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Naomi Osaka, Mental Health, and Getting the Dirt Off Your Shoulder

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Photo: Elise Amendola, AP

For the high achievers in the world, here are things to think about when trying to navigate naysayers on social media and maintain positive mental health.

Naomi Osaka has been a central figure in the ongoing conversation surrounding mental health. After her U.S. Open third round loss to Leylah Fernandez, Osaka broke down into tears, stating that she would be taking a break from tennis and thus reigniting the mental health debate and the merits of it. Mental health management is a real thing, and for Osaka and others who sacrifice to achieve at the height of industry, I have some advice on how to navigate toxic social media flames that get thrown your way.

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Deandre Hopkins’ Anti-Vaccine Comments and the Problem with Living in Fear

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Are you living a fear-based reality?

Star NFL wide receiver Deandre Hopkins is not down with the COVID-19 vaccine, and has gone so far as to question his NFL future in light of his unwillingness to take it. While whether to take the vaccine is a matter of personal choice, your issues with it may reveal the fact that you live a fear-based reality. Living in a constant state of fear is problematic for anyone with goals and ambitions, and if you continue to do so, you’ll never be great.

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College Football Playoff Expansion: It’s Time to Pony Up and Pay College Players

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Photo: Don Juan Moore, Getty Images

Pay College Athletes Their Worth!!

With the recent development that the College Football Playoff committee is considering expanding the number of teams that make the playoff from 4 to 12, the business that is college football could go from an annual revenue of $4 billion to some insane amount beyond that. The only problem is that the labor force that is most responsible for the success of the sport – the players – don’t see a piece of that revenue pie. It is way past time for college players to be paid what is commensurate with their contributions to this enterprise, and people need to stop being hypocrites and wake up and realize that.

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How Race IS A FACTOR in the NBA Fan and Player Interactions

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Photo: Elise Amendola, AP

Are fans who show disrespect toward NBA players motivated by race?

During the first round of the 2021 NBA playoffs, several negative interactions between fans and players took place involving spit, alleged racial language, water bottles and popcorn. Because the optics are white fans and black players, the conversation immediately jumped to whether race has anything to do with the incidences. While race does play a role in these situations, the question as to whether the fans are racially motivated in their behavior is a different issue entirely. Race does have something to do with this, and it involves an understanding of the current – and historically ongoing – economic climate of America.

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J. Cole Haters Should Take a Chill Pill and LIVE ABUNDANTLY!

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Photo: Kevin Mazur, Getty Images

Approaching life with the abundance mentality is the key to meaningful relationships and success.

When speaking with ESPN, Basketball Africa League player Terrell Stoglin provided his thoughts on J. Cole receiving the opportunity to play for the league’s Rwanda Patriots, suggesting that Cole took an opportunity away from other, more deserving players. Furthermore, he believes that given Cole’s privileged position as a hip-hop star, he doesn’t need the opportunity, and that his spot should have gone to other players who work hard to obtain a roster spot. This mentality is emblematic of our approach to life through the scarcity paradigm. If we want to be successful and live fulfilling lives, we have to stop thinking that one’s opportunity represents something being taken away from us. Success is contingent on approaching life through the abundance paradigm and seeking to establish meaningful relationships that can help to facilitate our own success.

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Kyrie Irving is Making a Mistake By Not Talking Basketball to the Media

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Photo: Michael Conroy, Associated Press

When keeping it smart goes wrong.

During a Brooklyn Nets postgame press conference, NBA star Kyrie Irving declared to the media that he would no longer be answering questions about basketball – something he is contractually obligated to do – because basketball isn’t the most important thing to him and he only wants to talk about societal issues that he is impassioned about. This is a mistake. Kyrie is painting himself as a social elitist who is smarter than everyone else, all the while undermining awareness of his causes and alienating potential allies. People should not replicate this strategy. This is what happens when keeping it smart goes wrong.

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Floyd Mayweather Jr. Vs. Logan Paul: Is Exhibitionism Bad for Boxing?

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Until the promoters get out of the way and give us the fights we want to see, exhibitionism will continue to be the big draw in boxing.

Floyd Mayweather will briefly come out of retirement to fight Instagram and Youtube sensation Logan Paul on June 6 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, FL, marking another exhibition event in boxing. There is a debate taking place in the boxing world as to the merit of these exhibition fights and whether they are good for the sport. Some think they help boxing, while boxing purists are resistant to them, feeling as though they dilute the sport and turn it into a sideshow. If you don’t like the exhibition fights, you can blame boxing for creating this problem. Until the promoters get out of the way and give us the mega-fights that we want, exhibition fights will continue to be the big draw in boxing.

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Paul Pierce’s ESPN Firing Exposes our Need to Dial it Back from Social Media

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Photo: Jason McCawley, Getty Images

With Paul Pierce being fired from ESPN for going live on Instagram surrounded by strippers, weed and liquor, we need to think about how intertwined we’ve allowed social media to become with our everyday lives.

Former NBA player Paul Pierce was fired by ESPN after he went live on Instagram while at a gathering with friends, alcohol, weed, and strippers. Although this continues the fundamental problem of our society’s adoption of moral-policing with respect to people and employees, it also represents how intertwined with reality, and thereby our usage of the medium, that we have allowed social media to become. If we don’t dial back the way that we consume social media, we’re all going to be Paul Pierce at some point in our lives.

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Dan LeBatard CREATES HUGE HOLE in Programming After Leaving ESPN

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What ESPN stands to lose from Dan LeBatard’s departure is far more than what it stands to gain. They are going to miss him in the long-run.

If you’re a follower of ESPN Radio programming, you’re probably aware that commentator Dan LeBatard, after a lengthy partnership with ESPN, has departed the network. I wanted to wait for the dust to settle a bit before opining on what I thought of the landscape of ESPN’s programming slate in the wake of his absence, and the prognosis isn’t great. As a fan of LeBatard’s, I believe that his off-kilter brand of comedy and levity with respect to sports is needed. Couple that with his willingness to call out arbitrary sports rituals that we blindly worship, and you have what amounts to a brand of sports commentary that the world needs more of, and that ESPN will sorely miss.

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Dwayne Haskins’ Failure TEACHES Us the Value of Discipline and Seizing Opportunity

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Photo: Daniel Kucin Jr., AP

Let Dwayne Haskins’ current status as an unemployed pro football player serve as a lesson to all those who aspire for greatness: be disciplined at all times, and never take an opportunity for granted.

After sustained poor performance, followed by being exposed for having a night out with strippers at an unmasked party, the Washington Football team said enough is enough and released 2019’s number-15-overall draft pick Dwayne Haskins. We discuss the societal implications of his release, whether there are any implications for black quarterbacks at-large, and how this teaches those looking to build something for themselves the importance of maintaining discipline and not squandering opportunity.

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