Pau Gasol: “People have given me thousands of nicknames for being thin. Pranks affect me psychologically” | Health and Wellness

Pau Gasol (Barcelona, ​​42 years old) announced that he had exceeded all his dreams and expectations on October 5, 2021, when he Announcing their official withdrawal from the courts He’s 41, the age many elite athletes have long hung up their boots on. But the NBA legend and Olympic athlete prepared for his early retirement, following the epic recovery of his left ankle, injured at the age of 38, and his epic return to FC Barcelona to outfit his final touch at the Tokyo Olympics.

Since then, the legend of Gasol has reverted to being a little more than that of Pau Gasol sais. Belongs to a family Basketball players and health workersHis emotions were born with him. He wanted to be a doctor, like his mother, but the courts overcame autopsy rooms. In 2013 he founded with his brother Markerwith whom he shares a sporting career and social commitment, Gasol Foundation, aimed at combating obesity in children. UNICEF named him the World Champion for Nutrition and Ending Childhood Obesity in 2019 and in 2021 he was Elected to serve on the International Olympic Committee (IOC). On Thursday, he presented the preliminary results of the PASOS 2022 study on the lifestyles of Spanish children and adolescents between the ages of 8 and 16: One in three is overweight or obese, and after the pandemic they are even more unhappy. The press conference took place at the Celestino Motis Institute of Secondary Education, a public center in the working class district of Villaverde (Madrid), which was involved in the study.

Question. the Childhood obesity It’s a silent pandemic with little media coverage, why did you and Mark decide to focus your efforts on it?

Reply. We took some time to analyze what was one of the greatest threats to childhood and saw that it was the increase in overweight and obesity rates in boys and girls, not just in the United States. We saw that it was a problem that was punishing many parts of the world and that it was growing more and more. That’s why we chose infant obesity.

One of the greatest stigmas in sports is talking about mental and emotional problems

s. I don’t know if at some point in your childhood you experienced some form of discrimination because of your unique physical appearance [Pau mide 2,15 metros y Marc, 2,11]. What would you say to a girl or boy who feels shamed because of his obesity or other physical traits?

R was found. The issue of bullying (harassment) in childhood and adolescence is important, from small jokes that sometimes seem harmless, but in the end they affect and give complexes. Obviously, I’m talking about myself. I was always a tall, skinny kid. I stand out a lot because of my height and people call me for being skinny, and give me thousands of nicknames… But in the end, it’s a process, part of growing up. The message for boys and girls is that what makes us different makes us special. That is, because someone laughs or makes a joke, it does not define who you are, and above all that you understand that you are a special person who has a lot to contribute to the world. From there, obviously, if there is a health problem or obesity or some other problem, there must also be awareness. On the social level, this is what we aim at through the work of the Foundation and also with the national strategic plan to reduce childhood obesity. That there be greater awareness, both within the school environment and in the community, that it is understood that these types of comments or jokes, depending on who you make them, can cause complexes, can stigmatize them and can affect them emotionally and psychologically.

s. You have had a particularly long sports career, even despite your injuries. What have you done to try to balance and maintain yourself, both physically and emotionally?

I’ve tried to take care of myself as much as possible, and I’ve also realized that high-level athletes are human beings and that no one is perfect, and none of us are robots. It was also important for me to surround myself with a professional team that would help me with how to take care of myself. On an emotional level, it was more with my family. I was fortunate to have two parents and a very positive family environment. This is not always the case and this must also be taken into account. And after that, I really enjoyed what I did. Ultimately, it is dedicating yourself to what you are passionate about, what you enjoy doing, and for which you are willing to do whatever is necessary to do as best you can and expand, as you have been able to do, despite the injury. And although in the last part, when you have already accumulated a lot of burden, because the body has its limits, it also gave me perspectives on life, our weaknesses …

Very little is said about suicides, depression and tragic cases of people who have represented their countries

Q: Would you change anything, given your injury and how difficult it is to recover?

R. I don’t know if I would do many different things. From mistakes you learn, make you grow. And I wouldn’t have that number either, if I was able to play for a long time and at a high level. And in the end, this is also what I wanted. Because for me, playing for my national team, when some high-profile players my age in the NBA couldn’t do much, gave me a lot of things. For me, my colleagues, and our country alike, who are an enormous value to me.

Q: Do you think the environment, the club, still puts a lot of pressure on the time a player needs to fully recover?

A: It depends on the environment you are in. Little by little it is getting better in this aspect. It’s a balance, it’s a very good line to give the player time to recover, without going overboard. And this time varies from person to person, not all of them recover at the same speed from the same injury, although there are some protocols. But I think there is a little more awareness. After all, you often have to protect the athlete from himself, because the player wants to play. So the club says, do you want to play? Come play. And what you can create is long-term sequelae, make the injury worse or cause chronic injury, et cetera. He is looking for that line, that balance where you protect the athlete without delaying the recovery process, but without harming his health and always taking care of it.

A lot of times you have to protect the player from themselves because the player wants to play

Q: In your documentary, you talked about the high percentage of NBA players who suffer from depression or other mental health issues, especially after they retire. Dating like 60% are ruined within five years after dating or how 80% of them are divorced. Is mental health, and emotional well-being, the lingering issue for professional sports, especially elite sports?

A: It is one of the priority points that, fortunately, is gaining more importance each time. More light is given to it and more is spoken of. Because it was one of the greatest stigmas in sports to talk about psychological and emotional problems. Because it denotes a weakness, a slightly unnatural athletic weakness when it comes to competition and the desire to be the best and strongest. More and more importance is being given to it, more focus is being given, more resources are being given to the professional teams in the premier leagues, but it is also important to extend it to all sports because it is a necessity. A need and a complex problem, not an easy solution. But if we do talk about it, if we share problems in a natural, open, organic way, without feeling bad about it, that’s something we’ll make progress on.

Q: What can be done from the International Olympic Committee of which you are a part?

It’s a long race. Steps are being taken by the International Olympic Committee, leagues and federations. And the sympathy will continue because there have been many cases. Some are talked about, others less. Little is said about the majority, the suicides and depressions, the tragic cases of people who were exceptional in their field and who represented their countries, not only in Spain but all over the world.

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