The World of Sports
The world of sports is one that I have always loved. From my favorite sports such as baseball and basketball to tennis and golf. Whether or not the sport is one of my favorites, I always enjoy watching talented players do their thing. Like golf’s Tiger Woods & tennis’ Venus & Serena Williams. Just a few amazingly talented people who have set the bar in their respective sports that many try to reach.
Like Naomi Osaka. She is a young, very talented tennis player who was inspired by the Williams sisters and their success in the sport. She has won an incredible four Grand Slam Titles.
But today, May 31, 2021, Naomi decided to drop out of the French Open due to her not feeling comfortable doing press after her matches. She explained in her twitter posts that she has dealt with bouts of depression and has a tremendous amount of anxiety before the post match interviews ( I can only imagine!).
So via a tweet, (and an email she sent to the Powers that Be in the French Open) she made it known that she was choosing to protect her peace (my words) and opt out of post-match press interviews citing how the sport/media often disregard the mental health of athletes and she didn’t feel comfortable doing these interviews. So she didn’t.
She was then fined $15,000, as she violated the obligatory agreement to meet with the press as par for the course when participating in a major tennis tournament. She was then threatened with expulsion from the tournament.
Read her first tweet below:
After her initial tweet, the hefty fine, and all the hoopla surrounding her statement, Osaka decided to withdraw from the tournament altogether, deciding to focus on self-care and allow the tournament to go back to focusing on the TENNIS and not her. She shared her thoughts, once again, on Twitter.
My Perspective
As with any decision, some people will be supportive and others not so much. For Naomi, some of her fellow tennis players supported her decision with understanding, but many had mixed feelings. Indicating that doing press is “part of the job” and it helps promote the sport as a whole.
Then others, including basketball player, Stephen Curry were fully supportive and applauded her for doing what she did. And of course there are the critics, like Piers Morgan, for example, who just doesn’t have a clue.
So here is my perspective:
Yes…the press is absolutely a big part of the popularity of a sport and particular players. The media covers the highlights as well as the low points of an athletes career and the sport in general. As a fan, I do sometimes like to hear from the players after a game or a match.
But honestly, it is mostly cringe worthy to me when they ask someone why they “failed” at whatever their sport/match/ game/play was. Why do you think you lost the game? What was going through your mind when you missed that shot? Etc, etc. I find it senseless, but I get that some people enjoy that. Okay, Cool.
As someone who deals with anxiety myself, I can’t even begin to imagine the immense pressure that these high performing athletes are under. While many can and do talk the the press regularly, some have a very hard time doing so.
Should they be forced to? Absolutely, not. Especially if doing so is truly a mental health struggle for them. Should one be penalized because talking to the media is not something they feel comfortable doing? Should we ban them from playing because of it?
What if Micheal Jordan or Derek Jeter just couldn’t handle talking with the press and they were banned from their perspective sports for it? We would have missed out on watching two amazingly gifted players.
Mental Health & Wellness Matters. Stop shaming people for being open about their struggles and choosing their health and wellness over an irrelevant interview.
We constantly hear, if you need help get it. If you are struggling, do something about it. Well, Naomi Osaka decided to do just that and take care of HERSELF. First, by setting boundaries and when that wasn’t received well, she bowed out of the French Open, something she has worked incredibly hard for.
I am glad she knows her worth and it is so much more than tennis.
Nothing is more important than one’s peace of mind.
I applaud her courage and wish her well!
#MentalHealthAwarenessMonth #MentalHealthMatters #Naomi Osaka
Excellent show of strength and courage by Naomi. Great post highlighting the questions the press put forward, it always makes me feel awkward when they ask those questions on losing.
I totally agree!
It takes immense courage to do what Naomi Osaka did and I applaud her for that. I completely agree that you cannot force them for a press conference. I agree the audience would want to hear their side of the story but let them have the opportunity to talk about it when they feel like in the capacity they are comfortable? Penalising or threatening them is so wrong. This is why we need more mental health awareness.
That is so true, Sakshi.
Wow. I’m so huge fan of Naomi Osaka and I’m so glad she took huge step in protecting her mental health. I wish her all the best and I hope at least her fine will be spent towards charity.
Personally, I don’t care what a famous person or a sports person has to say in an interview or news articles about there life. I only care if it turns out there a bigot or a sexual predator. Let these people live there lives and just enjoy them when they’re doing the job they’re being paid for. The interviews after sporting events aren’t even interesting, it’s just the same generic questions and generic replies. Why even bother with them, let alone forcing people to do then?
I’m 100% in support of Naomi Osaka and any sports person or famous person who wants to snub doing these kinds of things.
Furthermore, we’re all complicit in predatory headlines about famous people’s weight and photos of them trying to go about their life. Stop consuming that and allow these people to simply be when they’re not working.