But it took for me to sit my ass down to understand that basketball keeps going with or without you. You know that's what I did, and see where I'm at.
#Create my logo professional
I said, 'I'm not playing because of my attitude, my character, and not being a professional.' And I explained that being a professional also meant biting your tongue and not always saying what's on your mind. I finally had to tell him the honest truth. Those were questions that were hard to listen to. He would ask every day, 'Dad, why you're not playing? You're better than a lot of those guys. I'm able to teach my son where I went wrong so he won't make the same mistakes I once made.ĭH: My 10-year-old son (Dion Waiters Jr.). I had to take responsibility for my actions. I should have kept trying and kept pushing. In the last two years, I should have got back to it. The thing that I love got taken away, and it was my fault. If you're battling depression, go seek help. I've been taking care of my family since I was 15, and I'm still taking care of them, and I haven't played in three years. I feel like I've got the world on my shoulders. It'll help you, and then you'll be more at ease and more understanding of your situations. Whatever you have going on in your mind, you need to talk it out. You'll be blaming somebody else and not fixing yourself. Your family members, they're going to tell you what you want to hear. I'm happy with the decision I made and I'm nowhere near where I want to be, but it's a step. I'm one of the toughest people you'll ever meet, and I had to go get a therapist. I'm not just trying to say the right thing these are real-life situations that forced me to get a therapist. Plus, I feel so much better because I'm not holding anything in. I feel like if I had a therapist, my career would've been 10 times better.
The shootings, the killings, and all that. And you know how I came up in Philly with all the trauma I've been through. People who are very successful might not have many problems, they even have a therapist. I want the world to know, especially in our community, that it's OK to have a therapist, man. So I'd rather speak to somebody who was willing to listen, help me out, and teach me different approaches such as breathing in times of panic. It just got to a point where I couldn't do it by myself. I was in a dark place.Ī lot of things took place, bro. So when your girl and the kids leave the house, you're automatically nervous. It was just so much going on in the world. Then you got a family to take care of, and the world we're living in doesn't make it any better. I constantly worried about what was next.
When I stopped playing, anxiety kicked in. You find out things about yourself that you didn't even know about. It was hard at first because you're telling the truth and telling the truth about yourself, which is hard to hear out loud. We just got to stay strong and we can figure this out together.ī/R: In the Black community, seeking therapy isn't a common occurrence.ĭW: Getting a therapist was probably the best thing that ever happened to me, to be honest with you. If you need somebody to talk to, I'm here. I want someone to know that you're not alone. I didn't have a chance to prepare for it. One thing about me is I never lost my confidence. I learned that it takes time to deal with the dark days. He would tell me how he tried to hurt himself, but that was something I couldn't understand until I saw a therapist. I realized I've been enduring this pain since I was a kid. I never understood what depression was until the last few years. It made me a better man and a better father because now I'm able to tell my son like, 'Yo bro, it's not just about talent, it's about your attitude, and what you're doing out there on the court is not going to work.' He also touched on trying to help his son avoid his pitfalls, the lessons he learned, wanting to give back to the game, what he has left in the tank and advocating for the assistance of therapy.īleacher Report: What makes you feel mentally and physically prepared to make an NBA comeback after a few years away?ĭion Waiters: I honestly had to go through what I was going through the last couple of years by not playing. The 31-year-old guard held a private workout Monday at Victoria Fertitta Middle School in front of a dozen or so NBA scouts and executives organized by his agent, Daniel Hazan of Hazan Sports Management.Īfter his 30-minute workout, he sat down with Bleacher Report for an open and candid interview on the struggles of being away from the game, his decision to seek help for his mental state and feeling like he let everyone down.
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