Naomi Osaka refusing to speak to the media - Is she right or wrong?

[give it to gordon]

There are elements of my job I find are a wholly negative experience. I still have to do it. She should play tennis in the park if she doesn’t want the responsibilities of elite sport.

Same here when we are working in ramsgate town centre we get lots of shit.
Being council we have to put up with the moaning to us about putting up bunting xmas lights, hanging baskets etc etc. The use thing like thats a waste of money and the favourite , how many workers does it take to change a light bulb !. Why does it take you so long etc.
The public see our high vis with council on it and think it's free game to give us as much abuse as they want. Its bloody horrible working in the town.
Plus we have to put up with the rough sleepers, the pub users and betting shop users. Who can be very abusive when their bets haven't come in or are pissed or both.

It does our heads in and one of the reasons we work as a team of 3 is it takes a minimum of 3 to push the cherry picker along the street and move barriers etc , plus safety in numbers lol

Now if I was earning millions I couldnt give a fuck but when its only the living wage !.

I am sure there must be some common ground and the tennis association and her can sort it out

 

[mexico1970]

I think she has a point. Interviews aren't an inherent part of the job they are something that has crept in over time.

I think it would be better to have fewer post-match interviews across the world of sport. Less of the glib questions like "what does it mean to you“ when asking someone who has trained in a sport almost everyday since a young child.

One of the things about the modern world of sport that turns me off is the soap opera creation by some journalists.
Crafting questions fishing for quotes, being edgy or obnoxious with people after a defeat or poor performance and creating false narratives.

Journalists can always arrange out of competition interviews at a later date.

Some journalists are just awful, they are confrontational and athletes (Politicians and slebs in general) must find it hard to be in the same room with them knowing that they are just going to get negative press because the journalists in question are nothing short of being hacks.

That being said giving an interview isn't exactly minimum wage drudge or working in a Chilean coal mine, she's tennis's version of Ronnie O'sullivan , great player who only wants an interview if they win.

 

[MikeF]

She should become a referee.

 

[Nightmare Walking]

Is it written in the contract for competing in tournaments that she has to do media work?
If not, then she should drop any sponsorship that requires media work and then just play in the tournament's for prize money.

 

[BlueHammer85]

should always be a middle ground in these type of situations instead of jumping on one side.

if she says the press are causing her mental health issues then it is something to take seriously instead of fining her.

the organizers/press and herself should have a private conversation and this could have all be resolved instead of going this far - now she'll probably get hate from some right, the same who attack Meghan

 

[Bigga]

Same here when we are working in ramsgate town centre we get lots of shit.
Being council we have to put up with the moaning to us about putting up bunting xmas lights, hanging baskets etc etc. The use thing like thats a waste of money and the favourite , how many workers does it take to change a light bulb !. Why does it take you so long etc.
The public see our high vis with council on it and think it's free game to give us as much abuse as they want. Its bloody horrible working in the town.
Plus we have to put up with the rough sleepers, the pub users and betting shop users. Who can be very abusive when their bets haven't come in or are pissed or both.

It does our heads in and one of the reasons we work as a team of 3 is it takes a minimum of 3 to push the cherry picker along the street and move barriers etc , plus safety in numbers lol

Now if I was earning millions I couldnt give a fuck but when its only the living wage !.

I am sure there must be some common ground and the tennis association and her can sort it out

I appreciate the post as the job involved, but YOU are paid, literally, by the taxpayer, are you not?

Unless you're a private company being funded by the taxpayer which, essentially, amounts to the same thing one step removed.

 

[East Level 2]

Why doesn't she just answer the sensible questions accordingly and the others with "well that's a fucking stupid question isn't it"? - Or even "you're so thick you should be working for BT Sport".

 

[Mr Kobayashi]

Some journalists are just awful, they are confrontational and athletes (Politicians and slebs in general) must find it hard to be in the same room with them knowing that they are just going to get negative press because the journalists in question are nothing short of being hacks.

That being said giving an interview isn't exactly minimum wage drudge or working in a Chilean coal mine, she's tennis's version of Ronnie O'sullivan , great player who only wants an interview if they win.

Can see the comparison to Ronnie, but I think in both cases they would prefer to not have interviews at all. Both are awkward introverts.

If you want to get interesting information from them you aren't going to get it post match in an arena or stadium.

It’s mostly copper mines in Chile.

 

[Pedestrian]

I can’t think of many professional sports types that say anything of note in these forced media sessions. Footballers getting interviewed after games is as pointless as the dipper police.

 

[Mr Kobayashi]

I appreciate the post as the job involved, but YOU are paid, literally, by the taxpayer, are you not?

Unless you're a private company being funded by the taxpayer which, essentially, amounts to the same thing one step removed.

I don't think it matters if he is a contractor or directly employed.

I wouldn't dream of confronting a council employee or any other professional working on the street about these issues because they aren't a spokesman for their organisation.