Introduction
The pathology of mental activity can be viewed from different points of view, which consider other aspects. Researchers have not yet proposed a single universal classification due to the complexity of each case associated with people and their problems (Maddux & Winstead, 2016). Considering practical events that may be more or less related to the consequences of psychopathology plays a vital role in the qualifications of specialists in this field. This paper presents a case study in which a football player was suspended from the team due to depression during a period of mental health issues.
News Selection
Mental deviations in a person’s life, in one way or another, affect social interactions and can often be an obstacle in a career, personal relationships, or other cases critical to the development of each. A similar incident occurred with DeSanto Rollins, a defensive end in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, who, as a result of the problem, sued the coach and staff, who suspended him from the team due to mental health problems (Associated Press, 2023). Although the defendants deny their guilt, citing the fact that the defender continues to enjoy all the benefits of a club player, including receiving a scholarship, this issue should be examined more carefully.
Rollins has a history of physical injuries that have caused him to miss games and receive appropriate medical treatment. They were essentially the cause of depression, as concussions and Achilles tendon injuries were among them (Associated Press, 2023). The critical point was that none of the staff, including the medical one, provided him with recommendations or facilitated him to contact specialized specialists regarding psychological problems.
Moreover, there were offers from the head coach and other coaches to enter the transfer portal, which amounted to a request to leave the team (Associated Press, 2023). Finally, the depression was intensified by the loss of Rollins’ grandmother, and as a result, after a meeting with a psychologist initiated by the parents, the defender refused another face-to-face contact with the coach, which, within the framework of professional activity, can be considered as deviant behavior due to mental dysfunction.
The claim filed by Rollins involved negligence by the personnel involved. However, in addition to failure, it included a charge of discrimination since, according to the source, during a face-to-face meeting between the coach and the player, Lane Kiffin used various obscenities and behaved in an unprofessional and socially irresponsible manner (Associated Press, 2023). The combination of these factors could cause deep depression in the player who chose the path of restoring justice instead of silence despite all his problems.
Concept Selection
Psychopathology can be considered in various aspects, consensus on which is achieved only through the complex interaction of crucial features of the patient’s behavior. Statistical deviations in behavior require a preliminary establishment of a norm from which the degree of variation will be calculated accordingly (Maddux & Winstead, 2016). In this case, without resorting to such news, it is difficult to say what player behavior in such circumstances is the norm, and this fact very often slows down such research (Maddux & Winstead, 2016). This concept requires a relatively complex implication with many similar examples, which will not fully correspond to the case due to many personal factors.
Consideration of psychopathology through the prism of maladaptive behavior is far from news too. Formally, the player’s behavior does not lead to career growth or professional success since this is hampered by both external factors of injury and potential discrimination, as well as internal ones in the form of depression (Maddux & Winstead, 2016). However, a similar problem, as with the previous concept, arises at the terminology level – abnormal behavior from a statistical point of view requires the same verification as deviations at the adaptive and maladaptive levels. Moreover, for example, modesty or reluctance to engage in conflict can also be regarded as maladaptive and, at the same time, not bring certain inconveniences along the path of life (Maddux & Winstead, 2016). In this case, this concept is also of little use since adaptive behavior can become harmful for Rollins if he follows the lead of the coach and the team and remains on the bench or agrees to a transfer.
Psychopathology can also act as an assessment of social deviation. Since this concept is an offshoot of the idea of abnormality, its application to this case is also complex and requires a lot of work. At the same time, the closest concept is to consider psychopathology as “dyscontrol” or dysregulation. In these aspects, the research base regarding voluntary or involuntary behavior that interferes with the patient’s life processes is relatively well-developed (Maddux & Winstead, 2016). In this regard, the concept often overlaps with harmful dysfunction, which is, in the context of involuntary behavior, a consequence of symptoms already prescribed in the DSM-5 – the international classification of mental illnesses, which, among other things, includes depression (Maddux & Winstead, 2016). As a consequence, this case will be viewed through the prism of the impossibility of control and regulation, which results in dysfunction that is harmful to the individual due to depression.
Synthesis
This situation is complicated because Rollins represents the African race, which imposes a particular responsibility on the coach in the context of his actions. A professional specialist would hardly deny the cumulative influence of external factors as sufficient for the development of depression in a player. The external circumstances that led to injury or the loss of a close relative are beyond the control of any person. As a result, Rollins loses the ability to function fully in social conditions, and this ability is dictated not by a conscious desire to play on the feelings of other people to gain profit but by severe problems in life.
As a result, the subject of psychopathology in the person of the team defender demonstrates quite strong behavior in this situation. This behavior cannot be called uncontrollable since the player entirely relies on his feelings, which he intends to defend in court within the framework of legislative rights. The race factor here may play a role in increasing the patient’s dysfunction. The current circumstances of the prevalence of the problem of racism may overlap with purely professional questions about a player’s admission to the team.
Researchers have shown that personality characteristics, including race, gender, or class, play an essential role in the development of mental illness, even when they are not the underlying cause (Maddux & Winstead, 2016). This news requires investigation not only from this point of view – corporate social responsibility and professional ethics did not allow the coach to behave this way towards the player (Rowe et al., 2019). Decent attention to problems on the part of the staff could have saved Rollins from developing this illness, which could have resulted, firstly, in a peaceful resolution of the conflict and, secondly, in the search for a solution satisfying each interested party.
Instead, it ended up being a lawsuit, which could be another cause of stress for the player. According to the concept of harmful dysfunction, the most effective treatment involves, among other things, eliminating the triggers of the problem that leads to depression (Maddux & Winstead, 2016). In a sports environment, where the games themselves and training processes are also associated with physical and, to varying degrees, mental stress, such attention to players is unacceptable, regardless of their status (Marazziti et al., 2021). Consequently, in this situation, instead of seeking a compromise, the parties have moved into an aggressive-belligerent state, which is not conducive to solving problems in the short term, which could result in even more severe symptoms of depression for Rollins and the experiences of his loved ones, as well as harm to the reputation of the club in which he is currently playing.
Conclusion
This work showed the implementation of various concepts of psychopathology about the player DeSanto Rollins, who was suspended from the team’s games due to depression that arose and was aggravated by external factors. Not every concept can provide important information about the point of view on a given problem due to terminology and the need to focus on norms about behavior, but in general, science has a sufficient number of research tools to identify problems at different levels. The social dysfunction caused by the player’s injuries and personal experiences collided with the coach’s misconduct, which increased the symptoms of depression.
The defender, in turn, demonstrated, on the one hand, free behavior in order to restore justice since the issue, among other things, was related to discrimination based on race, but on the other hand, he did not have the opportunity to adapt to the circumstances and continue his professional career and even dialogue with the head coach. As a result, the issue resulted in a lawsuit, although full support and proper attention to Rollins’ depression could have significantly reduced the player’s stress and preserved the club’s reputation as a socially responsible organization.
References
Associated Press. (2023). Mississippi player sues coach Lane Kiffin, school for lack of support during mental health crisis. US News. Web.
Maddux, J. E., & Winstead, B. (2016). Psychopathology: Foundations for a contemporary understanding. Routledge.
Marazziti, D., Parra, E., Amadori, S., Arone, A., Palermo, S., Massa, L. & Dell’Osso, L. (2021). Obsessive-compulsive and depressive symptoms in professional tennis players. Clinical Neuropsychiatry, 18(6), 304. Web.
Rowe, K., Karg, A., & Sherry, E. (2019). Community-oriented practice: Examining corporate social responsibility and development activities in professional sport. Sport Management Review, 22(3), 363-378. Web.