Caitlin Clark reiterates importance of mental health amid constant spotlight

Caitlin Clark is one of the most popular players in the WNBA and has been in the national spotlight since her junior season at the University of Iowa. All eyes were on Clark in her first WNBA season, as she helped break numerous television viewership and league attendance records.

Being in a constant spotlight can be exhausting, but playing in a 40-game WNBA season with a playoff series in that spotlight is probably more challenging. On Tuesday, Clark discussed the importance of mental health and the impact of being in the spotlight.

"(Mental health) has been very instrumental in shaping my career. We had a sports psychologist and therapist that would travel with our team and would be there for people that had performance anxiety or had things going on completely outside of basketball, nobody watching on TV knows about it."

Caitlin Clark also discussed how easily fans can forget that athletes are normal people with lives outside of basketball, along with stressing the importance of maintaining positive mental health.

"At the end of the day, a lot of people forget we're humans. We have lives outside of sports. We have problems outside of sports, we have a lot of great things outside of sports, and we're dealing with that on top of trying to perform at the highest level... It's important to talk to somebody. It's okay to not be okay. But also, tell them about the great things that are happening in your life."

Caitlin Clark won the WNBA Rookie of the Year after a historic season, breaking the single-season assist record along with numerous rookie records. She averaged 19.2 points, 8.4 assists and 5.7 rebounds and earned first-team All-WNBA honors.

Caitlin Clark touched on the importance of mental health during rookie season

Back on July 16, during her rookie season in the WNBA, Caitlin Clark shared insight on the struggles of navigating a new city and the impact it can have on one's mental health during a post-game press conference.

"I'm trying to navigate moving to a new city by myself, I'm trying to navigate, you know, playing in a new league on top of everything else that has come with it...I think mental health is very important, and I think it's something a lot of people in our country struggle with, especially young individuals. I think the biggest thing is like, don't be afraid to ask for help."

Caitlin Clark has stressed the importance of maintaining positive mental health, which becomes more paramount with all eyes on the WNBA phenom. Clark has served as a role model for young adults and has worked to raise awareness for mental health.