A lot of people on this discussion seem to be talking in kind of moralistic terms, as if the solution is as simple as Sullinger having the integrity and maturity to get his diet in order. I read McMullin's article totally differently. Sullinger's while family it seems struggles with obesity. It may or may not be genetic, but this matters, kind of like someone coming from a family of alcoholics. We can sometimes talk about alcoholism in moral terms -- "Get yourself straightened out" -- but it's also accurate to talk about it as a disease. Well, like it or not Sullinger comes from a family of people who are aficted with this disease. You can't snap your fingers and solve it. It sounds easy to us because we aren't afflicted with it, but for many people managing obesity and overeating is a very difficult undertaking that others simply don't understand, just as we wouldn't understand alcoholism or drug addiction if we'd never experienced it.
So, yes of course he's gotta better manage this problem for the sake of the team and his own career. I'm just not comfortable with some of the moral judgments being flinged around.
Hogwash.
Sully doesn't have any "disease" that would prevent him from losing weight, i.e. thyroid issues or metabolic disorders. He's just lazy and not ready to accept that he has to lose weight for his profession. There's absolutely no evidence to suggest he has any real biological or genetic issue or ailment losing weight. And I find it a load of crap that people are evading personal responsibility and wanting to blame a "disease" for their habits of overeating and laziness. Just listen to his tone in the article. He still blames someone else for his own faults (faults that he admitted himself in the article by the way). Nobody is asking him to do something his body can't realistically do, like get down below 200 lbs. Rather, he's being asked to get into shape, which is a prerequisite and integral part of his job description.
So, yes, this is a moralistic issue because Sully's not taking responsibility for his own body, and he's not fulfilling the professional ethic of a professional basketball player. Any attempt to go beyond that and label his laziness a disease is just allowing him to evade personal responsibility and another example of our society's tendency to "medicalize" character flaws and value issues.
I've beat obesity and being overweight under similar circumstances as Sully. I'm sure the man-child millionaire with virtually everything at his disposal can too if he gets his head out of his arse.
Maybe you're correct, and maybe you are not. I think you completely missed the point of the post you were responding to, which is that with multiple close relatives, including his father, who are/were morbidly obese, there may be a behavioral component at work here. No one is suggesting that some self-discipline will not be required for Sully to shed the extra weight, but the important question not being addressed here is what is Sully's "relationship" to food in general? Depending on the answer to that question, he might not only benefit from, but also absolutely requre, some psychotherapy, in order to examine why he has such a tendency to binge-eat/eat far too much/eat far too often/eat unhealthy foods.
You may not appreciate the lack of a 'moralistic' tone or approach here, but the real issue is NOT why YOU overcame obesity, it's why SULLY hasn't. By the way, congrats on your weight loss - tell me, how long did it take you to get your head out of your arse?
For the record, I am palpably annoyed with Sully, just as I was with Vin Baker a few seasons ago...
It took me a long time, but I willed my way to it. I stopped making excuses and feeling sorry for myself and I went out and did the dang thing. That's all it takes. Self-responsibility, will, and desire get you towards your goals not some clinical diagnosis.
I seriously question the validity of some of these disorders like "binge-eating disorder" and "night-eating syndrome". I literally- not figuratively, literally - met every single criteria of these two "disorders" at one time, and I rationalized it to myself that it was because of some "disorder" or "genetics" why I was fat. But all the self-pity in the world didn't make me lose weight. One day I woke up and looked in the mirror and decided I didn't want to be fat anymore. It took hard work and a lot of sacrifices, but I did it and so have millions of other people worldwide.
Sully doesn't have a clinical diagnosis like Bulimia Nervosa or Anorexia Nervosa. Like I said, it's not a clinical psychological problem, it's a will and desire problem. Like my grandpa used to say, "That boy's got a lot of quit in him."
You do not seem to understand that there are notable differences between individual human beings, no matter who or what they may be. Sully isn't you, and you are not him, so I find your insistence that '...it's not a clinical psychological problem' puzzling, unless you actually ARE Sully's therapist. Of course, if that were the case, you would have just committed very serious (as in career repercussions) breach of patient-therapist privilege.
By the way, just in case you are NOT his therapist, I would note that bulimia and anorexia are not the only psych disorders which are, or can be associated with the eating behavior of JS.
No, they're just some of the few actual disorders that are unanimously agreed upon; whereas, supposed disorders like "binge-eating disorder" and "night-eating syndrome" are two relevant "disorders" taht are pretty sketchy diagnoses that tend to be used where a lack of self-responsibility is the main culprit. As I've already said several times, I'm denying the actual existence of these other types of disorders. Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia Nervosa are just two actual, good examples of psychological eating disorders that are actually clinically understood and unanimously agreed upon.
You're not even reading my posts or not understanding what I'm saying, because the whole time I've been saying there are difference between humans. I had to "sack up" to lose the weight, and so far Sully hasn't, which is a difference between human beings. Once he sacks up and actually decides he wants to lose the weight and dedicates himself to it, he'll be fine. But all of his behavior and language since college about his weight is characteristic of a person who hasn't reached this point yet. Hopefully he'll find it now that it's a contract year.
We are talking about "addiction" to food, or more to the point, to eating. That can occur when someone has a particular kind of relationship to eating, namely that it serves as a psychological mechanism which allows the subject to avoid addressing the underlying psychological issue(s) or conflict(s).
I was most certainly not referring to the fact that you have slimmed down and JS hasn't as an example of how people differ (behavioral difference). I was referring to things like psychic structure, psych issues, genetics, medical issues, environment, etc., not things that are the result of volition.
Getting arrested for domestic abuse, being late to and missing practice, and spending all summer with your only job for your multimillion-dollar salary being to lose weight without doing so, and needing Dad to fly in periodically to tell him to straighten out his act combine for what I submit is a pattern of lack of responsibility and accountability.
Sully has resisted taking steps such as to hire a personal trainer and personal chef that other NBA players take as part of their professional approach to their jobs as athletes.
Yet, he's always blathering on about how as a Sullinger he conducts himself at a higher level than mere mortals.
Hey, I fully agree with your first two paragraphs. Don't know enough to comment on the assertion in your third. No doubt some of the things he said in the interview jump out at anyone who is paying attention, and I can understand why folks here are pointing to them as proof that he doesn't fully recognize his problem. I think this may well be correct, but what I have argued is that we should not rush to judgment as to the causes of his weight issue. There may be more behind this than just stubbornness, indiscipline, etc. and that is salient because it must inform what kind of special work/support he needs to make a real go of it.
Personally, at this point, I am frankly annoyed with JS, and if he had any trade value, would seriously consider a deal for him. Alas, that is not the case. We're stuck with helping him to overcome his weight issue so he can return next season, and then hoping that he can become the player that he could be at an appropriate weight.
