The Art of Emotional Expression: What Our Sports Icons Teach Us

In a world where emotions are typically suppressed behind fake grins, particularly for men, there’s something extremely powerful about seeing raw, unbridled emotion in the world’s spotlight. A prime example was when Cristiano Ronaldo, overcome with emotion following Portugal’s win in the UEFA Nations League, wept and collapsed to the ground. Another is Virat Kohli, a flawed but ferocious hero and popular cricketing icon. When RCB finally won a long-sought IPL title, the captain gave full vent to his feelings. It wasn’t a party; it was catharsis, a mental release well known to alleviate emotional tension and foster inner equilibrium.

These men are tough, renowned, and adored. They are proving to the world that it does not take away from your strength to have feelings. It makes you human.

In humanistic psychology, Carl Rogers promoted that freely expressing emotions is key to living an authentic, genuine life. He believed that the negation or repression of emotion can short-circuit personal development.

During an era when toxic masculinity still softly whispers, “men don’t cry,” these public figures are reauthoring the script. They smile and weep during happy moments as well as sorrowful ones—not because they are emotional, but because they are human.

As we mark Men’s Mental Health Month, it’s an ideal opportunity to consider what these emotional moments mean. They end the silence. They resist traditional masculine norms and expectations. They make it okay to be vulnerable. They remind us that emotional expression is not a weakness. It is freedom.

Let’s encourage the men in our lives to come alive in their inner world. To cry and celebrate as they must. To speak and reach out to supportive resources when they need assistance for their mental wellness, not just for work stress, financial hardship, or relationship issues, but also for matters such as social isolation, anxiety, depression, suicidal ideation, addiction, PTSD, and beyond.

Shatter the old stigma and be yourself.

Because emotional expression is not weakness. It is a gorgeous art.

And the world needs more artists