Wade Belak 1976-2011
by PPP on Sep 1, 2011 12:32 AM EDT
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The NHL family lost a well-liked member today with the death of Wade Belak. The tributes began to pour in as former teammates, coaches, general managers, and others struggled to deal with the shock of Belak's sudden and shocking passing. Belak was slated to be a participant on CBC's Battle of the Blades as well as starting his own radio show in Nashville with Clear Channel. He had seemed to have parlayed his outgoing personality and sense of humour into a commentating future after hockey.
And then, for reasons we may never understand, he took his own life.
Not knowing the answer to why tragedies like these have happened and accepting that emptiness is not something that people handle well. Immediately, some saw it as part of a larger pattern that included Rick Rypien's passing, Derek Boogaard's death, the physical toll of fighting in the NHL, and the failed efforts of the NHL and NHLPA to provide support to players in need. Former NHLers on Twitter were forthcoming in expressing both the difficulty in moving on after finishing one's career and the sense that the NHLPA does not do enough to help players cope with a new reality that has seen the culmination of their life's work pass:
Ur entire life is dedicated to hockey and then one day it's all over and ur kicked to the curb! And the NHLPA does nothing to prepare u. Depression and heartache doesn't discriminate! Money doesn't = happiness. Job loss is terrible but I'm just airing an athletes view.
tyson isn't asking for sympathy but it is tough to be cast aside after being put on a pedestal.it is a tough job and some aren't Prepared for life after. Very very tough. Nhlpa should do better job of preparing to enter league- and departing it! FACT. This isn't on the league. We all know we r a piece of meat and cast aside when we r done but nhlpa should prepare guys more!!
People think sports, and most just see a lifestyle. It is really hard mentally and physically. Especially hard when your done. When your done, your left to let ponder, what do I do with, myself now? Tough to ponder... More needs to be done to ease the transition. I was talking about my own exp. In this econ, there s alot of people who have lost jobs and have been forced to transition. Never easy.
Derek Boogaard had sought help under the league's substance abuse program while Rick Rypien battled depression for over a decade and the trigger for Wade Belak's death is far from known. Could these players' past as frequent fighters have had an impact? It's possible. Georges Laracque is just the latest to speak out about the impact of fighting on his psyche and body. Even in cases like Rypien and Belak where they professed no recorded history of concussions it's not out of the question that something that can go undiagnosed could have been a factor. Add in professional sport's warrior code and it's hard to rule out the possibility that it had a discernible impact out of hand. Especially since we are coded to look for patterns and explanations and strive to find a solution to prevent the possibility of repeating a summer filled with tragedies.
Unfortunately, sometimes these things happen for reasons completely out of our control. Loser Domi and Scotty Wazz wrote extremely personal and revealing accounts of the difficulties of living with depression that highlight just how difficult it can be to reach out and try to get help. Depression itself is so poorly understood with possible help being hit and miss that when you add in the macho culture of professional sports you begin to understand how difficult identifying and supporting these athletes can be.
Sports Illustrated's Pablo Torre recently highlighted how depression transcends sports and their athletes' backgrounds. While trying to connect these tragedies to fighting is our natural human tendency we can do a disservice to a serious problem that impacts the entire strata of society. The challenges and stresses that you or I face are at least partly different from professional athletes but their impact on all sufferers of depression is poorly understood and often too easily hidden from others.
So while we debate whether these tragedies were impacted by Boogaard, Rypien, or Belak's role in a physical sport or if there is more that can be done for those that suffer from depression or whether there is something sickening about the Belak family learning about his passing through media reports or even the appropriateness of broadcasting the manner of his death let's not lose sight of the most important thing that came out of today. Numerous people have lost a friend, a wife has lost a husband, and two young girls have lost their father. Sadly, we may never know why but hopefully they'll find comfort and support in each other. As fans, we may not have had a personal connection to Belak but we'll always have great memories of the gentle giant.
