Jorge Lopez: Mental Struggles

We all saw the video of Jorge Lopez tossing his glove into the stands last week. We laughed and talked about how bad of a teammate this guy must be and how sorry the Mets are as a franchise. But how many of us stopped and asked ourselves, "Why?" 

Why would he act this way? What is he dealing with that we can't see? What caused him to literally throw his career away? 

Well this video shares a much different reality. Jorge Lopez is trying to make it in the MLB while at the same time going home every night, not knowing if his son is going to survive another year. His son is in desperate need of an organ transplant & no matter what Jorge does on the field, nothing will change the uncertainty and helplessness he feels at this moment. 

I think we can all learn a valuable lesson in empathy from this video. Before you choose to badmouth someone, first seek to understand them. Everyone is dealing with something we can't see. Like a volcano, we might only witness the eruption, but we have no idea what caused it or how long it's been brewing. 

The next time a coach or teacher yells at you for no reason or an umpire gives you a hard time, remember that empathy is your greatest gift as a person. 

The world laughed at Jorge Lopez because they didn't care to understand him. If you want to be a great teammate and leader, you have to understand first and judge second.