Mike Whitmarsh and the Plight of the Retired Athlete

On February 16, former AVP star and Olympic Silver medalist Mike Whitmarsh was found dead in a car inside a friend’s garage. Two days later, the San Diego County Medical Examiner’s office ruled his death a suicide.

I don’t know if he left a note or if anyone knows why he decided to take his own life. But I can’t help but wonder if any part of the reason was what many retired athletes in this country struggle with – coping with life after sports stardom.

Mike Whitmarsh was one of beach volleyball’s greats. He won 25 tournaments on the AVP tour (most with partner Mike Dodd) and took home $1.6 million in winnings over the course of his career. He lived the glamorous life of a pro beach player at the height of the sport’s popularity. He retired after the 2004 AVP season and five years later he’s gone.

The life of an elite athlete is a tough act to follow. After spending most of the formative years developing a natural talent and focused only on improving and dominating a sport, the great ones get to enjoy success and life at the top as one of the best in the country and possibly the world. The cheers, the respect, the accolades and the adoration become a part of daily life.

Actors, entertainers and rock stars can continue their craft well into old age. Clint Eastwood is still getting nominated for Oscars and the Rolling Stones are still filling arenas. But the human body is not equipped to compete at the top level of sports indefinitely. At some point, the body slows down, younger players start to challenge, and the once superstar athlete is forced to retire. The lights and the glamour fade out and are replaced with real life and its cubicles, fluorescent lighting and quarterly reports.

Is it any wonder that athletes have a tough time making the transition? Maybe that’s why so many once-great athletes un-retire after a few years out of the spotlight. Sure they’re past their prime, but they can still compete on some level and may even find success again. The list of returnees is long – Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Brett Favre, George Foreman, Martina Navratilova, Jimmy Connors and Lance Armstrong just to name a few – but come-backs are short-lived and the athlete always winds up back in real life and often totally unprepared.

Where do all those years of dedication and gallons of sweat leave them when it is all over? While most have college degrees, their job has been playing their sport for the last 20 years. Many enter the workforce for the first time at 40+ years old with no real job experience to speak of.

Hopefully, they saved some of their money and can start their own business or foundation. Some land jobs in sports broadcasting or coaching. The rest find themselves searching for a place on the bottom rung of the ladder in a crowded job market. Suddenly the extraordinary become ordinary.

One former college athlete told me that he pursued a career in music after sports because he still longed to be applauded by a crowd. Real life has no equivalent. Some handle the loss of their former life better than others. They find an adequate job, raise children, settle in and move on. But many never quite find their way.

With the death of Whitmarsh, a wife is left without a husband, two girls are left without a father and the volleyball community mourns the loss of one of the great ones. Goodbye, Mike Whitmarsh. Rest in peace.