For some, the loss of sports seems like a minor inconvenience, given everything else going on in the world. However, for those whose livelihoods depend on their ability to compete, the months without sports were especially rough. Always one to speak out publicly, WNBA player Kayla McBride highlighted this in a piece for The Players’ Tribune.
The Aces were a force to be reckoned with. However, when COVID-19 hit before the start of the 2020 WNBA season, things went into limbo.
McBride has struggled with her mental health for a while. However, basketball always provided the escape she needs to get out of her own way and enjoy doing something she does for a living.
When that was taken away, however, McBride felt like she lost a piece of herself. She wrote about this for The Players’ Tribune: “I don’t really think people realize how much some athletes need their sport, mentally. I’m saying like really need need their sport … They could ask me to play basketball for free, right now, and I would because I love the game that much.”
McBride, who makes a habit of not only playing in the WNBA but overseas as well, didn’t know how to keep herself occupied during the months-long delay. This was a struggle for the Aces’ star, as she details in The Players’ Tribune.