Kayla McBride supports tennis star Naomi Osaka in her mental health battle

Kayla McBride does not know Naomi Osaka. So McBride doesn't know the specifics of what Osaka is going through, how it led to her withdrawing from the French Open — and, perhaps, stepping back from the game for a while in general — to deal with issues in her life.

She doesn't know why Osaka felt dealing with postmatch media interviews is so difficult.

But here's something McBride does know: She supports Osaka, 100%.

"Mental health is something, as athletes, sometimes our ego can get in the way," McBride said after Lynx practice Tuesday. "We focus on being athletes all the time. It's, 'OK, I have this, I have this.' You do media, you want to say the right things. … Sometimes it takes away from what really matters. The game, having fun. That's why we picked up a ball in the first place. Or a racquet."

McBride understands that, firsthand.

She has, in the past, been open about her own struggles with mental health. How she decided not to go overseas in the fall of 2019 because she felt she needed to get way from the game. And then about how the COVID-19 pandemic — and the quarantines that went with it — ultimately took her away from the game. In a Players Tribune piece she penned last September she talked about how being away from the game forced her to deal with an anxiety issue that had its roots in her childhood.

Both McBride and Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve talked about the issue Tuesday. Reeve in particular talked about how much things have changed when it comes to talking about mental health issues from when she was a player.

And how much change is still needed. "A player should feel safe enough to come to an organization and say, 'I'm struggling and I need help,' " Reeve said. "There should not be consequences for that."

Reeve understands the importance of media coverage, the job reporters do.

"But mental health is real," she said.

Reeve suggested a mechanism in which a struggling player could go to a team, which would then contact the league. "And we say, 'Look, so-and-so, this week, is not going to be made available to the media as they work through whatever the situation is,' " Reeve said.

McBride said no athlete should face backlash for a decision to help themselves in such a situation.

"[In 2019] I didn't go overseas," she said. "I felt I needed a break from basketball. That's where I make my money, provide for myself and my family. But I knew I wasn't going to be myself if I went. That's not the French Open. It's way different. Still, making the decision to step away from what you love, it's hard. But treating yourself, treating your mental health? It's the best thing [Osaka] could do right now."

McBride's Players Tribune story was titled, "It's OK to Fall Apart."

And she said a willingness to talk about it — something that is being seen more and more — is good. She noted similar discussion coming from the likes of the NBA's Kevin Love or Liz Cambage, her former Las Vegas teammate.

"It gives you the confidence to share your story," McBride said. "Last year I shared mine. You're basically taking your control back. And that's such a big thing as an athlete, a person."