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What's confusing to me is
none of the people that spoke to him recently have mentioned anything out of the ordinary in his behaviour. He was lined up to participate in Battle of the Blades on CBC. He was talking to TSN about a broadcasting gig. He was working in game reports with Nashville and had radio air time with Clear Channel down there.
He had a wife and 2 kids.
Everyone said he seemed his usual happy go-lucky self within the past few days.
This one makes no sense to me… at all.
Tragic loss… RIP Wade.
"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm."
- Sir Winston Churchill
I'm pretty sure he's talking about the Leafs.
by Steve Burtch on Sep 1, 2011 12:49 AM EDT reply actions 1 recs
That’s the toughest part about depression. If you read LD and Scotty’s pieces they talk a lot about not feeling able to reach out for help and the constant mask of comfort that they wore.
And you’re right to say it makes no sense. It never will. And sometimes all we get is confusion.
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by PPP on Sep 1, 2011 1:14 AM EDT up reply actions
Speaking as someone who has been there
I was smart enough to know the keys to depression and suicidal thoughts, and because I didn’t want to be a bother to anyone I took pains not to let them show. We all have the ability to mask our emotions to some extent, although some are harder to hide than others. Think about the crushes that no one ever knew about, the despised boss who didn’t know just how widely he was hated, etc.
He should have been doing well, and knew it, so maybe he felt as though if he gave that appearance on the outside he could MAKE his internal feelings follow suit. Unfortunately for him it didn’t work and the darkness won out.
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"It is a mistake to try to look too far ahead. The chain of destiny can only be grasped one link at a time." --Sir Winston Churchill (1874 – 1965)
by Baroque on Sep 1, 2011 7:31 AM EDT up reply actions 2 recs
He should have been doing well, and knew it, so maybe he felt as though if he gave that appearance on the outside he could MAKE his internal feelings follow suit.
It always feels like that should work. sometimes you have the ability to come to realize that doesn’t work yourself, or you can be lucky enough to have someone close who sees through it and pushes you. I was lucky enough to have the latter. Communicating how you feel can be the hardest thing you ever have to do.
Reasining helps me with matrh!
And what makes it even worse is that when you gain the reputation as a joker that Wade had, that becomes the only way people communicate with you. Everything is lighthearted, everyone’s looking for a quote, a punchline, in that self-deprecating way he was. So he probably felt pressure not to break that character and change the way people felt about him.
I always thought Belak had a good head
He was far to open for something like this to happen and also all the things you mentioned make this even more shocking.
Eat your waffles, kid.
by HomeMadeWaffles on Sep 1, 2011 9:50 AM EDT up reply actions
I think the
NHL and NHLPA has a bit of a crisis on their hands though… this is getting unreal, and they need to do something significant to address it.
\whether or not the 3 incidents are linked in reality by some sort of physical or mental toll of the job is sort of irrelevant, because for all intents and purposes it APPEARS linked to the outside world. If they ignore it they are going to do more damage than good.
"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm."
- Sir Winston Churchill
I'm pretty sure he's talking about the Leafs.
Excellent work, PPP. I think sometimes it helps people cope if they can identify a “why” but the reality of mental health issues is that they aren’t always easily explained – or explained at all, which makes preventing something like this from happening incredibly difficult.
The best we can do is educate ourselves and try to grow out of the attitude that having mental issues makes someone a lesser or weaker person. Maybe if we can grasp that in society as a whole, the hockey world and its macho culture can follow suit.
RIP Wade Belak.
Seemed like just an awesome guy.
I'm just as ridiculous on Twitter
I said this one twitter and I’ll say it again here.
I hope the Leafs have a moment of silence for him prior to the first pre-season game and the home opener against Montreal.
I think they will. He played for us for several years and gave everything he had each game. He was the ultimate team player, and seemed like such a nice guy. They should have a moment of silence and a little video showing off the side of Wade everyone knew: the joker, the tough guy, and the team player – remember when he scored that goal after 140+ games? I remember watching that game and it was incredible.
Wow.
Unspeakably tragic for such a young father to die so suddenly. The fact that this was a man with a great-looking career just makes it all the more difficult to rationalize.
