Doctoral Dissertations

Date of Award

12-2022

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Major

Kinesiology and Sport Studies

Major Professor

Lars Dzikus

Committee Members

Lars Dzikus, Robin L. Hardin, Adam W. Love, Michelle T. Violanti

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine media coverage of athlete mental health during the 2022 Winter Olympic. Specifically, this study sought to describe the themes and evaluate the frames used in the 2022 Winter Olympics sports news coverage regarding mental health. In recent years, Olympians, and other elite athletes, have been increasingly vocal about their mental-health issues (Cassilo, 2022; Keal et al.; Parrott et al., 2019; Thompson et al., 2022; Vaccaro & Butryn, 2019). Olympic coverage may be the only time these elite athletes find themselves in the worldwide spotlight, as most Olympic sports do not garner significant media coverage outside the Olympic window. Given the highly mediated presentation of the Olympics, it is important to examine how athletes’ mental health messages are presented through prominent news outlets.

The news media’s frequent role as a disseminator of important health messages (Briggs & Hallin, 2016) and the need to reduce stigma about mental health and illness (Corrigan et al., 2005) necessitate an examination of how mental health issues are being framed (Entman, 1993) during important cultural events such as the Olympics. This study’s findings provide further evidence that when athletes initiate conversations about mental health, often through social media, the ensuing news coverage is generally sympathetic to athletes’ emotional distress. The study reveals a greater discussion of athlete mental health than ever before documenting many Olympians who openly discussed such issues, many for the first time.

This study found two compelling media frames used to understand athletes’ experience of mental health during the 2022 Olympics. The first frame, Olympic Blues, found that Olympic athletes described high levels of mental distress before, during and after the Olympic Games due to the structure and demands of Olympic participation. The second frame, Social Crisis, depicts Olympians’ mental health challenges as a product of a larger social crisis in which mental health has been stigmatized and underinvested in both at a social and structural level creating issues that reverberate throughout society, contributing to an epidemic of mental health issue for Olympic athletes.

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