Michelle Wie West started building her career when she was only 12 years old! West was the youngest participant in the LPGA Tour. For a reason, expectations from her were high. West had problems with that at certain moments. She didn’t know how to handle the pressure.
“I felt like when I started, mental health wasn’t really talked about,” she said for Nike’s No Off-Season Podcast, as quoted by golfmonhtly. “What was talked about was having a champion mindset, being strong, being a warrior.
That included never breaking. That included never resting. That included laser-focused. So in my mind, seeing that, I felt like to be a champion golfer, I had to have that mindset. I had to have that mindset that never broke, never complained.”
West did not want to talk about the injury problems. She didn’t want to show her weaknesses to anyone. She considered it a bad thing for her. Wie West added: “I remember not telling the media really honest answers about my injuries, kind of hiding it, just because I didn’t want to feel weak.”
Mental health and athletes
However, in the last few years, things have changed drastically. Famous athletes are increasingly talking about mental problems and weaknesses that exist. This gave her the motivation to speak openly about what was bothering her.
“Later on in my career, when I was going through more injuries, just being honest about it. Just, you know, being like ‘This hurts. I don’t know how much longer I’m going to play,” she added. “It was kind of freeing because I felt like I didn’t have to put up a front during my hardest times.
So it was definitely tough, but I’m really glad athletes now are really stepping out and showing you can be a champion, but also admit that you’re fragile, admit that you’re not perfect.”