As a side note, nice writeup, PPP.
Not followin' @JPNikota on Twitter? Oh, you better believe that's a paddlin'.
This was absolutely gut wrenching when I heard. I teared a little, having met Belak once and he was amazing. Such a nice guy and humble and was great to me and my younger brother. This situation is getting out of hand and the lost lives of these three great men seem to be some sort of pattern, one that is hopefully dealt with.
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It’s been crazy how many former players have spoke out today how they are treated like meat and then forgotten about by the NHL and NHLPA when they are done in the game.
The NHL and NHLPA need to spend lots of money and time on figuring out on how to avoid this.
I know they can’t baby sit all players but there can’t be deaths this frequent.
So sorry for you Leaf fans
I will always think of Belak as a Leaf. He seemed to be so humourous, and well adjusted. PPP mentions above about depression, and if that is true, does that mean there is causal link between fighting and depression as some in the MSM are already doing?
It was so confusing and saddening when Mr Rypien passed recently. He had taken some time off as a result of his issues though.
Its a tough thing, condolences. Things ,like causality, what can be done and whatnot can wait. It saddens me that some are already joining these three young men’s deaths together to makes their points about fighting.
Seems crass. We can do that in the days to come as the facts come out, as I am sure we all will.
But for now, sorry for the sadness you are feeling today. It is familiar, and that is kinda sad too.
Thoughts and condolences for the family.
Nuck’s Misconduct Bishop, 1st United Church of Luongod. "For true believers, the bile you spew is our fuel, and when the Canucks raise the Cup next year, we shall drink it, mixed with your tears like the sweetest wine." WAACH' 6/26/11
No, there’s no causal link between fighting and depression. Could it have an impact? Maybe. Do we know? No. I don’t blame anyone looking for a link. I think it’s there personally. How much it matters I don’t know so maybe it’s nil. It probably is.
As much as Belak’s came out of nowhere, Rypien’s is tragic because he tried so hard to get help and seemed to be doing well and in the end it wasn’t enough.
Pension Plan Puppets: A Toronto Maple Leafs blog and a group therapy session.
Like reading thoughts confined to 140 characters? I'm on Twitter too.
by PPP on Sep 1, 2011 1:49 AM EDT up reply actions
I think the former players’ comments about the NHLPA doing more must be listened to and action taken immediately. Three players died this summer that didn’t have to die. The PA needs to get serious about providing help and support to these players. Maybe it wouldn’t have prevented their tragic deaths, but it’s clear what’s going on right now isn’t cutting it.
It’s not just a PA issue.
Let’s be realistic here… when a player has a sore leg, he’s got a “lower body injury”. Why do the teams do this?
Because they know that if the other team knows that it’s a bad right knee, someone on that team will target it in one way or another.
So is player X going to go to the NHLPA because he has an issue? The same NHLPA that’s made up of players from opposing teams who will then learn that this guy is struggling with depression?
These guys make the intentional decision to launch their armoured shoulders and elbows into each others heads. There’s no shred of doubt that they’d use something like this against that player as well (via taunting or whatever).
In theory, there is little difference between practice and theory, but in practice there is!
That’s why it needs to be mandatory and regular meetings with every player in the NHL. This can’t be on a “volunteer” basis like the substance abuse program.
RIP Former-and-forever Leaf Wade Belak
Me on Twitter
the link might even go the other way
Someone prone to depression might be more likely to be a fighter in hockey, instead of the other way around.
Depression is just such a complicated illness, and it can be impacted by family history, by concussions, by life events, by anything. I’m sure that in some cases fighting and concussions have an influence, but it has nothing to do with the majority of depression suffered by people. Something to think about, but not exclusively for sure.
Human beings suck in general at dealing with illnesses that have multiple causes. If you have an infection caused by this bacterium, fine, we can deal with that – but an illness such as depression, or cancer, with so many factors influencing it, including pure dumb luck? We flail around looking for the one major factor so we can attack it and make it better. Multiple front battles are always the toughest.
