Michael Beasley #11 of 3's Company stares down Stacy Davis #5 of the Ball Hogs during BIG3 Week Six at Comerica Center on July 23, 2022 in Frisco, Texas. (Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images for BIG3)
After a few personal setbacks, former NBA star Michael Beasley is on a mission to return to competition at its highest level and he's looking to inspire a generation in the process.
Beasley, the 2008 number two overall draft pick, and his personal battles on and off the court have been well documented over the years but he told Cheddar News that those issues don't define him. He recently partnered with Aura Health, an app focused on mental wellness, as he looks to help destigmatize open conversations around emotional health.
"[Aura Health] has given me a platform to tell my story and to share my mental health with the next person. It's [given me a chance] to do my part in ending the negative stigma on mental health," Beasley said.
Founders Steve and Daniel Lee launched the Apple awarded service after watching their mother struggle through years of depression related to a divorce from their father. Being witnesses to the power of proper mental care placed a responsibility on their shoulders to extend that arm of aid to even more people.
The decision to partner with Beasley came when the Lees first met him. He had qualities that they related to: being vulnerable and the desire to help others become better people.
"We realized that we share the same mission -- to change the cultural narrative around mental health, fight the stigma, and restore the world's mental wellbeing. It is a rare opportunity to work with a world-class athlete on his/her mental health journey as it is not a conversation that is talked about often, and we're excited to become a platform for Michael to share his story," the Lees told Cheddar News.
Hoops Help Heal
Help through the Aura app isn't Beasley's only outlet. He said just being able to play basketball has been therapy in and of itself. While he hasn't played on an NBA court since the 2018-19 season when he was with the Los Angeles Lakers, he just made a return to Ice Cube's Big3 league, where he said, “guys may be a little older, a little heavier than they used to be but the competitive nature is the same and the fouls hurt the same.”
"Basketball is my safe place. It's literally a perfect world mixing the app with what I'm doing on the basketball court. It makes it easy," he told Cheddar News.
Beasley has a storied past with his original draft team in the Miami Heat after being traded and returning a number of times and the love for South Beach is still there. When asked if there was an ideal team that he thought he could not only help push culture forward but also help rack up some wins, he immediately said Miami.
“I know the culture. I know the players and they need help, especially if they’re talking about getting Dame [Lillard],” he said. He did offer up a nod to Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum and noted him as his favorite player in today's game.
Always on 'Go Mode'
When it comes to readiness, Beasley has the “stay ready so you don’t have to get ready” mentality. Prior to tapping back in with the Big3, he said his work ethic in the gym has been relentless. He attributed much of his continued development to his mental health improvements and said it has allowed him to be a more balanced individual.
Beasley admitted that the road to a better mental state was not an easy one.
“Being vulnerable is actually my biggest fear [but] I really want to show that to the world. That it's not as easy a click of a button. It takes time. It takes discipline and it takes really wanting to do it,” he told Cheddar News.
Above all else, he said he just wants to be a better man and an even better role model for his children.
“[I am] teaching my sons to be a better man than I am,” he said. “It's ok to be vulnerable. It's ok to need help. It's ok to admit that we’re not perfect.”
After two incredibly close games, the Super Bowl matchup is set. On February 13th, at the SoFi stadium in Inglewood, California, the Los Angeles Rams will face off in their home stadium against the Cincinnati Bengals. After 54 Super Bowls where a home team never hosted the game on its field, it will now happen for the second year in a row, after Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Bucs last year. Speaking of Brady, ESPN dropped a bombshell of a headline Saturday that Tom Brady was set to retire after 22 seasons and seven rings. To discuss all the latest NFL news, Anthony Tall, President of Miracle Sports Group, joins Cheddar News.
In January alone, the gaming sector has seen three major acquisitions. Yesterday, Sony added to the flurry of M&A activity in the gaming space, snatching up game developer 'Bungie' for $3.6 billion dollars. Renee Gittins, executive director at the International Gaming Developers Association, joins Cheddar News to discuss.
NFL legend Tom Brady says he is done playing football after 22 seasons. Cheddar News speaks with Trey Wingo, Chief NFL Analyst at Pro Football Network, about Brady announcing his retirement.
Greg Bishop, Senior Writer for Sports Illustrated, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he says Tom Brady's legacy is all about 'progress' and expects the future Hall of Famer to bolster his entrepreneurial ventures following his retirement.
Big Brothers Big Sisters of America has been a driving force for youth mentorship since 1904. The nonprofit organization is launching its annual Big Draft campaign this month in partnership with the NFL, and Artis Stevens, the first Black CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, joined Cheddar to discuss the push for adding more "Bigs" as mentors on his one-year anniversary leading the non-profit organization. "While the NFL is recruiting and drafting more players, they're also helping us to draft more mentors and, particularly, men all the way from across February to all the way to April of this year," Stevens explained.
On this episode of Cheddar Reveals, Jim Riordan, Director of the MBA Sport Management program at Florida Atlantic University, breaks down the successes, failures, and chaos of the first seven months of the Name, Image, Likeness policy in college athletics; Adi Kunalic, President of Opendorse, discusses the first-ever association-wide deal in college athletics between Opendorse and the NAIA, and how Opendorse is marketing and educating student-athletes to make the most of their NIL deal potential; Cheddar gets a look at Curiosity Stream's 'Predicting a Pro'.
Jim Riordan, Director of the MBA Sport Management program at Florida Atlantic University, joins Cheddar Reveals to break down the successes, failures, and chaos of the first seven months of the Name, Image, Likeness policy in college athletics.
Adi Kunalic, President of Opendorse, joins Cheddar Reveals to discuss the first-ever association-wide deal in college athletics between Opendorse and the NAIA, and how Opendorse is marketing and educating student-athletes to make the most of their NIL deal potential.
With the Beijing Winter Olympics set to get underway on Friday, Dan Wolken, a national columnist for USA Today, joined Cheddar News to break down the big storylines as the pandemic and international conflicts threaten to cast a cloud over the event that is aspirationally seen as a beacon of international cooperation. Wolken noted specific issues over cybersecurity for visiting athletes and disputes over human rights leading to a diplomatic boycott have been making waves even before the opening ceremony. "So you've got sort of these barbs going back and forth already between the Americans and the Chinese, and things haven't even started yet," he said. "We don't even know what's going to happen once the games start and people actually start winning medals."
