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Articles by Mikaela Brewer
Poem: To President Levin
after James Baldwin’s “The Fire Next Time” President: from the Latin praesident (sitting before) “It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society.” — Jiddu Krishnamurti We ask: please explain: why posture to appear neutral — well adjusted to sickness so fierce — no different than the syndrome you staunchly shame, never quite looking your ducks in the face. Swimming abidingly — therefore alone — means nothing if we aren’t together & bold.
How College Sports Can Better Protect Athletes’ Mental Health
A version of this piece first appeared in Global Sport Matters. A few months ago, someone asked me, “Have you always been this open about your mental health?” I laughed nervously and shook my head. No. Then they asked, “Have you ever felt the fear of being judged or misunderstood?” Great question. As a college athlete, one of the worst things you can buy into is the noise—the underlying hum of opinions shared in the news and on social media.
Even in Victory, Stanford Womens Basketball Lost
Tears tumbled almost immediately, not all of them from joy. Red and white confetti fell from the rafters at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, as the Stanford women’s basketball team collapsed into each other’s arms. Having just won Stanford University's first National Collegiate Athletic Association women’s basketball championship since 1992, the players were elated. They also felt relief.
Brewer: Platforms – A letter to athletes | The Stanford Daily
Trigger Warning: This story contains mentions of suicide and suicide ideation that may be troubling to some readers. I started playing serious basketball when I was 11, in a small neighborhood north of Toronto — Barrie, Ontario. At 15, I was selected for the provincial team: at 16, the Canadian national team; and at 17, signed to play at Stanford University. As quickly as my basketball career began, I became acutely aware of these mystical words: You have a platform.
An alum’s response to ‘Why are student-athletes more important…’: Not us vs. them | The Stanford Daily
Being frustrated, apathetic and angry, along with the rest of the emotions in the book, is absolutely justified. I’m sure there are things we have felt and experienced this year that we don’t have adequate words for, as we wrestle with a global pandemic that has been wringing us dry for nearly a year. I think we can agree that any and all feelings are warranted and that they shouldn’t be bottled up.
Senior Column: Scoring in traffic | The Stanford Daily
I’ve been thinking a lot about the difference between magic and science, as I attempt to simultaneously write fiction and become a neuroscientist. Many people who are undoubtedly smarter than I am have their intricate reductive opinions. Nonetheless, I’d like to share mine, as it relates to my four years here at Stanford. I have always found something really mystical about reflection. Reflection, for the most part, has dominated much of my writing.
Women in Sports: Julie Foudy ’93 learns (and laughs) fearlessly
This article concludes The Daily’s weekly series celebrating Stanford women in sports in honor of Women’s History Month, which is commemorated throughout March. The series features profiles of current and former professional athletes, sports journalists and executives.
Women in Sports: Erica McCall ’17 soars to new heights
This article is part of an ongoing series celebrating Stanford women in sports in honor of Women’s History Month, which is commemorated throughout March. This weekly series will feature profiles of Stanford alumnae in sports — including current and former professional athletes, sports journalists and executives. I remember the first time I met Erica McCall ’17, who will forever be “Bird” to me. I was just 16, and I was on my unofficial visit to Stanford as a women’s basketball recruit.
Women in Sports: Jessica Mendoza ’02 and a voice of her own
This article is part of an ongoing series celebrating Stanford women in sports in honor of Women’s History Month, which is commemorated throughout March. This weekly series will feature profiles of current and former professional athletes, sports journalists and executives. For the first time since 2008, baseball and softball will return to the Olympic games, which are set to take place this summer in Tokyo.
Women in Sports: Jessica Mendoza ’02 has a voice of her own
This article is part of an ongoing series celebrating Stanford women in sports in honor of Women’s History Month, which is commemorated throughout March. This weekly series will feature profiles of current and former professional athletes, sports journalists and executives. For the first time since 2008, baseball and softball will return to the Olympic games, which are set to take place this summer in Tokyo.
Naidu: Time for changes, NFL
There is a major rule change the NFL should implement this offseason. However, the overtime possession rules should not be one of them. On the season, the New England Patriots averaged 2.32 points per drive with a touchdown percentage of 26.7 percent. Meanwhile, the Chiefs, the number one scoring offense in the NFL, averaged 3.25 points per drive with a touchdown percentage of 40.5 percent.
Golub: Enes Kanter, the American harbinger
Enes Kanter couldn’t go to London because he feared for his life. Dictator Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, via his evil henchman and former NBA player Hedo Turkoglu, has consistently threatened, mocked and insulted Kanter for Kanter’s opposition to ruthless totalitarian xenophobia and political suppression. Ironically, Hedo was a heady player known for his ability to handle and facilitate. Turkoglu claimed Kanter lied about fearing for his life.
Brewer: The purple crayon paradox
I want you to be really honest with yourself when thinking about the following question. Sit with your instinctual answer. Would you be surprised upon hearing that a highly touted college athlete, primarily known for their athletic capabilities, is also an aspiring mechanical engineer, with a 3.7 GPA? Why are you surprised? Where does such a concrete divide between athlete and student come from? Why is there a line at all? Why do you have to be either a student or an athlete?
