On his most recent episode of “What’s In Your Glass,” Trail Blazers forward Carmelo Anthony and Lamorne Morris discussed the state of the world, as well as advice for those suffering with mental health.
The case for Carmelo Anthony as an all-time great, and future first-ballot Hall of Famer is a loud, almost resounding one. But off the floor, the Trail Blazers forward is quietly piecing together important messages one after another through his weekly podcast, What’s In Your Glass.
This week, the 10-time All-Star brought along actor and comedian Lamorne Morris, star of the Hulu comedy series Woke. Per usual, the podcast steers mostly clear of basketball, instead deftly moving between topics such as our world’s current state, life as a minority, wine, and during this one, a riveting back-and-forth about mental health.
The podcast offered tons to take away, but Anthony and Morris’s last-minute dialogue on mental health deserved its own spotlight. It went as follows:
"Anthony: What is one message that you would give, to people who are looking for some time of advice, or some type of encouragement, because they’re dealing with just everything that comes with mental health? What would that message be?Morris: “I tell you, I can only speak for experience, and that thing is to talk to somebody. It don’t necessarily have to be a therapist, or a professional. You just gotta, you gotta express yourself.A lot of times, what we do is, we, especially amongst our community … mental health is something we don’t talk about. We always just say ‘We’re good,’ like ‘I’m fine.’ Like, you know, it’s not cool to talk about that. I think, when you start sharing your experiences with people, you’ll find that y’all got a lot more in common than you think."
Morris hit on how from his own personal experience, he was losing his mind, but talked with a friend, and found that they had dealt with the same problem as him. His point: sometimes a friend can act as a therapist.
The interchange of thoughts between the two was an encouraging one, especially in this day in age. Athletes are proving to be more than just athletes, but also people, offering transparency and personal experiences that molded them.
Anthony has scored more than all but 17 players to ever play in the NBA, and has six All-NBA Team nods to his name. But this could be the biggest number he has a share in, given how many people are affected, and ultimately ended — over 800,000 per year, according to the World Health Organization — through mental health struggles. It’s an excellent use of platform.
For the Trail Blazers fans that enjoy learning more about Carmelo Anthony, as well as the art of theater and movie production, the rest of the podcast absolutely deserves a listen. Anthony and Morris discuss some of the competitive links between being an actor and competing for roles, and battling for success on the basketball court.
The rest of the podcast can be found through this link, or in the video clip above.