VanVleet applauds DeRozan's approach to mental health
Ahead of the Toronto Raptors' game against the San Antonio Spurs and DeMar DeRozan on Saturday, Fred VanVleet spoke candidly about how much he admires his former teammate's advocacy for mental health.
"He changed a billion-dollar business. He changed it pretty much single-handedly (by) speaking out," VanVleet told reporters, according to TSN's Josh Lewenberg.
DeRozan was the first NBA player to publicly address his struggles with mental health back in 2018. The four-time All-Star tweeted about his history of battling depression, a courageous act VanVleet feels opened players' eyes around the league.
"So for him to do that was huge and we won't know the impact, we'll never know the impact, but we just know that it's a great impact that he had on the league and on the guys, on players, coaching staff, whoever - that this is DeMar DeRozan and he goes through shit like everybody else," VanVleet added.
Following DeRozan's transparency, Cleveland Cavaliers forward Kevin Love wrote a piece about his experience dealing with a panic attack during an NBA game. Shortly afterward, Love singled out DeRozan as one of the reasons he ultimately decided to share his own personal experience with mental illness.
VanVleet admits DeRozan's actions also had an impact on how he carries himself.
"It took a lot of guts and a lot of heart to do that, and it's something that helped me in my personal life - feeling comfortable about some of those things and it opened my eyes to things I was ignorant about."
DeRozan and VanVleet were teammates from 2016-18 before the former was traded to the Spurs.