Shortstop Andrelton Simmons played most of the 2020 regular season with the Angels before choosing to opt out during the final week. On Tuesday, Simmons explained in the Orange County Register how he came to that decision, revealing that he was experiencing a combination of depression and thoughts of suicide.
Simmons shared his story to the publication through writing because, “it is still difficult to articulate certain things or be open.”
“It was tough for me mentally to where the thought of suicide crossed my mind,” Simmons wrote. “It was something I vowed a long time ago I would never consider again. I was fortunate to talk to a therapist, which helped me let go of those thoughts. At the end when a lot of people were still going through what most would think of as tough times, the idea of finishing the season in a bubble was too much for me to handle.”
This revelation comes a couple days after his introductory press conference with the Minnesota Twins on Sunday, where he declined to explain the reason behind his opt-out. Simmons signed a one-year, $10.5 million with the ballclub.
After the presser, he reached out to a reporter to tell his story, per the OCR.
“Now seeing how more and more people are struggling with depression, anxiety and suicide I felt it might be time to share a little piece of my story,” he wrote. “I was afraid of people judging and people twisting my story.”
What exacerbated his depression was not being able to escape thoughts of what was happening outside of the world of baseball. Simmons described driving through Oakland and seeing homeless people on the street next to struggling businesses. It all came to a head for him when the Angels were planning to enter a bubble for the final week of the season in hopes to prevent the virus from affecting the postseason.
“I was really saddened by how much I was hearing about the death toll, and seeing how smaller businesses were going out of business and I was a little depressed at how the effects of all the new rules and fears were gonna affect people’s livelihoods and how disconnected people were becoming,” he wrote.
Simmons is just the latest professional athlete to reveal that he struggles with depression. Other notable pros that have done so recently include Dak Prescott, Kevin Love and Michael Phelps.