Criticism of the goalie's absence during Florida's Cup run is unwarranted, let him heal without pressure
When news of Spencer Knight entering the NHL’s Player Assistance Program hit my inbox in February, I froze.
In Wesley Chapel, Florida to cover women’s hockey at the PWHPA’s Dream Gap event, my thoughts shifted away from the action. My heart sank.
Knight’s sophomore season with the Florida Panthers hadn’t gone as smoothly as anticipated.
He had lost six of his last seven starts and shuttled back and forth between Florida and AHL Charlotte.
When not writing about hockey, I am an instructor at the University of Miami. I cross paths with young adults just like Knight who have their own battles.
They, too, feel immense pressure to perform while figuring out adulthood.In the four months since the announcement, Knight has been out of view.
So when photos of the goalie attending the Belmont Stakes appeared on Saturday, it stoked a negative reaction among some fans.
Shouldn’t Knight be around to support his teammates on an improbable Stanley Cup run?
No. Full stop.
Why Knight entered the NHL’s Player Assistance program is unknown to the public and should remain so unless he is open to sharing.
But even without knowing the root cause behind Knight’s decision to step away for a while, the initial news hit me hard because of shared experience.
I, too, was a 21-year-old kid feeling at the top of my game, living in New York City, getting my sports journalism career under way when I experienced the trauma of Sept. 11, 2001.
I’ve been there when the pressure boils over and the mental pain of depression becomes physical and debilitating.
And I know the feeling — twice! — when you have to admit to your colleagues and teammates that you can’t shine anymore and have to step away.
To be at rock bottom is an awful, cruel experience.
I would never wish it on my worst enemies.
Sometimes when we see things through the magical lens of sports alone, we easily forget it’s not much different from our own world.
The NHL’s Player Assistance Program, essentially, focuses on mental health care.
If you work in the private sector, you probably have a similar benefit, an Employee Assistance Program.
When things get bad, though, a leave of absence may be required for one’s health; these are disability benefits.
There are legal ramifications if Knight’s employer — the Florida Panthers — are found interacting with him.
The program gives an employee the time and space needed to focus on health without meeting any work obligations.
It protects him from encountering any impromptu work scenario, even something as silly as being roped into moving equipment.
There is a genuine heartfelt concern for Knight among South Florida media.
During the season, reporters have asked Panthers GM Bill Zito and Coach Paul Maurice about the goalie. Other than reiterating support, they can’t — and don’t — discuss it further.
At one point during a leave of absence to care for myself I needed to reach out to a colleague about something work-related.
I was told not to.
Kind of yelled at, actually.
These barriers — my human resources department, or in Knight’s case, his agent and player assistance program — exist to protect everyone.
As for Knight spending time with former United States junior teammate Trevor Zegras and others at the Belmont Stakes, that’s exactly the medicine he needs.
Being around people you have a trusted bond is important. Being active and social is part of the healing process, too.
Caring for mental health may involve medication, but the process isn’t as formulaic as the way doctors might treat, say, cancer or a physical injury.
There’s no magic pill.
Surgery isn’t an option.
It takes a lot of time and patience, sometimes just to figure out what works.
For me, I couldn’t pass the time by reading since my ability to focus and process was wrecked.
Television, music, movies were too overstimulating and caused panic attacks.
The simple things I took for granted — like getting the mail, choosing from a menu or forcing myself to eat something, anything — were monumental tasks.
One solution was going to minor league baseball games.
The driving long distances, the slowness of baseball and the ability to walk around a sparsely populated ballpark helped settle my mind.
The days I got to a game were Stanley Cup-sized victories in my world those days.
We as media interact with players for fractions of a day at a time across long stretches. Added up, it can’t be more than a total of 3-4 hours broken up across the 8,760 total in a calendar year.
I’ve probably spent as much time around Knight during his time in Florida as I would my students in a semester. He reminds me of a lot them.
He’s friendly, polite, thoughtful and smart. Like Knight, my students are good kids with dreams, working their tails off to see them come true.At the beginning of a semester, I always tell students:
You come first. Your family is second.
At this age, you have plenty time to tackle your education and professional life.
But you can’t do the latter if you are not whole within.Knight took the right step for recognizing and seeking help to become whole again. It is the most important step.
That he’s starting to re-appear, first in an ad for equipment sponsor Bauer and now with former teammates is another positive sign.
Finding personal peace is all that matters right now. It is the only triumph Knight should be focused on and celebrating.