Shift in Robbins fallout is no surprise to expert
By Nicole Vargas
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
February 1, 2003
In a matter of days, the teammates of Oakland Raiders center
Barret Robbins have turned from his biggest detractors to some of
his greatest supporters.
They have substituted painful jabs about his irresponsibility
and lack of heart as a player with heartfelt words of concern and
compassion for Barret Robbins the person.
That about-face doesn't surprise one psychologist.
"Remember that they were all depending on this guy,"
said Richard Lustberg, Ph.D., of Long Island, N.Y., who has a
weekly radio show called "The Psychology of Sports."
"He let them down. That's the initial response, sure. But
once they found out what was wrong with him, your heart goes out
to him. Those guys right now should be rallying around him."
Instead of playing in the biggest game of his life, Robbins
spent Super Bowl Sunday and the next few days in a San Diego
hospital.
"He was essentially dismissed," Raiders coach Bill
Callahan said on Sunday, declining to elaborate. "He missed
some responsibilities and obligations (Saturday). I made a
decision to dismiss him for that."
It turned out that Robbins, like his parents and six percent of
the population, suffers from bipolar disorder, an incurable and
debilitating form of depression characterized by its extreme high
and low moods.
According to Dr. Charles Ertl, a psychologist at San Diego's
Sharp Mesa Vista Hospital, people are more familiar with the
disorder's former name, manic-depressive disorder.
"For most people with bipolar disorder, they have periods
of moods swings," Ertl said. "We all have up and down
days. They have more up and more down to those days."
Whatever it is called, Lustberg says people with bipolar
disorder suffer.
"It's a wicked illness," he said. "It's more
wicked than you could ever imagine."
Like many other mental illnesses, bipolar disorder (BPD) can be
managed with medication. However, Lustberg said only 65 percent to
70 percent of bipolar patients follow doctor's orders concerning
prescriptions, often tinkering with dosages or ending the
treatment altogether without consulting a doctor.
Because of this, Lustberg said, it's not surprising that the
29-year-old All-Pro center reportedly had stopped taking his
medication.
What is surprising, though, is that Robbins' breakdown happened
on one of the world's biggest stages under what should have been
supervision by a medical professional, Lustberg said.
"If the team wasn't monitoring him, I'm kind of
surprised," Lustberg said. "Somebody with bipolar
disorder really needs to be watched very closely. This is not
something you just let go. This is a chronic, ongoing condition
that needs to be monitored."
Lustberg also pointed out the side effects of the medications
commonly used to treat bipolar disorder. Many of the medications,
he said, act like a sedative.
"A football player wants bursts of energy," Lustberg
said. "Some of these medications dull you and are very
tiring."
No matter how debilitating the disorder and how difficult the
side effects can be, a mental illness becomes tougher to deal with
because it has no outward symptoms, Lustberg said.
"It's very hard to understand when you don't see it,"
said Lustberg, who acknowledges that the macho, insulated world of
pro football still sees mental illness as a weakness. "You
don't see a bone sticking out a guy's body. This you can't see and
they don't understand."
Yet, Robbins' story is not new. Miami Dolphins running back
Ricky Williams, the former Patrick Henry High star, is one of a
number of pro athletes who have gone public about their
depression. Former Dallas Cowboys defensive lineman Alonzo
Spellman, as well as teammate Dimitrius Underwood, waged painful
public battles with bipolar disorder.
Robbins' future with Oakland is unclear.
"Let's just see what transpires here in the offseason,"
said Callahan. "Let's see what happens in Barret's life. I
don't want to pass any judgment on any individual right now."
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