Suicides highlight strains on college athletes

The suicides of five college athletes in the past two months have set off alarm bells about the mental health problems that some student-athletes face in the United States.

None of the five left notes, and law enforcement investigations have ruled all as suicides.

Taking her own life on April 13 was Sarah Shulze, 21, a University of Wisconsin-Madison, or UW, cross-country and track and field athlete. Two days later, her family wrote on her website: "Balancing athletics, academics and the demands of everyday life overwhelmed her in a single, desperate moment."

Since Shulze's death, other athletes at the university have come forward with their stories about struggling with pressures. Their disclosures prompted UNCUT Madison, a student-led nonprofit, to hold an open discussion about mental health on April 26.

The event, "Tackle the Stigma", featured current and former UW athletes.

Hockey player Kennedy Blair said there was a time during the season that she had to step away and take a few days out due to the state of her mental health.

Softball player Tessa Magnanimo said on Twitter: "As student-athletes we are under so much pressure. Whether it's balancing our grueling schedules with academics or just always being in performance mode."

Dark cloud on campuses

Suicide is the second-leading cause of death among college students in the US, according to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, and there has been a spate of suicides at other colleges during the COVID-19 pandemic.

On US college campuses, around 30 percent of women and 25 percent of men who are student-athletes report having anxiety, according to the American College of Sports Medicine. Among athletes with known mental health conditions, only 10 percent seek care from a mental health professional, the sports medicine college said.

The athletes face not only pressure from their studies and competing but also from being away from home, traveling for games, being in the public spotlight, and feeling isolated from campus and other students due to their focus on sports, according to the sports medicine college.

The National Collegiate Athletic Association found that student-athletes were reporting stress due to academic concerns, lack of access to their sport during the pandemic restrictions, financial worries and COVID-19 health concerns.

"Perfectionism can come out with a particular tenacity for student-athletes," said Tommy Fritze, a sport and performance psychologist at the health and counseling center at the University of Denver.

"The demands are high, and then if you're trying to meet those demands perfectly, or perform perfectly in all those areas, that can be a really problematic recipe," he told NBC News.

However, Stephany Coakley, the senior associate athletic director for mental health, wellness and performance at Temple University in Philadelphia, said team sports have benefits for mental health.

"There are many protective aspects of being affiliated with a collegiate sport, like being motivated toward accomplishing something big, working with a team, being physically active," she told NBC.