Skip to content

Report: NBA mental health memo sets new expectations for teams

Jamie McCarthy / Getty Images Entertainment / Getty

The NBA expanded its mental health initiative Wednesday, sending a league-wide memo detailing requirements each team must fulfill before the 2019-20 season begins, sources told The Athletic's Sam Amick.

Teams must reportedly retain one or two licensed mental health professionals to be available to players on a voluntary basis. The professionals need to have experience in assessing and treating clinical mental health issues. A licensed psychiatrist must be available to help manage players' mental health issues as well, Amick reports.

The league will reportedly require teams to have a written action plan for mental health emergencies. Teams must apparently also establish procedures to communicate club practices regarding privacy and confidentiality to players and staff.

The NBA is reportedly holding a mandatory "health and wellness meeting" Sept. 12 in Chicago to further discuss the program.

Several players, including All-Stars DeMar DeRozan and Kevin Love, have publicly shared their experiences with anxiety and depression. In March, NBA commissioner Adam Silver said he'd privately discussed those issues with several players as well.

The league distributed recommended mental health practices to all 30 teams in 2018. Those recommendations have been "updated to reflect further input from team mental health providers, physicians, and player development directors, among others, including feedback received at the recent team mental health sessions at Las Vegas Summer League," according to the memo. Making the recommendations into requirements is intended to create consistency across the NBA.

Daily Newsletter

Get the latest trending sports news daily in your inbox