Shamekka Marty

With the recent NBA Conference winners, there is a name that should be mentioned, particularly this month, when the spotlight is on sickle cell: Billy Garret. Billy Garrett, a former New York Knicks player, who joined the blue and orange team during the 2019 season. Garret became the first NBA player to join the league with outspoken Sickle Cell disease. Coming from a family of basketball legacies, Billy was told he shouldn’t play sports because of his health condition. Taught from an early...

June is Alzheimer's and Brain Health Awareness Month, a month that aims to raise awareness of brain health and encourage the prevention of AD (Alzheimer's disease) and other MCDs (Mild Cognitive Diseases). The Brain is the most researched organ in the human body worldwide. Taking care of ourselves goes beyond our physical health; it involves taking care of our mental and brain health. Myths on brain health While growing up, I remember my parents always being worried if I hit my head,...

May is Mental Health Awareness Month. And in sports, that means something specific. It means acknowledging that the athlete sitting across from you in the locker room, the one who looks fine, trains hard, and never says a word about how they are feeling, may be carrying something invisible that no conditioning program, no film session, and no coaching adjustment is equipped to address. It means being honest about the fact that up to 35% of elite athletes experience a mental health crisis at...