there is still an under-appreciation of emotional health

[LilRip]

Study the reaction to Rondo's unfortunate injury. No one is saying it's up to Rondo to play, or even suggest that Rondo can use the game to deal with his injuryŕ. No one is saying it's just a thumb fracture and he should play through it. No one is saying that the disclosure of the diagnosis, treatment, or length of disability is an invasion of privacy. I bet Rondo sought medical treatment and advice for his injury. Fans are immediately talking about how this is break for the Celtics should explore. Compare these reactions to the reactions to the trauma to Boston's team leader.

How can Rondo use the game (an NBA Playoff game, no less!) to deal with his injury? How does he dribble or shoot with a cast on his shooting/dominant hand?

The reason people don't talk about Rondo's thumb the same way people talk about IT's sister is because they're completely different things.

[LilRip]

I don't get how Roy is misrepresenting the OP. Can the OP restate his premise then, in clearer words? From my vantage point, it seems like the OP is saying our players are underperforming, or in his words, "performing uncharacteristically" because of IT's tragedy. That emotional wellness should be just as important as physical wellness.

The OP is clear and this thread proves the point. Society to a large extent does not appreciate emotional trauma. Look how readily Roy acknowledges the effect of physical injuries on the 1987 team yet will not even acknowledge that this team may have been traumatized emotionally. Roy likens this to readiness for a trial despite having a grieving co-worker when in fact this is more akin tothe grieving coworker being an indispensable part of the trial team.

One poster referred to the concept of emotional trauma as nonsense while another says it lacks any scientific basis. These people need to talk to those who make a living practicing psychiatry, psychology, and neuro-psychology.

I figured there were some conclusions being jumped to.

First off, I don't think anyone is questioning the existence of emotional trauma nor its debilitating effects. Which is why on this board, there was an outpouring of support for Thomas and complete understanding if he chose not to play in the playoffs. I think we're clear on that.

What is being questioned is the insinuation that the emotional trauma from this incident is so widespread that the entire team is debilitated or can't show up to play.

From personal experience, last week, the wife of a guy on my team gave birth prematurely. The baby is in the ICU now. He asked me if I wanted him to show up for work (because he knows it's a particularly tough week for us) but I encouraged him to be with his family because life > work. That said, I don't think it's unfair to ask the rest of the team (myself included) to step up in his absence.

[RockinRyA]

The thing is, IT played through his injury, and in Game 1 played really well. He 100% gets a pass here, no matter what happens, but I think it's tough to hang the losses on his mental state.

If the rest of the team is showing worse emotional trauma than IT, is it fair to question their ability to focus and overcome adversity? You would think the team would play harder as a means of honoring IT and his sister, wouldn't you?

True, but you can see he's not in the right state. Uncharacteristic turnovers and missed freethrows. While it is true, you could also say that the team played tight because of the pressure to perform well for IT. Instead of playing loose, they played tight. Im not saying it is what happened, but I know for a fact these things happen to a person, or team. What MAY have happened is, instead of a confident, loose team, you have this team with some uncertainties and added pressure.

I work as a Pastry Chef, and we all know as professionals you have to do your job regardless. But we are people to, and sometimes in the kitchen, when one of my co-workers have personal problems that we know of, it affects everyone's mood a bit or a lot. Sometimes it subtly affects the workplace without noticing it.