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

[give it to gordon]

I think its rather sad that someone successful finds dealing with the press difficult and instead of the sport giving her some encouragement they threaten her with being chucked out of a tournament and loads of people who think they are specialists in the field pile on. Then again why am I surprised we have seen that happen time and time again in recent years after we became such a divided nasty country.

Agree why isnt the tennis association or what ever it is called helping her ?

 

[bluethrunthru]

Agree why isnt the tennis association or what ever it is called helping her ?

maybe a bit of solidarity from her fellow players would help too - nothing like the threat of losing all your stars from your tournament to make people reconsider their stance

 

[1.618034]

Good for her.

 

[MillionMilesAway]

She has, her statement.

That's quite a clear statement of 'why'.
I doubt it's much fun being on tour with Covid limitations.

 

[jimharri]

She's a sportsperson, doing interviews and media shouldn't be part of that. Her job is to be the best athlete possible, not to help journalists.

At the same time, the media is the reason the prize money is as high as it is, but the level if entitlement the journalists have is ridiculous. They are mainly just parasites making a living out of stirring up shit, over dramatising and generally being cunts. If they just did their job and reported on the sport, athletes wouldn't mind talking to them but most of them aren't like that at all. Most barely give a shit about the sport and just want the athletes to write their stories for them by saying something

Actually, in this day and age, it kind of is her job. I'm sure her sponsors, who won't be paying on the cheap, will want the megastar that their brand is associated with to be out there talking to the media, perhaps with a baseball cap or an arm badge with their name on it. And I'm sure I read that the WTA have rules re players being expected to carry out media commitments. I'm sure Ms Osaka would have been well aware of such rules when she entered the French Open. Hopefully, though, some sort of compromise can be found whereby she might be able to re-enter the tournament. And then, a look at the media commitments expected of these players, particularly the younger players like Ms Osaka.

 

[MellowJoe]

I don't think she's right, I don't think she's wrong

 

[BlueHammer85]

She has, her statement.

so absolutely nothing to do with her race as @Bigga is desperate to make out.

she suffers anxiety and depression and it must be daunting to face media questions - that is totally understandable- why on earth could this not have been dealt privately with the organisers.

Good on her by the way.

 

[give it to gordon]

maybe a bit of solidarity from her fellow players would help too - nothing like the threat of losing all your stars from your tournament to make people reconsider their stance

I thought we were getting better with dealing with mental health, it seems not.

I dislike the press/media but thankfully I dont have to deal with the knobheads.

She should be being supported

 

[Mr Kobayashi]

so absolutely nothing to do with her race as @Bigga is desperate to make out.

she suffers anxiety and depression and it must be daunting to face media questions - that is totally understandable- why on earth could this not have been dealt privately with the organisers.

Good on her by the way.

Anybody that has watched her interviewed can see she is introverted and experiences social anxiety.

I don't think the racial heritage plays a big part, but she has been interviewed about it in the past during competition interviews. Including by Japanese journalists scratching around the issue of her being one of a new generation challenging the established order that mixed heritage people are not fully Japanese.

Even just being asked that can add extra anxiety to the pile, even if it isn't a major issue for her.

 

[Bigga]

She has, her statement.

Wow, that's such a shame, but I think she's completely right.

The world has moved on and we're meant to recognise and deal with social anxiety issues, rather than punish people because you don't understand!

I wish her well and hope she finds a way forward, because losing her talent would be a real travesty.