Random nonsense at @Baroque97
Honest, I'm completely harmless. I make up in ALL CAPS and creative threats what I lack in actual violence.
"It is a mistake to try to look too far ahead. The chain of destiny can only be grasped one link at a time." --Sir Winston Churchill (1874 – 1965)
so sad..
Police responded to a call saying a body was hanging in a room
is this really necessary? NO it not. Anything to get readers? Depressing
Link
The suicide factor just doesn’t add up for me. He was always a happy go lucky guy.
Fan590 posted this earlier. Its very eerie to listen to. but its Belak talking about the deaths of Rick Rypien & Derek Boogard just days before he passed away
I can’t help but think of those 2 little girls who are without their daddy tonight. RIP Wade. You’ll be missed.
I think Tyson Nash's comments make sense in context
It may very well be possible that Belak’s depression was situational and brought on by a lack of preparation from what retirement entailed. He had just retired this season, remember.
Visit my blog at: http://50-mission-cap.blogspot.com/
Leaf fan for life! (No, really. They gave me a no-trade clause when I was born.)
I don’t necessarily believe this.
My dad worked for the same company for 31 years. He started there right out of university, re-located 3 times and worked his way up. He was planning on retiring in December of this year, but instead was “let go” back in March.
There was no one to prepare him for retirement, the previous 35 years of his life were dedicated to his job (including 4 years of university to prepare him for his field). He left the house everyday at 6am and got home at 5pm.
No one is truely prepared for job loss. Most people aren’t prepared for retirement. The notion that athletes are somehow different in this regard is just silly.
In theory, there is little difference between practice and theory, but in practice there is!
Just because that was your father’s situation doesn’t mean it can’t be different for others, and it’s foolish to pretend otherwise.
Resident Capologist
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I’m not saying it can’t be different.
What I’m saying is guys like Nash are making it seem like it’s a problem exclusive to the NHL. It’s not. People lose jobs all the time.
Regular people have to deal with it in the same way, some do it much better than others (same goes for NHL players). But to look at retiring/job loss as a problem is completely missing the actual issue.
I don’t doubt that it can be the proverbial straw that broke the camels back, but at that point in time, that straw can be anything and helping them with the issues that lead up to this point should be the focus.
In theory, there is little difference between practice and theory, but in practice there is!
The Way I See It...
Hockey, like any profession, is the reason a lot of people get out of bed in the morning. If that reason is gone, you have someone left wondering what their raison d’etre in life is.
I’m not saying it’s this alone, and there was likely depression stemming before this point in Belak’s case, but it seems like, if anything, this was the context he might have been facing.
Visit my blog at: http://50-mission-cap.blogspot.com/
Leaf fan for life! (No, really. They gave me a no-trade clause when I was born.)
by FiftyMissionCap on Sep 1, 2011 1:43 PM EDT up reply actions
Right
Look at the line workers at GM that can’t handle lay offs after a lifetime of work. But these guys are reflecting on their own situation. Some of them actually clarified later that they know it applies to others.
Pension Plan Puppets: A Toronto Maple Leafs blog and a group therapy session.
Like reading thoughts confined to 140 characters? I'm on Twitter too.
Yes, I’ve noticed that a lot of guys are clarifying what they originally stated.
My issue is that they seemed to be missing the problem. Yes, some people cope with retirement or job loss better than others. But for the most part, people don’t self destruct wihout a significant underlying issue(s), and it’s important to address those.
Sure, a “help with retirement” program might have saved Belak in this instance, but what about further down the line? What happens in the next life obstacle that overwhelms him?
Whether or not the players clarified that it can happen to anyone is irrelevant… they are missing the problem.
In theory, there is little difference between practice and theory, but in practice there is!
