We’ve noticed a new wave in professional sports: players speaking candidly about their mental health — and the world taking note. Take Toronto Raptors basketball player DeMar DeRozan, who tweeted about his depression last month, leading to nearly 2,000 replies, mostly in support for him and his disclosure.

Take Seattle Mariners pitcher Rob Whelan. Whelan has opened his 2018 Major League Baseball season talking about his struggle with depression and anxiety, which kept him out of play last year: “I was 23, I’d gotten to the big leagues and had a great life. There wasn’t a lot to be upset about, but I was just miserable. So it was hard to understand it myself, let alone explain it to others.”

DeRozan and Whelan aren’t alone. Athletes are opening up about their mental health, contributing to an evolving and complex dialogue about mental health issues at large. Another recent example: Kevin Love, basketball player for the Cleveland Cavaliers. Love experienced a panic attack during a game in January and, as a result of this and other experiences, began to see a therapist. He said:

Growing up, you figure out really quickly how a boy is supposed to act. You learn what it takes to ‘be a man.’ It’s like a playbook: Be strong. Don’t talk about your feelings. Get through it on your own. So for 29 years of my life, I followed that playbook. And look, I’m probably not telling you anything new here. These values about men and toughness are so ordinary that they’re everywhere … and invisible at the same time, surrounding us like air or water. They’re a lot like depression or anxiety in that way.

Young NBA player Kelly Oubre has also publicly noted the invisible pressure recently– and emphasized how magnified it is when one is a professional athlete, presented as a superhero to the world: “Nobody sees that I’m weak, but deep down inside, I’m going through a lot. Hell is turning over.”

A narrative of success and (in the cases above) a myth of ironclad masculinity preside in the bright lights of professional sports. But professional athletes are taking care to step to the side: talking with journalists about human weakness, vulnerability, and their interior lives.

Will this new vulnerability become as ubiquitous as the Nike swoosh?

With hope, yes. We’re listening to more of these stories, more journalists are listening, and more outlets are publishing these pieces. More athletes are opening up. This month, the National Basketball Association announced it will form a program addressing the mental health of its players.

The only loser in this new wave? Shame. As tennis superstar Serena Williams wrote after sharing her harrowing experience giving birth to her daughter, “We can help others. Our voices are our power.”

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More: “These Athletes Nix the Notion That Mental Illness Makes You Weak”

Image of DeMar DeRozan by Keith Allison(CC BY-SA 2.0)