Toronto Star
· collected 2026-10-10 · by James Pollard The Associated Press
Karl-Anthony Towns, now an All-Star forward for the New York Knicks, spoke about his ongoing grief on World Mental Health Day, six years after losing his mother to COVID-19 complications. At Project Healthy Minds' event, he shared how basketball helped him cope but also felt hollow at times, emphasizing the importance of therapy and trusted relationships in managing mental health. Towns hopes his story encourages others to seek help, with Project Healthy Minds providing a free online marketplace for mental health services.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-10,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
NEW YORK (AP) — Karl-Anthony Towns has been traded from Minnesota, lost the conference finals and won the NBA title for his childhood team — and still feels he is in the period of grief that began six years ago.
asserted
that → trade → grief
Just 10 days before the New York Knicks’ banner-raising celebration, the All-Star big man marked World Mental Health Day by sharing his ongoing emotional journey following the death of his mother to complications from COVID-19.
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man → raise → COVID-19
Entering the first game of this year’s NBA Finals, he said he felt “this very big calm” wash over him.
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calm → enter → him
He was taken back to amateur youth games with crowds so small he could spot his mom from anywhere.
uncertain
he → take → mom
“I felt like it was kinda just me, her and the game of basketball,” he told the audience gathered Saturday by the nonprofit Project Healthy Minds.
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he → feel → Minds
I was able to have my paint brush and have a canvas with the court.
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I → have → court
And I was able to just paint a beautiful picture for her about the love I have for the game.
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I → paint → game
The love I have to show the world because of her.
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I → have → her
There was a time when he had lost that love for the game.
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he → be → game
Towns, whose bright smile became a constant image of the Knicks’ championship run, said basketball “felt hollow” after his mother’s death.
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basketball → become → death
“I didn’t know if I wanted to do it anymore,” he said.
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he → know → it
But Towns found some solace in Arnie Kander, a well-known strength and wellness coach.
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Towns → find → Kander
“Just to be heard, to be able to talk to someone you can trust, be able to really unload all that pain onto it and allow them to understand your feelings and articulate your feelings the right way, it makes life much lighter,” he said.
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he → hear → feelings
“And I felt myself getting lighter every time we kept talking.”
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we → feel → ?
Athletes embrace mental health
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Athletes → embrace → health
Project Healthy Minds hopes Towns’ example will inspire others to seek mental health care.
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example → hop → care
The tech nonprofit runs a free online marketplace for finding therapy, psychiatry, support groups and other services.
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nonprofit → run → therapy
Its annual World Mental Health Day festival in New York offers an all-day schedule of yoga, art therapy and speakers.
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festival → offer → yoga
Speaking Saturday with Towns was Boardroom CEO Rich Kleiman, the longtime manager for NBA superstar Kevin Durant and a new member of Project Healthy Minds’ board.
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Kleiman → speak → board
Kleiman told The Associated Press that these sorts of conversations are growing more prevalent among athletes.
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sorts → tell → athletes
DeMar DeRozan and Kevin Love kick-started the conversation eight years ago when DeRozan tweeted about depression and Love then published a first-person essay about anxiety.
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Love → kick → anxiety
Kleiman recalled trading stories about anxiety attacks with Love for several hours one night shortly afterward.
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Kleiman → recall → hours
Most players won’t feel that comfortable constantly telling their story, Kleiman said.
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Kleiman → feel → story
But he said players are certainly more aware of its impact.
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players → say → impact
“They just carry so much weight and speak to so many people,” Kleiman told The Associated Press before the panel.
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Kleiman → carry → panel
“I think it says a lot that Karl Towns is feeling comfortable enough right before the season starts to be able to be so open about it.”
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season → think → it
Another panel brought together former NFL wide receiver Brandon Marshall and Gotham FC forward Midge Purce for a conversation about finding purpose outside of performance.
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panel → bring → performance
Marshall, a six-time Pro Bowl player who publicly shared his borderline personality disorder diagnosis in 2011, said therapy showed him how to “connect with his brain.”
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therapy → share → brain
He even started taking his therapy sessions in the cafeteria to normalize it for others.
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He → start → others
Purce discussed her evolving definition of “tough.”
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Purce → discuss → tough
Raised by her dad, she said she grew up believing toughness meant “no tears.”
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toughness → raise → tears
But she credited her teammates with teaching her “it’s OK to feel sad and upset.
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it → credit → teammates
“I think tough is being able to feel all those things that are touching you and touching your heart, but still finding that resilience to go forward while living all of it,” she told the crowd.
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she → think → crowd
Using sports to show emotional strength
Saturday’s sports focus offers a glimpse into Project Healthy Minds’ future programming.
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focus → use → programming
The nonprofit relies on cultural figures to introduce its platform to their audiences.
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nonprofit → rely → audiences
It partnered this summer with the Broadway play “Every Brilliant Thing,” a one-person show whose narrator — originally played by Daniel Radcliffe, then Mariska Hargitay and, finally, Tracee Ellis Ross — presents his struggling mother with a list of reasons to live.
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narrator → partner → reasons
Soon-to-be-announced initiatives will lean further into sports as the nonprofit tries to inspire more communities to seek mental health care.
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nonprofit → announce → care
With interest in women’s sports growing and live sports remaining a powerful convener in an otherwise fragmented media landscape, Project Healthy Minds CEO Phil Schermer finds that athletes are well suited to bring their message to the masses.
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athletes → grow → masses
Athletes, according to Schermer, also shape the American public’s notions of strength.
uncertain
Athletes → accord → strength
It makes sense to him that they could then model that “it is strong to talk about your emotions.”
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it → make → emotions
…and 7 more, not listed.
The Aporia
