Chicago’s Andre Drummond ruled out last night vs. Lakers after he speaks out about mental health struggle

Bulls center Andre Drummond wasn’t taken in consideration by his team for last night’s match against the Lakers, after he had posted on social media about his current mental health, mentioning he was going to leave social media to focus on himself. 

According to Chicago’s management, he was just ruled out this Wednesday due to personal reasons, as coach Billy Donovan expressed how hopeful he was of being able to use the big man on Friday night’s road clash against the Charlotte Hornets.

Andre Drummond is stepping away from social media, he announced on Tuesdayhttps://t.co/fqGb247GF3

— Bulls Talk (@NBCSBulls) March 28, 2023

“As we come here and play games there’s also a human side, a personal side to all these guys,” the trainer said, “and you feel bad when anybody’s going through something like that. I think you try to give as much support as you can.”

The 29-year-old  has already been a part of the NBA for eleven seasons, but this is only his first year wearing the red jersey. The veteran center had posted on Tuesday that he wasn’t only deleting his apps, but also changing his phone number.

“Time to focus on my mental health,” Drummond wrote on Twitter. “If you too are struggling with your mental health, you are not alone … it’s okay to ask for help.”

The big man is averaging 6.1 points and 6.7 rebounds over 62 games for the Bulls on a regular rotation role. In his last performance with the club, he dropped 11 points and won 8 rebounds during Monday’s 124-112 defeat against the Los Angeles Clippers.

“Sometimes when people look at these guys and they see them play and they see these NBA players, stars, all this other stuff, and all the stuff that comes with it that gosh, their lives must be just absolutely perfect,” coach Donovan said, “and they’re not. We’re all flawed. We all have challenges. We all have issues and things we all have to deal with.”

Take a look at last night’s highlights as the Lakers beat the Bulls 121 to 110:

His Chicago teammates also showed support for his mental health struggle

Some of his teammates also took the time to show their support for Drummond, as Bulls star DeMar DeRozan, who has been open about his own struggles with depression and mental health issues, said he will give him space making sure he knows he’s there for him.

“We love this game. We play this game. This game’s been good to us all,” DeRozan said. “But at the end you got to worry about and care for yourself first and foremost.”

In the past, whenever DeRozan has been honest about his own mental health, many people have expressed their gratitude about his openness about these common issues. Once, Donovan mentioned he was approached by a man this campaign in Toronto who simply wanted to thank DeRozan, so the player decided to spend some quality time with him.

“Moments like that to me is bigger than playing a basketball game, a paycheck, I mean, you name it, man,” the Chicago star said. “There’s just something about it that speaks volumes when someone’s story can help someone else and when I actually see it, it touched me in a different type of light. It’s nothing but appreciation and it just shows a different type of empathy that I wish we all had.”