Winner-take-all culture can be toxic. Even fatal. Don’t take my word for it. Ask the “winners.”
“The Weight of Gold” (9 p.m., HBO, streaming on HBO Max, TV-14) interviews some of the most familiar faces from American Olympic sports to discuss the psychological aftermath of a youth spent in constant training, a culture of intense competition to the exclusion of all outside interests and social activities, a sports pinnacle that defines a career in a 40-second event and a lifetime of anticlimax after a golden moment on the podium.
The life of an Olympian seems almost custom-designed to induce depression and even suicidal thoughts.
And a raft of medalists, including Michael Phelps, Shaun White, Sasha Cohen and other competitors including Apolo Ohno, Katie Uhlaender, Jeremy Bloom, Lolo Jones, Bode Miller, Gracie Gold, Jonathan Cheever and David Boudia discuss their moments of darkness.
The film reflects on the deaths of bobsledder Steven Holcomb and aerial skier Jeret “Speedy” Peterson.
Way back in 2008, when Michael Phelps was asked to host “SNL,” I wondered how a kid who had spent his entire life with his head in the water could rise to the occasion and “be funny.”
In “The Weight of Gold,” Phelps and others discuss this dilemma. Their singular focus, so admired by colleagues, parents and coaches, also tends to turn out individuals uniquely unable to handle “normal” life.
I admire anyone brave enough to discuss issues of depression and suicide. It must be particularly difficult in athletes, where a sports culture puts the emphasis on sucking it up and playing through the pain. I can already hear sports radio slobs accusing them of being “crybabies.”
This film arrives at a critical time. The Olympics have been postponed until next year, but Major League Baseball (7 p.m., ESPN) has embarked on its “Twilight Zone” season of games in empty stadiums, piped-in crowd noises and paper-cutout “fans.” The NBA begins under its own strange circumstances.
Weirdest of all, the NFL season is just around the corner. I’m no expert, but football, with all of its tackling, blocking and “smash-mouth” practices seems the very opposite of social distancing. How do you play the game during a plague? And more to the point: why?
The business of sport has elevated “the game” to a place much higher than our estimation of human life. In “The Weight of Gold,” Phelps turns to the camera and beseeches us to think of him and his fellow gladiators as human beings. He pauses, as if saying something dangerous and radical. And perhaps he has.
TONIGHT’S OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
— A victim of a fall may have been pushed on “Chicago Med” (8 p.m., NBC, r, TV-14).
— Boden’s diet proves challenging on “Chicago Fire” (9 p.m., NBC, r, TV-14).
— No standing pat on the season finale of “Ultimate Tag” (9 p.m., Fox, TV-PG).
— Marlon Brando sings in the 1955 adaptation of “Guys and Dolls” (9:45 p.m., TCM, TV-G) and plays Vito Corleone in “The Godfather” (5 p.m., IFC, TV-MA). Spoiler alert: He’s not seen in “Godfather, Part II” (9 p.m., TV-MA) or “The Godfather, Part III” (7 p.m., Sundance, TV-14).
CULT CHOICE
Kevin Costner’s scenes were cut out of the 1983 ensemble melodrama “The Big Chill” (8 p.m., TMCX). His star would rise with the 1988 sports romantic comedy “Bull Durham” (10 p.m.).
SERIES NOTES
“Tough as Nails” (8 p.m., CBS, TV-PG) … Smoked meat on “MasterChef” (8 p.m., Fox, r, TV-14) … Screen management on “United We Fall” (8 p.m., ABC, TV-PG) … Tensions mount on “The 100” (8 p.m., CW, r, TV-14) … Murray’s rival returns on “The Goldbergs” (8:30 p.m., ABC, r, TV-PG).
Reality show contestants appear on “The Price Is Right Primetime Special: Big Brother Edition” (9 p.m., CBS, r, TV-G) … Darlene needs money on “The Conners” (9 p.m., ABC, r, TV-14) … Dominoes fall on the season finale of “Bulletproof” (9 p.m., CW, TV-14) … Matchmaking on “American Housewife” (9:30 p.m., ABC, r, TV-PG) … A rescue effort rips agents from their homes on “SEAL Team” (10 p.m., CBS, r, TV-14) … An inflated Voight on “Chicago P.D.” (10 p.m., NBC, r, TV-14) … A challenge sends the team back to 1983 on “Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” (10 p.m., ABC, TV-14).
LATE NIGHT
Norah O’Donnell and IDK appear on “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” (11:35 p.m., r, CBS) … Jimmy Fallon welcomes Ice T, Jack Whitehall and Charlie Wilson on “The Tonight Show” (11:35 p.m., NBC) … David Schwimmer visits “Late Night With Seth Meyers” (12:35 a.m., NBC).
