Abstract

This paper builds on the limited body of work that currently exists in respect of sports work and mental illness. It does so by drawing on the case of Vincent Pericard, a Cameroonian born, French international footballer who was described in a 1999 television documentary as ‘The man who will be worth billions’, but who, following a poorly managed transfer between Juventus and Portsmouth, retired from the game at the age of 28, having being diagnosed with depression. Based upon a series of interviews conducted with Vincent over an 8-year period, the intention of this paper is two-fold. Firstly, I analyse the conditions of Vincent’s transfer from Juventus to Portsmouth. I examine how a loss of status and diminished sense of self, coupled with a range of other challenges specifically related to Vincent’s migration, acted as triggers to the initial development of his depression. Secondly, I analyse Vincent’s working environment in England. In this section, I draw on the work of Goffman to show how Vincent was forced to conceal the deterioration of his mental health—something that ultimately contributed to a worsening of it. These analyses are used to illustrate two things: (1) the potential mental health consequences that can occur when the international transfers of foreign players are not managed effectively; and (2) the negative effects a player’s club environment can have on their mental health, if no suitable outlet exists for them to be able to discuss it.

摘要

本文建立在目前与体育工作和精神疾病相关的有限工作基础之上。它借鉴了文森特·佩里卡德 (Vincent Pericard) 的案例，这位出生于喀麦隆的法国国际足球运动员在 1999 年的电视纪录片中被描述为“身价数十亿的人”，但在尤文图斯和朴茨茅斯之间的转会管理不善之后28 岁那年，因被诊断出患有抑郁症而退出了比赛。基于对文森特 8 年时间的一系列采访，本文的意图有两个方面。首先，我分析了文森特从尤文图斯转会朴茨茅斯的情况。我研究了地位的丧失和自我意识的减弱，以及与文森特移民特别相关的一系列其他挑战，触发了他的抑郁症的初步发展。其次，我分析了文森特在英国的工作环境。在本节中，我利用戈夫曼的工作来展示文森特是如何被迫隐瞒他的心理健康恶化的——这最终导致了它的恶化。这些分析用于说明两件事：（1）当外国球员的国际转会没有得到有效管理时可能发生的潜在心理健康后果；(2) 如果没有合适的渠道供他们讨论，球员所在俱乐部环境可能对他们的心理健康产生负面影响。我利用戈夫曼的作品来展示文森特是如何被迫隐瞒他的心理健康恶化的——这最终导致了它的恶化。这些分析用于说明两件事：（1）当外国球员的国际转会没有得到有效管理时可能发生的潜在心理健康后果；(2) 如果没有合适的渠道供他们讨论，球员所在俱乐部环境可能对他们的心理健康产生负面影响。我利用戈夫曼的作品来展示文森特是如何被迫隐瞒他的心理健康恶化的——这最终导致了它的恶化。这些分析用于说明两件事：（1）当外国球员的国际转会没有得到有效管理时可能发生的潜在心理健康后果；(2) 如果没有合适的渠道供他们讨论，球员所在俱乐部环境可能对他们的心理健康产生负面影响。