WNBA player Imani Boyette is candidly opening up about her battle with depression. Boyette was sexually abused as a child, and this led to her first suicide attempt at the age of 10.
“When you’re depressed, it doesn’t matter if you broke a nail today — it feels like the world is ending. There are days when you wake up and feel like your body can’t make it through this day — like physically can’t do it. I didn’t think anyone understood that,” she told Cosmopolitan.
She comes from a basketball family — her mother being a former WNBA draft pick and her father was a professional player overseas. She calls her home life “abusive”, noting that her parents weren’t abusive, but it was at the hand of her actual abuser. She said she would reach out for help, but said “it’s hard to explain something when you don’t know what’s wrong yourself.”
With her depression continuing throughout high school, Boyette turned to basketball calling it the only dependable thing in her life. She wanted to get a scholarship to pay tuition that her parents couldn’t afford. Although she attempted suicide two more times before she ended high school, Boyette would go on to attend and play basketball for the University of Texas at Austin.
At 21, she was selected as a first-round pick in the WNBA Draft by the Chicago Sky. She now believes there is no way she can fail. “Being here is a testament to not only how far I’ve come, but how many people have helped me. So there’s no failure. I’m here.” She is supported by her parents and brother JaVale McGee of the Dallas Mavericks. Imani is also now married to her college sweetheart, former Texas football player, Paul Boyette.
What a touching story. Way to go, Imani!
Share this article with your friends on Twitter or Facebook below!
