Opinion: Athletes can choose to share personal details with the public or not

Athletes are public figures, but they don’t owe the general public or the media the specifics of their personal lives.

The sports ecosystem is a business, but when your employees are treated poorly, how can the ecosystem be expected to thrive?

Multiple players in the WNBA, including Los Angeles Sparks’ Lexie Brown and Phoenix Mercury’s Skylar Diggins-Smith, have shared on social media strange experiences regarding their personal well-being.

Brown shared that she was taking some time away from basketball and fans, along with the media, have questioned what was wrong. However, it didn’t seem to be out of genuine concern, but rather from a sense of entitlement. Athletes are public figures, yes, but they don’t owe the general public or the media the specifics of their personal lives, including their own personal health.

Imagine if shareholders in a company demanded to know why an employee took a mental health day or why an employee was in the hospital. What if every Tom, Dick and Harry demanded an explanation on social media for your recent decision to step away from work for a few weeks? In reality, most health information is legally protected, and demanding an answer could violate state and federal law.

Why do people change their perspective when it comes to athletes? Why are people demanding answers from Brown? It truly is not their business and even if it was, demanding answers via social media is short-sighted and frankly disrespectful.

Diggins-Smith recently shared troubling news about the team’s reaction to her pregnancy.

It bears repeating: Athletes are humans first. Employees have protections when it comes to things like pregnancy. If employers are treating employees differently because they are pregnant or recovering from pregnancy, they should expect to hear from the employee’s attorneys.

This is not to say there aren’t people who are strong advocates for athletes because most certainly are, but there simply aren’t enough. More people should be advocating for athletes and recognizing they are human beings with lives outside of their jobs.

The next time you feel the need to demand answers from a player, remember they don’t owe you anything. Whether they choose to share private details about their lives or health with the public is up to them. The general public is not entitled to their personal details.

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