This post was written by Cicily Porter

“Share your scars, show your strength.” I never fully understood that phrase until after recovering from my second ACL injury. That little blemish on your body represents so much. It represents days of pain, hours of rehab, and many tears, but most importantly, a scar represents a victory over an injury. 

From a very young age, athletes are taught mental toughness, but this extreme mental toughness culture has gotten out of hand. We are taught to “never give up” or to “fight through the pain.” However, there is a time and place to rest.  Athletes feel as if they also need to be tough all of the time. 1/3 of college athletes report having poor mental health, but only 10% of them seek help. 

In the athlete world, injuries have become inconsequential. There are unrealistic expectations set for most athletes when it comes to overcoming an injury. My favorite question was “Why aren’t you ready to play after 3 months after surgery, Lebron did it?” First of all, Lebron tore his meniscus (a totally different ligament), but besides the point, every person heals on their own timeline. There is no magical number of when an athlete should return to play after injury. It is up to the athlete and how they feel. You should never compare your injury journey to someone else’s ESPECIALLY a professional player. 

That being said, even professionals deal with toxic mental toughness. Derrick Rose is a prime example of this issue. He is one of the most criticized players in the NBA of all time. After tearing his ACL and not coming back when first released, the press called him weak, soft, and not a player. ESPN even commented on him after returning to play by saying, “He is no longer the superstar he was before tearing his ACL.”  That is pretty sickening if you ask me… 

That brings me to my next topic. Athletes are under an immense amount of pressure. When you are injured you feel like you can’t do anything for your team. I was voted team captain for my high school team twice right before each injury. This was a very awkward position to be in because the team would look up to me and I could not do anything about it… Or I thought I couldn’t. I became a team manager/cheerleader/assistant to the assistant coach and that allowed me to contribute greatly to my team without scoring goals. I am not going to lie, it was immensely hard watching each game unable to play, but instead of just drowning in pity, I made the best of the situation. I learned a lot from sitting on the sidelines, but the most important thing I took away was it’s not just playing that makes you a great athlete, it’s how you treat the rest of the team.  

I never understood anxiety or depression until my injury. Sports depression should be in its own category. When an athlete is injured, they may experience the same grief as if they lost a loved one. And like grief with death, the down athlete may go through denial, anger, and resilience before acceptance. 

The ACL injury is unique in the way that it is 80% mental when coming back to play. It use to be a career-ending injury, but now it’s a post-op procedure. I like to think of the mental part as a test. After 6-9 months of excruciating rehab, you have to be confident in yourself to get back to playing your sport. 

So next time you see someone with a scar, know that there is a story behind it. That tiny mark on the athlete represents a journey of overcoming a mountain. You gain a new perspective as long as new toughness after succeeding the setback. So show your scars. They represent the story “you survived.”