- Sports psychologists are divided on whether bitterness over the trade will help or hinder his performance.
- Some experts believe bitterness can create a beneficial ‘fight mentality,’ while others say it is an unsustainable distraction.
- Psychologists suggest Parsons could also draw motivation from gratitude for his new $188 million contract with the Packers.
Seemingly strung along during a contract impasse this summer.
Abruptly traded in late August.
Denied a tribute during his imminent return to the place he called home for four stellar seasons.
Micah Parsons, set to play against the Dallas Cowboys Sept. 28 for the first time since they traded him to the Green Bay Packers, has reasons to be bitter. That emotion could fuel the four-time Pro Bowl defensive lineman, or potentially derail him, according to psychologists.
“Because bitterness creates anger, and anger activates the body…your body becomes more intense,’’ said Jim Taylor, an expert on the psychology of performance who said he has worked with NFL players and other athletes. “It creates a fight mentality, and that can be beneficial to performance. …
“But it doesn’t feel good and it’s kind of unsustainable.’’
Jim Loehr, a renowned performance psychologist, told USA TODAY Sports, “I have never had any athlete perform well when driven by bitterness.”
Caroline Silby, a sports psychologist consultant who has worked with Olympic athletes, said, “Bitterness may provide a temporary spark for someone lower on the motivation continuum, but for athletes who already possess and display strong personal purpose and drive, it can be an unnecessary distraction.’’
But Carrie Hastings, a sports psychologist who’s in her eighth season of working with the Los Angeles Rams, views bitterness differently.
“If you are in control of it enough to where you are out there playing with a chip on your shoulder, that’s going to give you an edge,’’ she said. “An emotion like bitterness should maybe not (be) used as a tool when it becomes so overwhelming that it’s almost flooding your system, you’re carrying it with you throughout the day, in and out of football, on and off the field, and you’re not able to manage it.’’
Would another emotion spur Parsons?
Parsons has said he has ‘no hard feelings” toward the Cowboys. But is there any way to know for sure?
After all, Parsons has battled with Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, who may have aggravated the situation by saying the team will not honor Parsons at AT&T Stadium.
Taylor, the psychologist who specializes in performance, said he would look for the presence of bitterness in Parsons considering what Parsons endured with the Cowboys during training camp.
“As soon as we engage thinking about the experience, that reduces the negative emotions,” Taylor said. ‘It turns the volume down.”
But what if Parsons wants to turn the volume up?
Earlier this month, he told Amazon Prime Video of the Cowboys, “There’s nothing more motivating then when you find out that people you love don’t truly believe in you and they thought less of you.’’
Hastings, the Rams sports psychologist, pointed out Parsons could draw on another emotion for motivation.
Gratitude.
After the Cowboys traded Parsons to the Packers, he signed a four-year, $188 million contract.
‘He’s going to be back in his old stadium with his familiar fans, who will probably still be rooting for him and seeing his old teammates,” Hastings said. ‘So there’s also a lot to look forward to in this sense. And he got a pretty good contract out of the trade, so there’s that, too.
“But if he does carry any bitterness, if he’s able to channel it in a way that is helpful to him, then certainly he could and should use it.’’