Mental stress for athletes: From ‘let’s play’ to ‘stay home’

The flu-like illness Michael Jordan fought through to lead the Chicago Bulls to a crucial victory in the 1997 NBA Finals created instant fodder for the virtue of perseverance. Think about Jordan’s ”Flu Game” through the lens of the pandemic and social distancing. ”This flew in the face of what they had been taught and socialized to do, which is, ‘Let’s play,”’ said John Tauer, the men’s basketball coach and psychology professor at the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota.