NBA player Tyrell Terry has announced that he is retiring from the sport, citing the anxiety caused by the sport he no longer loves.
"This message is a very difficult one to share and an emotional one to write," Terry wrote on Instagram. "Today I decided to let go of the game that has formed a large part of my identity. Something that has guided my path since I took my first steps."
Terry was the first pick of the second round by the Dallas Mavericks in the 2020 NBA Draft. He was a standout college player at Stanford.
Terry wrote that a significant factor was that the sport has been hard on his mental health.
"While I have achieved amazing accomplishments, created unforgettable memories, and made lifelong friends…I've also experienced the darkest times of my life," Terry wrote." To the point where instead of building me up, it began to destroy me. Where I began to despise and question the value of myself, much more than those surrounding me could ever see or know."
He also wrote about how the anxiety affected him physically and caused him to no longer love the sport.
"Intrusive thoughts, waking up nauseous, and finding myself struggling to take normal breaths because of the rock that would sit on my chest that seemed to weigh more than I could carry," Terry wrote. "This is just a brief description of the anxiety this sport has caused me, and while I'm grateful for every door it has opened for me, I can't continue this fight any longer for something I have fallen out of love with."
Terry spent most of his first season in the NBA's developmental G League, playing in just 11 games with the Mavs. He was released before the 2021-22 season and briefly signed with the Memphis Grizzlies.
Good for him putting his mental health first instead of continuing to pressure himself to succeed in a career choice that just wasn't going to work out for him. He had some really good moments at Stanford.
He's a human being first. I'm happy he's able to move forward and work on his mental health at this time.
But is it ok for me as a 3rd party to also be sad for him, even if he is pursuing a different path? He had the potential to make millions of dollars through the NBA path. That's not only life-changing money, but its generational money that could impact his family for a century.
The ideal direction would be for him to be able to work through those anxiety issues, not only to access the financial opportunities that NBA contracts could provide, but also to grow stronger as a human being through the internal adversity.
I realize not everyone is cut out for every opportunity. Hopefully he has many others, especially as he was able to get into Stanford. Hopefully in 20 years he will have carved out his own path, grown stronger, and become successfully in a way that he finds happiness and is able to positively benefit those around him.
It's just hard seeing an opportunity that amazing be lost.
Best wishes to him.
