Introduction -- Part I: Three underlying factors that jeopardize athletes' health and mental health: an overview -- A single-minded pursuit of spectator sports rewards -- The American legal system unreasonably and unfairly favors spectator sports organizations and enterprises -- Sportswashing as part of an expanding spectator sports propaganda arsenal -- Part II: Athletes' spectator sports mental health concerns -- Mental conditions that athletes, like everyone else, may experience -- Sports-related "yips," stress, anxiety, and depression -- Evolving COVID risks: known, suspected, and unknown -- CTE, other brain damage, and related erratic behaviors -- Substance abuse and dependency -- Part III: Mental health and emotional well-being challenges of marginalized athletes -- Female athletes -- LGB athletes and sports homophobia -- Intersex and trans athletes: "not female enough" -- Conclusion

"In The Burden of Sports, John Weston Parry examines the mental health and emotional well-being of elite American athletes generally, as well as in relation to spectator sports propaganda, the legal system, politics, and the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. This book covers mental health conditions that any elite athlete may encounter, from depression and anxiety to substance abuse and concussion-caused brain damage to the special challenges of female, queer, transgender, and intersex athletes. Parry also highlights the personal stories of famous American athletes who struggled publicly with their mental health, including Simone Biles, Naomi Osaka, Michael Sam, and Tiger Woods. This is a timely and necessary book for readers who want to see sports change for the better in support of America's athletes." --