Sarah Barshop
Multiple Authors
LOS ANGELES — A day after UCLA heart Lauren Betts opened up about her battle with despair in a story for the Players’ Tribune, head coach Cori Close mentioned she could not be “more impressed and inspired” by Betts’ “courageous vulnerability.”
In the story printed on Thursday, Betts wrote about challenges she has had along with her mental health, together with the video games she missed throughout her sophomore season in January 2024. During that point, she mentioned she checked herself into the UCLA hospital to get assist.
In a information convention on Friday, Betts mentioned she needed to jot down the story as a result of “it was a good opportunity for me to show the growth that I’ve had in the past few years.”
When requested about her response to seeing Betts’ story, Close mentioned, “I cannot imagine, when I was that age, having that kind of courage.”
“And having experienced some of those things alongside her and with her, to see even just being over there and watching her answer the question about why she did that, I think spoke to her growth,” Close mentioned. “… It’s incredible to watch how she’s grown and healed in miraculous ways. And I couldn’t be any prouder.”
In the story, Betts mentioned when she returned to her group in 2024, she addressed her teammates to allow them to know why she missed that point.
“My mom and Cori encouraged me to address what happened and just speak from the heart,” Betts mentioned within the story. “So in the film room, before practice started, I spoke to everyone. I said, ‘I just want you all to know…. I’ve been dealing with depression. This is what’s been going on in my head. And yeah… I love you guys so much. And I’m sorry that I had to leave.’ Then I braced myself for their reactions.
“And in fact, there was by no means something to fret about. They had been all like, ‘We’re so pleased that you just took care of your self. You’re coming again even higher. We love you.'”
On Friday, Betts said she has “healed a lot” since her sophomore 12 months.
“And I feel to jot down it from my perspective was actually particular for me,” Betts said. “… I feel that it was simply an incredible alternative for me to proceed to talk on what I stand for and why I play basketball and why … I feel for me, that is a lot greater than myself. So I feel the those that I’ve been capable of impression actually means rather a lot to me and that is why I needed to do it.”
Earlier within the week, Betts was named First Team All-American. She was additionally named the Big Ten Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year this season.
Betts and 1-seed UCLA open the NCAA event at residence towards No. 16 seed California Baptist on Saturday at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN.
