BOWLING GREEN, Ohio — Recently, Kenzie Lewis, a BGSU women’s basketball player, decided it was time to step away from basketball for good.
“It was really hard to step away from this,” Lewis said. “My whole life, I’ve been known as 'Kenzie the basketball player.'”
Lewis started 51 games in two years with the Falcons. On the surface, she was having a great start to her Falcon career. But behind the scenes, she knew something wasn’t quite right.
“I had sort of felt about halfway through the season that I was just not the same,” Lewis said. “I didn’t feel the same on the court, I didn’t feel the same off the court. There was something in the back of my head that was like, 'this isn’t right anymore.'”
So, after two seasons in Bowling Green, she went to head coach Robyn Fralick and informed her that she will be retiring from the sport she’s loved her entire life.
“We’ve come a long way with talking about mental health and especially in athletes,” Lewis said. “But I think there’s still a long way we have to go. I always thought about it as I twist my ankle, I go to the doctor. There’s no shame or stigma around that. I think it should be the same way when you’re dealing with mental health issues.”
Since March, there are five documented cases of NCAA athletes dying by suicide.
The pressure of being a college athlete has never been greater and Lewis understands how demanding it can be.
“I chose this challenging lifestyle,” Lewis said. “Yes, I have the greatest opportunity of playing a sport I love and coming to school for free, and traveling all these places, but mental health issues don’t just go away because you’re given this opportunity. We’re not machines. Our lifestyle, it can get to you. We’re all humans, we just have a really cool opportunity to do something on a really high level.”
Lewis is hoping by sharing her story, others will understand that it’s okay to put yourself first.
“It takes a lot of courage to step away from something that has been your whole identity,” Lewis said. “I just want anyone to know that if they’re struggling, and they feel like this, you don’t have to be afraid. You don’t have to be ashamed. People go through it. They’re human. There’s strength in getting through things and there is strength in saying goodbye to things.”