Blue Jackets' Patrik Laine Receives and Deserves Support After Podcast Mocks His Mental Health

Adam Proteau says Columbus Blue Jackets winger Patrik Laine deserves empathy as he prioritizes his mental health, and compassion goes a long way.

It’s sometimes easy to forget that hockey players and pro athletes of all sorts are human beings. We commodify famous people and compartmentalize their humanity when, really, we should always consider them as people with their own challenges.

That much seems to have been forgotten by some this week when a Columbus Blue Jackets-themed podcast mocked the struggles of star winger Patrik Laine, who since late January has been participating in the NHL and NHLPA Player Assistance Program. Rather than empathizing with Laine as he focuses on getting better and prioritizes his mental health, a podcaster made a harmful and insensitive remark, and some others laughed.

We’re not going to focus our anger or disappointment on those podcasters, as they don’t deserve to be prominent in our minds right now. Instead, we’re using this space to support Laine, continue advocating for a kinder, more understanding NHL world, and recognize that many of us are fighting our own difficult battles each and every day.

It doesn’t make a difference how much money or fame someone is fortunate enough to have; what matters is acknowledging how difficult life can be and noting that help is available. And Laine deserves extra credit for holding those podcasters to account on social media. He could’ve ignored them, but by pushing back, he’s showing others in need of assistance that athletes and the public at large are going to support them. Hundreds of replies to Laine's post wished him the best, sent him love and denounced those who mocked him.

Laine was already doing great work promoting mental health, donating $1,000 for every point he records this season to the OhioHealth Foundation to provide resources and support to the Columbus community. Similarly, other Jackets fans – including internet personality Andrew Telfer, a.k.a. Nasher – encouraged people to donate $29 (Laine’s jersey number) to Laine’s pledge for mental health resources in Columbus. 

Those initiatives do more good than any on-ice action can. The support for those in need will be the ultimate legacy of Laine and other humanitarian-minded NHLers. We should be applauding them for their efforts, not coldly dismissing them because they don’t fit someone’s arbitrary sense of what it means to be an elite athlete or prominent personality.

We gravitate to pro sports in part as a getaway from our real-life troubles. But confronting those troubles is more courageous than anything that happens on the playing surface. The world has improved in the way it reacts to mental health issues, but as is the case with any progression, there’s a backlash among those who just don’t get it. It’s easy to take a too-cool-for-school attitude, but in the long run, our increased sensitivity is the best tool we have when we see someone very publicly address their issues the way Laine has this season.

Progress isn’t always linear when it comes to on-and-off-ice problems, but on the whole, it’s heartening to see the improvement in understanding that, most times, it’s far better to extend a helping hand than it is to use that hand to mock a person for what ails them.

Laine had to be an elite athletic performer to rise to the position he’s in as part of the NHL landscape. But being a compassionate human being is the best thing he can be, and nobody can rob Laine of his dignity at his lowest or highest point. We wish him the best, and we wish those Jackets podcasters more wisdom than they displayed in this instance.

You never know what inner battles people are fighting, but you can be aware and generous as an iron-clad rule of engagement for anyone and everyone you encounter on life’s long, winding road. Being an all-star person is far better than taking potshots. The sooner everyone gets that memo, the better off we’ll be as sports fans and people in general. 

If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health, here's where to get help:

- Canada: Suicide Crisis Helpline (call or text 988), Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention, Kids Help Phone (call 1-800-668-6868 or text "CONNECT" to 686868)

- United States: Suicide and Crisis Helpline/988 Lifeline (call or text 988), National Alliance on Mental Illness (call 800-950-6264 or text "HelpLine" to 62640).