Bourne, ever relevant: http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/blog/puck_daddy/post/Bourne-Blog-Losing-your-identity-after-the-hock?urn=nhl-wp11608&utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter
RIP Former-and-forever Leaf Wade Belak
Me on Twitter
another thing about hockey players is they have usually been doing this as long as they remember, it’s not like they went to school, and they started playing hockey at 18 or 19 and then worked their way to the NHL, they’ve been hockey players since they were 5 and 6, they’ve been “the best” at it since they were 12 years old in many cases, over some very important developmental years they have been “that guy who is good at hockey, that guy who is going to be in the NHL, that guy who is a pro hockey player” etc, and suddenly they are not anymore. it is a huge system shock
Y'all Heard About Me, You Just Didn't Know It was Me
by JaredFromLondon on Sep 1, 2011 3:28 PM EDT up reply actions
Oh... My .... GOSH !! I am just stunned.
Ok so its 4 am on Sept 01st. I had a long 2 days of work. Been out of touch of Hockey for about a week. Last I saw .. there was a blip about JVR signing an extension but other than that I have been working my tail off. So with a bit of Sinus Congestion and Insomnia I look up and see
Wade Belak is dead ? ! ? ! I am stunned ! Wade Belak was a fierce competitor – a shut down player and a hard checker. He was a Husband and a Father. A family man. Now he is gone and I am stunned. I just cannot believe it. So Sad. My prayers go out to the Family.
May GOD be with them during this tragic loss.
FLYERROB ! YOU STAY AWESOME FLYERS FANS ! ~ ~ ~ Lori Wilson Gray ~ ~ April 07th 1967 - May 27th 2011 ~ May you rest in Peace ~ I love you and miss you big Sis ! I cant believe at 44 yrs of age .. you went to sleep and never woke up. I promise to take care of Matt and Emily for you. With Love, your baby Brother.
Good bye, Wade. You were loved by more people then you ever met.
"You have to learn the rules of the game. And then you have to play better than anyone else."
Albert Einstein
by Say *plan the parade one more time*... on Sep 1, 2011 5:00 AM EDT reply actions
Just unbelievably sad. RIP Wade…
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by blindfolded tank driver on Sep 1, 2011 7:05 AM EDT reply actions
???? This is crazy! Just the other day I was watching fighting highlights of Belak on youtube thinking, wow, I really miss this guy!!
by gettingcozywithsarkozy on Sep 1, 2011 8:33 AM EDT reply actions
I don’t want to add to further speculation, but it’s always possible that Belak (or any other individual dealing with depression) suffered from bi-polar disease.
Move along. Nothing to see here...
by Van Ryn's Neurologist on Sep 1, 2011 8:44 AM EDT reply actions
Good writeup. As league revenues continue to rise, it will be appalling if the league decides not to attach mental health professionals to NHL and AHL teams at this point. It should be paid for by the league, but at this point, if I were a GM, I’d even do it out of my own salary if I had to.
RIP Former-and-forever Leaf Wade Belak
Me on Twitter
Thanks.
I’m glad you used that pic, I really hope people will continue to see him that way, and remember him as he actually was, as the happy, loving, funny guy he was, not as just another suicide they read in the paper.
You’ll be forever loved Wade.
Eat your waffles, kid.
Just a really weird feeling.
I don’t generally get attached to famous people, particularly sports stars, so when they die, it really is a non-event for the most part. But this one just has me feeling mixed. Whatever the reason, I just really liked Wade Belak – I’d go out of my way to make him my terrible rated player on any EA NHL game. I have just as many memories of his play as I do Tie Domi and I generally think of him much, much better.
A really rotten thing to happen that I hope, one day, we can make sense of. Until then, my thoughts go out to his family and friends. He was an entertaining and personable guy, I can’t imagine how it must feel right now.
i know what you mean. I was 13 when Pelle Lindberg died in 1986 a tragic car wreck. (DUI) and I actually cried. My dad snapped at me and said “Why are you crying.. you dont know him?”
FLYERROB ! YOU STAY AWESOME FLYERS FANS ! ~ ~ ~ Lori Wilson Gray ~ ~ April 07th 1967 - May 27th 2011 ~ May you rest in Peace ~ I love you and miss you big Sis ! I cant believe at 44 yrs of age .. you went to sleep and never woke up. I promise to take care of Matt and Emily for you. With Love, your baby Brother.
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