Miami Heat's Kevin Love Reveals Difficulties With Battling Mental Health Stigmas

Miami Heat veteran Kevin Love has been an outspoken mental health advocate for years.

But he acknowledges the challenges of having these conversations and safe spaces in predominantly male areas. Love sat down with Inside The Heat On SI to discuss the ways athletes - and men in general - can shift the direction of toxic masculinity to better their mental wellness.

“I think the hardest thing to do is to get those young men and young boys to actually just talk about things,” Love said. “That’s the first step, and then that communication eliminates the stigma and eliminates the need to feel like we need to suppress our emotions or compartmentalize. I really do feel like that helps open the floodgates in a major way."

He discusses how a greater sense of community and belonging within the sports space can outweigh the anxiety it creates.

“When you feel like you’re a part of something bigger than yourself, we’re tribal beings, let’s start acting like it,” Love said. “The greater baseline of any relationship is communication.”

With his Athlete Mental Health Program, announced on May 1 by the Kevin Love Fund, Love hopes to expand on this initiative.

“Being able to have that understanding that we are more than the sport that we play is incredibly important," Love said. "I think it has allowed me to empathize with others who might feel the same.”

MORE MIAMI HEAT STORIES

Kevin Love Quotes Steph Curry, DeMar DeRozan As Mental Wellness Role Models

LeBron James' Early Exit Keeps Miami Heat Tenure Atop The List

Jayden Armant is a graduate of the Howard University School of Communications and a contributor to Miami Heat on SI. He can be reached at jaydenshome14@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter @jaydenarmant.