Brewer: Being thankful
As much as material things have their place in our lives, it is the interactions with people who make our lives feel most full, and people who teach us the most. It is important to live in the moment and enjoy those around us in our immediate presence. It is important to be able to reflect upon those who have paved our path and guided us to new ones. We fail to see all of these people as we bounce from one endeavor to the next.
Brewer: Everyone puts in work
We know the people who play. We know the people who make the big shots or goals. We look up to these people, we idolize them and we strive to be like them. We know Cristiano Ronaldo, LeBron James, Tiger Woods, Roger Federer, Usain Bolt, Russell Wilson, Serena Williams, Steph Curry, Ronda Rousey and the list goes on. All of these athletes are at the height of their sport. They work incredibly hard when no one is watching, yet they also work incredibly hard when everyone is.
Brewer: Picture this
You may have seen these posts on Twitter: “Picture this: its 2007, and it’s a Saturday morning. You want to watch your favorite show, so you tiptoe downstairs and turn the TV on. The volume explodes out of the speakers and you scramble like a maniac for the remote. You turn the volume down and listen for the creak of the floorboards at the top of the stairs, which would indicate that you’re about to be scolded for waking your parents up on a Saturday morning. You hear nothing.
Brewer: Paving the road for equal pay
We all march to the beat of a drum that we didn’t make. But even so, we are led to believe that it is our own drum. Do women march to the beat of their own drum, or do we march to the beat of the men’s drum? Many would argue no, but in the world of sports, it may be temporarily unavoidable. It is inevitable that sports on the male side generate more revenue, and more revenue often leads to much higher pay.
Brewer: Cardinal RHED
The thrill of game day pulls all of us in. It brings fans, players, coaches and aspiring young athletes together in one facility. And believe me, it truly is incredible, especially alongside teammates and coaches that you love. There’s beauty and uniqueness in the amount of people that are brought together through sport; there’s nothing quite like it. However, there’s a lot more to an athlete behind the number of pushups they can do, their season stats and team record.
Brewer: Humble
We’re human. In being human, we take things for granted. Our mental well-being is one of those things. We rely on certain consistencies in our lives, things we expect to always be there. The key word in the previous sentence was ‘lives,’ something we often forget how lucky we are to have, until one is taken from us. And usually only then are we humbled.
Brewer: How to be inspired
It’s not easy being surrounded by the best all of the time, but it is the best place to be. Inspiration drives a lot of things, and how to be inspired has been one of the biggest lessons that I have learned through sport. To me, there is a huge difference between working for something because you are inspired and because you are jealous or envious. This past Sunday was Senior Night for the seniors on the women’s basketball team, and it really got me thinking.
Brewer: Character
If I could pinpoint one thing that people often miss in sports, it would be character, and how we build it in context. Character is what makes an individual unique, an athlete unique and any team of people unique. What’s not seen are the experiences that build it. As a society, we think we know how to define and blanket terms, often exemplified by how we put labels on not only things, but people. In reality, we don’t have any common ground definitions of anything.
Brewer: The good, the bad and the ugly
The good, the bad and the ugly. Success often comes from experiencing all three. The good will make you feel like you’re on top of the iceberg. It is when you win a game, a regular season, a Pac-12 championship or a national championship. Yet, as much as there is a tip of the iceberg, there are also kilometers more beneath the freezing cold water, invisible to passersby. The build-up to good things isn’t always good.
Brewer: ‘Why we play’
A few times, I’ve heard one of my best friends say “wow, I just had a bigger than basketball moment.” Throughout the past year, I’ve really put some thought into those words, which hold more power than you may think. What does this statement mean? Every athlete has a story and a reason why they do what they do. Maybe for some, it is the fame, the glory or the feeling of being empowered by the hype of the news and media stream when you reach a milestone.
Brewer: New year, new team?
New year, new me? New year, new team? These phrases float around everywhere on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat, the news headlines and many other social networks. I would bet money that the community gyms will be packed during January yet slowly empty out as the year progresses. Nobody miraculously changes into a new individual or group of individuals. It is a new year, and new goals have been set, but they’ve been set by the same people.
Brewer: ‘Thanksgiving tournament in Vegas’
What happens in Vegas? Well that depends on who you ask. Most would say a questionably healthy amount of gambling and partying, but it just so happened that there was also a women’s basketball tournament at the Mandalay Bay convention center, which was even more fun. And I’m not just saying that because I’m only 19. Stanford women’s basketball spent Thanksgiving in Las Vegas, participating in the Play for Kay tournament, which supports the Kay Yow Cancer fund.
Brewer: ‘Looking beyond the final score’
Athletes are often seen in one light: As athletes, and in the physical domain. As a member of the women’s basketball team here at Stanford, I hope to change that. To state it simply, I hope to broaden the view of athletes, and exemplify the side what most often isn’t seen; in my opinion, these characteristics of people are what builds great teams – not just in sports, but in life as a whole.
Brewer: the journey to a new season
The best time of year is rapidly approaching for one of most tightly knit sports teams on Stanford campus. Basketball is back this Saturday at 2pm in Maples against UC San Diego, and the 14-player sisterhood that comprises the Stanford women’s basketball team is ready to shine even brighter than the spotlight of the 2017 Final Four in Dallas, Texas last season. Yet this year is unique, as each year is, and began about 6,000 miles east in Rome, Italy.
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