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The Takedown | MMA champion Angela Lee must be applauded for revealing 2017 car crash was suicide attempt
- ONE Championship fighter’s public display of vulnerability could save lives in industry where showing pain is not an option
- ‘I realise my purpose in life is greater than winning championships. It’s saving lives,’ says Lee, whose sister Victoria took her own life last year
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Angela Lee revealed in The Players Tribune on Tuesday a 2017 car crash which ruled her out of a coming title defence was a suicide attempt.
The 26-year-old ONE Championship fighter also confirmed publicly for the first time her sister Victoria Lee took her own life. The 18-year-old, who had also competed in the martial arts organisation, died on Boxing Day last year, but no cause of death was released by the family at the time.
Lee, who is ONE’s atomweight MMA champion, chose to share her story after National Suicide Prevention Week in the US, with Victoria’s death prompting her to create non-profit mental health charity Fightstory.
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Put simply, Lee’s incredible bravery to put out such a powerful account of pain, and to show so much vulnerability, must be applauded by all in the combat sports industry, from fans to fighters, promoters and media.
Such topics are not just taboo, they are actively looked down upon in a world where you can show no weakness. In the ring or the cage, you can’t let your opponent know that you are hurt – you must radiate only strength, or there can be drastic consequences.
It’s a hyper-intensive microcosm of wider society, where such issues and stereotypes also persist.
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