEAN, THE GOOD PLACE. I MEAN, A GOOD PLACE. NOW. SO GIANNIS FINALLY TALKED ABOUT HIS MENTAL HEALTH THIS WEEK. LAURI THIS HAPPENED BACK IN 2020. HOW DID YOU GET HIM TO OPEN UP? WELL, I STARTED BY WANTING TO TALK TO HIM ABOUT THE CHARLES ANTETOKOUNMPO FAMILY FOUNDATION. IT’S SOMETHING THAT GIANNIS STARTED WITH HIS BROTHER AND HIS FAMILY, HIS MOM, HIS PARTNER MARIAH, MARIAH AND I HAD NOTICED THE WAY HE HAD BEEN TALKING SINCE THE CHAMPIONSHIP RUN TWO YEARS AGO. HE WAS SAYING REALLY A QUOTE WHERE THE STUFF ABOUT THE EGO AND HIS HUMILITY AND ALL THAT. SO I FINALLY HAD A CHANCE TO TALK WITH HIM, JUST WITH ME AND HIS FAMILY. AND I JUST SAID, WERE YOU SEEING A SPORTS PSYCHOLOGIST, WHICH I NOW REALIZE IS A PRETTY PERSONAL QUESTION. AND HE PAUSED FOR A MINUTE AND THEN HE JUST STARTED TALKING AND HE HE OPENED UP ABOUT IT BECAUSE HE WANTED TO EMPHASIZE MENTAL HEALTH AS PART OF THE FOUNDATION AND THE HELP THAT THEY WERE DOING FOR OTHER PEOPLE. SO THAT’S WHY HE WAS WILLING TO TALK ABOUT IT. WELL, WE’VE SEEN A LOT OF NBA STARS TALKING ABOUT MENTAL HEALTH OVER THE YEARS. BUT HOW IMPORTANT IS IT FOR A SUPERSTAR LIKE GIANNIS TO BRING IT UP? I THINK IT’S REALLY IMPORTANT, ALTHOUGH I WAS REALLY SAD TO SEE A LOT OF THE CRITICISM THAT WAS ON THE INTERNET CRITICIZING SOMEBODY FOR BEING HONEST. I DON’T CARE IF GIANNIS CONSIDERED THIS FOR THREE DAYS OR THREE MONTHS. HE HE CONSIDERED WALKING AWAY. HE CAME BACK, HE WENT TO WORK LIKE SO MANY PEOPLE DO WHO ARE DEALING WITH ANXIETY OR DEPRESSION OR FEELINGS OF OVERWHELM. HE JUST KEPT WORKING. BUT THAT DOESN’T MEAN THAT HE DIDN’T HAVE TO ALSO DO ANOTHER JOB, WHICH IS TALK TO A COUNSELOR, WHICH IS ALSO A LOT MORE WORK. IT’S NOT A SIGN OF WEAKNESS. IT’S ACTUALLY WORKING ON YOURSELF. AND THE FACT THAT GIANNIS WAS SO OPEN ABOUT IT AND BASICALLY SAID AT FIRST I DIDN’T THINK THIS WAS SOMETHING YOU SHOULD DO. IT’S JUST BASKETBALL, JUST PLAY. HE DIDN’T BUY INTO IT AT FIRST. THE FACT THAT HE CAME AROUND AND SAID, I BECAME A BETTER PLAYER, A BETTER SPOUSE, A BETTER PARENT, A BETTER TEAMMATE, AND PLAYED SOME OF HIS BEST BASKETBALL SINCE THEN REALLY SPEAKS TO THE POWER OF WORKING ON YOURSELF AND YOUR MENTAL HEALTH. AND HE DID IS HE THOUGHT ABOUT WALKING AWAY LIKE RIGHT AFTER HE’D SIGNED THAT HISTORIC CONTRACT. WAS THAT A LITTLE SURPRISING? YEAH. MY GEORGE, I AT FIRST, WHILE HE WAS GETTING HIS HAIRCUT AND THE KIDS WERE KIND OF BUZZING AROUND, I’M LIKE, DID I HEAR THAT RIGHT? I MUST NOT HAVE HEARD THAT RIGHT. AND MY JAW DROPPED. AND HE’S LIKE, YES, THAT’S WHAT I OKAY. I WAS SURPRISED BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, THAT WAS SUCH A BIG DEAL IN DECEMBER OF 2020, HE CHOSE MILWAUKEE. HE DIDN’T GO TO BUILDING A SUPER TEAM ON ONE OF THE COASTS OR IN DALLAS OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT. HE PUT HE’S SUCH A JOYFUL, HAPPY PERSON. HE’S QUOTABLE, HE’S FRIENDLY, HE’S BELOVED BY EVERYBODY I KNOW. WHETHER IT’S OVER IN EUROPE OR PEOPLE IN ASIA WHO FOLLOW US. I WENT TO CHINA LAST YEAR. PEOPLE LOVED HIM. SO WHEN HE SAYS THINGS WERE SO HARD THAT I WAS READY TO WALK AWAY AND I DIDN’T CARE ABOUT THE MONEY AND TO WALK AWAY FROM THE GAME THAT HE LOVED, I THINK THAT’S REALLY IMPORTANT TO TALK ABOUT HOW POWERFUL IT IS, WHERE YOUR HEADSPACE IS AT THAT TIME, AND THE FACT THAT YOU CAN WORK ON IT AND YOU’RE AS STRONG AND MIGHTY AS THIS GUY AND HE’S ONLY 28 YEARS OLD. I MEAN, THINK OF ALL THE COPING SKILLS HE HAS NOW AND THIS HAPPENED THE YEAR BEFORE THE BUCS WON THE NBA TITLE, THEIR FIRST ONE IN 50 YEARS. IF HE QUIT OR WALKED AWAY, IT CHANGES HISTORY. IT CHANGES EVERYTHING. RIGHT. OR IF HE HAD TAKEN TIME OFF, THEN PEOPLE FOCUS ON, WELL, WHERE ARE YOU? WHY AREN’T YOU HERE? IT’S BEEN A MONTH. WHAT’S GOING ON? YOU KNOW, I GIVE HIM A LOT OF CREDIT FOR WORKING THROUGH THAT. AND THAT WAS A REALLY TOUGH SEASON THAT WAS A SHORTENED SEASON. GUYS WERE PLAYING GAMES EVERY OTHER DAY. IT WAS CRAMMED IN THE OLYMPICS, WERE IN THEIR NATIONAL TEAM, STUFF WAS IN THERE. I THINK THAT THE PANDEMIC REALLY ROBBED THIS TEAM OF ANOTHER CHAMPIONSHIP BEFORE THEY FINALLY GOT IT IN 2021. SO THERE WAS A LOT OF PRESSURE AND A LOT OF STRESS AND I THINK IN THE BUBBLE WHEN HE WAS AWAY FROM HIS FAMILY AND ALL THAT, YOU KNOW, THIS I HATE TO SAY IT, PRO SPORTS IS NOT HEALTHY. IT’S NOT HEALTHY. IT’S NOT GOOD FOR YOUR FAMILY LIFE, YOUR PERSONAL LIFE. YOU KNOW, BALANCE AND ALL THAT. SO HE HAD TO ASK FOR HELP. AND I THINK THAT’S PRETTY COURAGEOUS TO DO THAT FOR ANYBODY, FOR ANY OF US, OF ANY AGE

Sports columnist talks about her interview with Giannis regarding mental health

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporter Lori Nickel talked to WISN 12 Sports’ Stephanie Sutton about her interview with Giannis Antetokounmpo regarding his mental health

Updated: 3:46 PM CDT Apr 16, 2023