Silent Crisis, Mental Health, Racialized Masculinity and the Death of Kyren Lacy: A Critical Examination of Suicide Risk Factors AmongBlack Male Athletes

Authors

  • Taylor Curtain Department of Psychology, North Carolina Central University, USA and Kylyn Love/ Edwards Psychoneuroendocrine and Rare Diseases Laboratory, USA  Author
  • Taylor Zande Department of Psychology, North Carolina Central University, USA and Kylyn Love/ Edwards Psychoneuroendocrine and Rare Diseases Laboratory, USA  Author
  • Christopher L Edwards Department of Psychology, North Carolina Central University, USA and Kylyn Love/ Edwards Psychoneuroendocrine and Rare Diseases Laboratory, USA Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.47363/JMHC/2025(7)334

Keywords:

Silent Crisis, Mental Health

Abstract

The 2024 suicide of Kyren Lacy, a 24-year-old Louisiana State University football player, represents a profound tragedy that illuminates the complex intersection of racialized masculinity, systemic oppression, and mental health crisis within collegiate athletics. This paper examines Lacy’s death as a case study to explore the unique psychological burdens faced by Black male athletes, whose mental health needs are systematically overlooked while their physical performance is commodified. Drawing upon critical race theory, intersectionality frameworks, and extensive literature on athlete mental health, this analysis reveals how historical legacies of scientific racism, contemporary media representations, and institutional exploitation create distinct vulnerability patterns for Black male athletes. The paper argues that conventional mental health interventions fail Black male athletes because they do not account for the racialized nature of their experiences, including hypervisibility in athletic contexts, marginalization in academic settings, and the psychological impact of representing both personal and generational aspirations for upward mobility. Through examining the historical construction of Black masculinity within American sports, contemporary pressures of performance-based identity, and the inadequacy of current mental health support systems, this research advocates for culturally responsive, multidisciplinary approaches to mental health care that recognize Black male athletes as complete human beings rather than commodified entertainers. The analysis demonstrates that Lacy’s death was not an isolated incident but symptomatic of broader systemic failures that demand immediate institutional reform and culturally grounded intervention strategies.

Author Biographies

  • Taylor Curtain, Department of Psychology, North Carolina Central University, USA and Kylyn Love/ Edwards Psychoneuroendocrine and Rare Diseases Laboratory, USA 

    Department of Psychology, North Carolina Central University, USA and Kylyn Love/ Edwards Psychoneuroendocrine and Rare Diseases Laboratory, USA 

  • Taylor Zande, Department of Psychology, North Carolina Central University, USA and Kylyn Love/ Edwards Psychoneuroendocrine and Rare Diseases Laboratory, USA 

    Department of Psychology, North Carolina Central University, USA and
    Kylyn Love/ Edwards Psychoneuroendocrine and Rare Diseases Laboratory, USA 

  • Christopher L Edwards, Department of Psychology, North Carolina Central University, USA and Kylyn Love/ Edwards Psychoneuroendocrine and Rare Diseases Laboratory, USA

    Department of Psychology, North Carolina Central University, USA and Kylyn Love/ Edwards Psychoneuroendocrine and Rare Diseases Laboratory, USA

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Published

2025-11-10

Issue

Vol. 7 No. 11 (2025): Volume 7 Issue 11

Section

Articles