National basketball coach Gordon Herbert has spoken remarkably openly about mental health problems during his time as head coach. His words make it clear that this topic is still a social taboo, even though a lot has changed in recent years. World-class athletes such as Lindsey Vonn, Ian Thorpe and Michael Phelps have gone public with their depression, and other sports stars such as Simon Biles have spoken out about other types of mental health problems.
In an interview with “Stern”, the 65-year-old Canadian said: “Anyone who admits to their depression is interpreted as a weakness. I can now speak more freely about dark times in my life than I could before winning the title. For a long time I thought I was putting my career at risk if I said: I can’t do this anymore, I need help.”
Last summer, Herbert surprisingly became world champion with the DBB team – a historic triumph. The first time a German national basketball team made it to the finals of a world championship ended in Manila with a win against Serbia and thus the title. The euphoria was gigantic.
According to the coach’s own account, the difficult phases occurred in autumn 2010, when he was still working for the Skyliners from Frankfurt. He wanted to say a few words to the team at a training camp. “But suddenly I couldn’t speak anymore. My head was empty, I was disorientated, completely lost in this hall. There was only one feeling in me: panic,” said Herbert, about whom the book “The boys gave me my life back” will be published in June.
His assistant coach immediately recognized the seriousness of the situation. “I traveled back to Frankfurt with someone. There I was taken to a psychiatric clinic. The doctors diagnosed acute depression,” the coach explains.
Alcohol also played a role in the dark phases, as Herbert admitted. “Alcohol helped me forget the day. It was never excessive, but it wasn’t healthy either. I no longer liked myself as a person,” said the Canadian. He was “tired of his life” and found it difficult to deal openly with the diagnosis. “What I also had to learn during my depressive episodes was to say: I need help. A simple sentence, but so difficult to say, out of shame and false pride.”
Herbert initially took a break and returned to Frankfurt after his return. “I had the feeling more and more that I was done with basketball. Coaching had cost me a lot of energy. I wanted to end my career,” reported Herbert. In the summer of 2021, he took over the national team and led Dennis Schröder and Co. to European Championship bronze and World Championship gold in two years. The team is one of the favorites at the Olympic Games in Paris this summer.
