Ben Simmons, Mental Health, and the Cost of Empathy

If you’ve paid attention to the NBA at all for the past nine months — even casually — the Ben Simmons saga is something you’re aware of. There is a lot to this story, but the piece that is most important to me is the part that surrounds Simmons’ mental health — which Simmons has noted to be a real source of concern for him during this period.

Things came to a head at last week’s trade deadline, as Simmons was included in a deal to the Brooklyn Nets for James Harden. That led to some commentary about just how much Simmons may have really been struggling.

Howard Eskin @howardeskin

So much for Ben Simmons mental illness. Amazing how that was just fine once he got traded. Insulting to those that really suffer.

This opinion is somewhat popular, and there has been much debate over whether or not Simmons was really struggling with mental health, or if he was just faking it to try and avoid the Sixers from stripping him of his salary.

It is worth noting that Simmons accumulated over $20 million in fines prior to being dealt — a large sum no matter what your life status is, and certainly a hefty price to pay for a lie — but that is neither here nor there.

I was initially going to construct an argument as to why we should believe Simmons. About how it makes sense that he would be struggling. How issues at home, along with unjustly shouldering the blame for a franchise’s inability to win a title would rightfully make coming to work difficult for anyone.

But I’m not going to do that. I’m not qualified to do that.

The reality is that it costs you nothing to have empathy for Ben Simmons. Zero. There is no monetary price, nor does it require you to expend massive amounts of mental energy.

If it turns out that Simmons was indeed attempting to dupe the Sixers — and in turn, fooled everyone around the league — it would mean nothing to you. It doesn’t impact you personally. At all. If you’re some crazed Philly fan who feels offended, you probably spent most of the summer bitching that Simmons needed to be traded anyway (related: fandom is a drug).

But what does happen when folks like Eskin make such large proclamations, is a setback of mental health initiatives all around the country.

Solo @KingPapiSolo

Ben Simmons is a prime example on why it's so hard to be open about your mental illness, because now you have to be sad forever or everyone will claim you're faking it.

We have no idea what anyone is going through in their lives. It is easy to make assumptions based on the outward-facing image that someone possesses, or what we think about the quality of their lives, but that doesn’t make our assumptions true.

The more assumptions we make publicly, the more difficult it becomes for individuals to discuss the issues they may be having. The more shame will set in for anyone going through a rough time.

Have empathy. Be kind. It costs you nothing.