Alaska’s Tony Dela Cruz helps fight ‘darkness’

ALASKA captain Tony dela Cruz knows darkness. He did not know its name before, but he knew it was around him.

“I realized that this is not where I wanted to be when you are sitting alone in the dark and you have these thoughts,” he told SportsIQ, the Inquirer’s newest live sports talk show, Thursday night. “I’m trying to always get to the bottom and think why am I feeling like this? Am I just being to overly emotional? I’d sit in a room and listen to a song and start crying. Watching a movie and ask what’s going on? It’s just a commercial. I just had to admit to myself that I really needed help, this is not normal.”

It took a lot of courage for Dela Cruz to admit that he’d been having mental health issues. In the glamorous world of professional sports, where mental toughness sits high above a scout’s preferences, it’s hard to break that barrier of understanding that mental health issues are things that can slow down an athlete.

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Now that he has gotten quite a handle on his issues, Dela Cruz wants to help others battle their own darkness. Reaching out to help, however, started a little bit closer to home for the three-time champion and four-time PBA all-star.

“My son battles with anxiety and I’m not ashamed of it,” he admitted. “I’m not saying this is going to be the highlight of his life, but my son admitted to me that he wanted to take his life. My son is 13. For a 13-year old, that’s too young and when he said that, and as a father, I sought professional help and he’s okay now.”

Now he has shifted his focus to fellow PBA players.

“I think as an athlete, we need mental health resources,” said Dela Cruz. “Because when you mention the words ‘mental health’ you will automatically assume, ‘oh he’s crazy.’ Mental health can mean anything. It’s a huge, huge umbrella. From depression, anxiety, to bipolar disorder, to post-traumatic stress disorder. Even stress is a mental health issue.”

Dela Cruz said athletes, especially PBA players, get to experience a great deal of stress not only in games but also in their personal lives.

Players are expected to play to their best in the high-pressure environment of the PBA and every move they make on and off the court is put under the microscope.

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“Imagine you’re on this court, and if you miss a shot, people are letting you know. There is the good side of it, like, ‘he’s the greatest person I’ve met in my life,’ and also in the bad side of it they’re like, ‘you’re the worst person, you’re worthless.’ Imagine dealing with that stress.”

Dela Cruz added the PBA should offer psychological counseling to its players.

“If you don’t know how to deal with stress, let’s say like a traumatic incident, you bottle up and repress it, it’s gonna come out anytime, and not in a good way. If you don’t have a positive outlet, maybe [you would resort to] drugs, maybe alcohol, maybe gambling, maybe domestic violence.”

He’s done his share, introducing a sports psychologist to coach Alex Compton and team manager Dickie Bachmann. Dela Cruz also gives public speeches about mental health when he can.

“I encourage anyone to at least talk to somebody, seek out a resource or have a positive outlet. At least just talk. It’s the greatest medicine.”

And he said you, everyone can help people dealing with mental issues by spreading a little happiness along the way.

“You just have to be kinder to people, more empathetic to people, I know it sounds cheesy, but [if you do that] how happy the world would be.”

(For more of Tony Dela Cruz’ interview, check out the show’s replay on INQUIRER.net’s Facebook page and other stories at https://sports.inquirer.net. Catch SportsIQ every Thursday 8 to 9 p.m.)