The Players’ Tribune: “My Battle with PTSD” by Mikaela Shiffrin

ABOUT THIS ENTRY

My Battle with PTSD, published in The Players’ Tribune, is a deeply vulnerable open letter by 3-time Olympic gold medalist Mikaela Shiffrin detailing her experience following a 2024 crash and her subsequent mental health struggles. Through authentic athlete-led storytelling, The Players’ Tribune provided a safe space for Shiffrin to destigmatize trauma in elite sports and foster a powerful connection with fans built on shared human experiences.

How does this represent "Excellence in Engagement"?

For more than a  decade, The Players’ Tribune has been the blueprint for athlete-led storytelling, empowering athletes at all levels globally to take control over their own stories and share them in authentic, thoughtful, and impactful ways. 

This content exemplifies excellence in athlete storytelling engagement  across platforms. In just ten days after publication, the post of the story received nearly 1.2M views on Instagram, and the story was mentioned more than 180 times in online media coverage reaching more than 1.3B UVMs. What sets TPT storytelling apart from the storytelling of other sports media brands, however, is the incredibly long shelf-life of its content. Mikaela’s piece was discussed, shared, mentioned across channels for months after, and was often cited and used as the foundation for media coverage surrounding her record-setting Winter Olympics performance just this past month. In fact, Mikaela re-shared her story on social media the morning of her last competition, putting into context athletic performance within her overall human experience. 

Objective

For over 10 years, The Players’ Tribune (TPT) has established themselves as the premier athlete storytelling brand - fostering trust & respect with the athlete community & offering a safe space for them to share their most personal stories.

This story was built upon a years-long relationship with Mikaela, where she shared her previous experiences with TPT through written & visual content - from grief in her fathers’ passing to her NY Fashion Week debut. So when Mikaela was ready to talk about her horrific crash & the mental health struggles that followed, she came to TPT to share her story with the sports community & the world. Mental health storytelling is a pillar of TPT’s editorial foundation, offering athletes the cathartic experience of sharing their story authentically in a supported space, and delivered to audiences with the care & delicacy unique to TPT.

Mikaela’s story, My Battle with PTSD, provided an unfiltered look into her 2024 crash at Killington - a frightening near-miss with a fatal injury, the terrifying disconnect between her body & mind upon returning to the snow & her subsequent PTSD diagnosis. By sharing this story Shiffrin & TPT showcased the nuance & depth that surrounds the lives of athletes - demonstrating that even record-breaking champions face challenging mental hurdles.

Strategy & Execution

The sports industry has seen time and time again that today's sports fans want to get to know the human side of athletes, not just their stats, scores or highlight reel moments. It’s no longer just the performance on the field that inspires a connection with fans, but rather the modern sports fan’s affinity comes from connecting with athletes’ personal interests, personality traits, shared experiences, and more.  The Players’ Tribune provides this genuine connection through authentic, athlete-led storytelling - the core of its ethos that has remained unchanged for over a decade. 

My Battle with PTSD is a prime example of this ethos, delivered to the audience through TPT’s specific formula to engage modern sports fans with maximum exposure of the story – the right athlete, the right moment, the right story, the right voice, the right medium and format. 

From a distribution standpoint, this content lives natively on TPT’s site, along with  visual storytelling of the story shared across their YouTube channel and social media accounts, which reaches an audience of more than 3M+ . The written and video content was also shared across TPT and Shiffrin’s social media channels in engaging social cutdown formats to maximize impact and engagement with audiences.

Organizations

• The Players’ Tribune

Links

•   Website

Featured

• 3-time Olympic gold medalist and the most decorated alpine skier in history Mikaela Shiffrin

Credits

Mikaela Shiffrin
3-time Olympic Gold Medalist
The Players' Tribune

Sam Maller
Visual Director
The Players' Tribune