Naomi Osaka has withdrawn from the French Open after tennis officials threatened to suspend her and fined her $15,000 over her decision not to do media interviews to prioritize her mental health. Osaka, in a statement, said she "suffered long bouts of depression" and social anxiety.
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#NaomiOsaka #MentalHealth #FrenchOpen
Thank you for standing up for yourself
Exactly
Well done Naomi…. every athlete handles stressful situations differently. We need to accept her wishes if we want to see her play… and to be fair… she wasn’t asking for much, and the fans lose a lot. We need to be understanding. I don’t believe ‘taking rough questions’ is in her contract, and I would hope we can all see that it is harder for introverts to deal with this than extroverts. At the end of the day, we just want to see brilliant tennis, and I for one, am willing to forgo an interview for that.
No she has to follow the rules like every other player out there. She’s acting like a diva thinking the rules shouldn’t have to apply to her. At least she didn’t let it go to far and did what she should have done in the first place by dropping out
@Harvey Manfredsenjenson really? The girl decided to go away to let others in peace and this is your reaction?
Athletes participate in their favorite sport because they love their sport. It should be optional for them to make media appearances.
@Gary Dagg The media covers the sport because they get ad revenue and sponsors! That won’t happen if she plays in a neighborhood park !! believe me…millions WONT fix harassment and neither will they address mental issues! Oh, and BTW, the media also makes billions by broadcasting these events.
@Gary Dagg covering sports can be done without forcing a person into a situation that is detrimental for their health.
@Alaj Belaj No, you have lost perspective. Non of us should have to sacrifice our well being while doing our job – however much or little we earn.
@Alaj Belaj autonomy, consent, choise – words and their meaning you should internalise.
@Gary Dagg It’s not, the money comes from the performance they produce on court. If you you think 50% of money comes from press, split the prize money and pay 50% for press appearances and let those players who don’t want to do it have the choice of not doing press.
Naomi Osaka has great courage and should be respected. Frankly she deserves an apology from the FFT.
@Harvey Manfredsenjenson Absolutely right! The millenium generation wants to make there own rules.
@Harvey Manfredsenjenson *Naomi’s job is to play tennis and win in tournaments like the French Open. Entertaining the media with presser appearances should be optional.*
@Wahyu Indrasto Yeah, well, they aren’t, so she has to deal with it
@Wahyu Indrasto exactly. It seems people care less about the sport than to have a chance to kick someone when they’re down. It speaks volumes about our society, to have such a mass of people devoid of empathy. Screw the lot of them
@S McDonald thanks!
As a Navy veteran with PTSD, I give her kudos for getting help with her mental health. Cuz I know what it can do to you if you don’t.
Includes… interfacing with fans, in part, through the media. It’s part of the profession she chose.
@Thundrune I was Honorably discharged, as I should have been. Many domicillaries and programs later I feel pretty good. I could never go back!! Just a fact.
@Thundrune You sound like one of my counselors LOL and that’s a compliment!!
@Brian Felt wish ya well Brother. People talking about difficult jobs…. meh. You actually know what a hard job is and it doesn’t come with much of a paycheck or fringe benis. The only easy day was yesterday!
@Thundrune You take care brother, we are all one.
I wish they would just try and understand where she’s coming from. She’s an incredible athlete but that doesn’t make her any less of a human being.
When you decide you want to engage in a Grand Slam Tournament, you have to be ready, which she was not. Then she decided to play the patient which might have a chance since she is ‘important’. And everybody is buying this BS. You can not make your own rules here. Did anyone consider the other players who not yet win a Grand Slam and also don’t like these interviews, but still go there? But hey, I’m Naomi, I can do this. GROW UP all of you, and take Naomi with you.
@Leonie Dejong she withdrew herself, what you gonna do about it?
More power to her.
Rest of the players should boycott the tournament rather than been opportunistic about it.
good joke, would they care when they have a chance at winning and earning, especially lower ranked players. osaka wasn’t even in consideration for the title. french open would not care, they already have got the publicity due to her
Hahaha I love Naomi even more now
Mental health is something to listen to. When a person is saying that they’re having mental health issues people should listen. I had a friend commit suicide because of his mental health issues, and there wasn’t a warning either. She is flat out telling the world she’s going through it and she’s catching crap from it?… Really? I wish her the best and hope whenever she’s ready to return she can without being harped on about her mental health.
She has opened the dialogue that other players have wanted to long before. I think there will be some changes in the future as a result of Naomi standing up.
Mental health issues are overlooked as a real disability or an illness. If she had physically injured herself, she wouldn’t have been fined or being threatened with suspension. It’s time for more support for people who suffer from mental health issues.
If she physically injured herself, she would have done exactly what she did in the end, which is to drop out of the tournament.
That explains all the MASS SHOOTINGS IN AMERICA… mental illness is REAL
😂 He didn’t even take any questions after that? 😂 That’s hilarious.
Ludicrous is more like it.
He is a coward.
Pathetic…
The irony!!!
The money lost by all is because of the French officials of tennis… they threatened punishment and the young athlete said I dont need you.. and she doesn’t… she will get the sports deals, she’ll get the endorsements. She already earned that.. without speaking.. she said more with her silence… I stand and salute her for confidence to be herself without compromise…
Makes it clear that monetizing athletes is more important than the actual game. Clarion call to refocus priorities – long overdue, but I’m not hopeful.
The most important thing is Naomi Osaka’s mental health, period.
They only care about their financial stand.
my heart go to her. if you dont stand up for yourself who would? like a phoenix she rise up
Kudos to Davidson for demonstrating that freedom of the press is a privilege that comes with responsibilities.
Naomi just turned herself from being a top tennis player into an ICON.
Tennis is NOT a biathlon event with “Interviewing” as the second part. If an athlete can’t compete well and do interviews, then to heck with the interviews. If a different athlete likes to do interviews and it doesn’t interfere with the tennis, then that’s fine and dandy, too. How stupid are the powers-that-be tennis?
How about when an athlete signs a contract that asserts she will do interviews then unilaterally decides to ignore that portion of the contract? It’s fine for her to decide to withdraw if she feels that’s necessary, but why should the other party to the contract get shamed for trying to “coerce” her to fulfill her agreed-to obligation?