Mental Health, College Athletics, and the Media Framing of D. J. Carton’s Announcement to Step Away From his Team

Abstract

This research analyzed the media framing of the decision by D. J. Carton, a collegiate men’s basketball player from Ohio State University, to take a leave of absence from his team due to mental health issues. While prior research has examined media framing of public mental health disclosures by professional athletes, this has yet to occur for a collegiate athlete, which is a necessary area of inquiry due to the prevalence of mental health issues among college students as well as the many differences that exist between professional and collegiate athletics. A media framing analysis of 63 press articles for Carton revealed five frames used to discuss Carton’s situation. Of those frames, four were largely positive in nature focusing on areas such as the support Carton received at Ohio State, his role as a mental health advocate, and the shedding stigma of mental illness in collegiate athletics. However, one frame within the coverage treated Carton as a commodity by focusing on his athletic value rather than him as a person or his personal issues. Overall, the positive types of news frames can normalize mental health disclosure on the college campus and set expectations for the level of support athletes will receive.

Role Model or Quitter? Social Media’s Response to Simone Biles at Tokyo 2020

“…• Focus on media framing and athlete mental health is an emerging field (Cassilo, 2020;Cassilo & Kluch, 2021;Parrott et al, 2019), whereas research into athlete mental health through bottom-up framing is extremely limited -perceptions of eating disorders on (Mitchell et al, 2018).…”

It’s Okay to be Not Okay: An Analysis of Twitter Responses to Naomi Osaka’s Withdrawal due to Mental Health Concerns

“…It is critical for sport scholars to study mental health disclosures, which have an important influence on larger discussions about mental health (Lavelle, 2021). Researchers have called for more research in this area to continue examining the frames of mental illness in sport (Cassilo, 2022), intensify previous findings (Cassilo & Kluch, 2021), and determine more generalizable trends (Parrott et al, 2021). Researchers also suggest that future studies should consider athletes from different identity groups and sports, as well as factors such as communication strategies and context (Cassilo, 2022; Cassilo & Kluch, 2021).…”

“…Researchers have called for more research in this area to continue examining the frames of mental illness in sport (Cassilo, 2022), intensify previous findings (Cassilo & Kluch, 2021), and determine more generalizable trends (Parrott et al, 2021). Researchers also suggest that future studies should consider athletes from different identity groups and sports, as well as factors such as communication strategies and context (Cassilo, 2022; Cassilo & Kluch, 2021). Thus, the purpose of this study is to further extend the body of work by investigating Twitter user responses to Naomi Osaka’s decision to withdraw from the French Open due to her mental health concerns.…”

“…To understand the narratives surrounding mental health in sport, a growing body of research has examined media frames (e.g., Cassilo & Kluch, 2021; Lavelle, 2021; Parrott et al, 2021) and social media user responses (Parrott et al, 2020) to mental health disclosures by professional and collegiate athletes. Existing studies discovered positive news frames, large support, and praise for the athletes within media coverage (e.g., Cassilo & Kluch, 2021; Parrott et al, 2020). Press articles also humanized the athletes and portrayed these athletes as mental health advocates (Cassilo & Kluch, 2021).…”

“…Existing studies discovered positive news frames, large support, and praise for the athletes within media coverage (e.g., Cassilo & Kluch, 2021; Parrott et al, 2020). Press articles also humanized the athletes and portrayed these athletes as mental health advocates (Cassilo & Kluch, 2021). These studies revealed the potential role of athletes in mental health promotion and stigma reduction.…”