When thinking of Naomi Osaka, Brand Nubian’s “Love Me or Leave Me Alone” chorus immediately comes to mind.
I can picture Naomi walking out of Roland Garros, giving the peace sign while looking over her shoulder and singing to all in attendance “You gotta’ love me or leave me alone”.
It would be a fitting conclusion to an emotional week for Osaka.
It started when she announced that she would not be doing any media around the French Open in order to focus on her mental health.
“I’ve often felt that people have no regard for athlete’s mental health and this rings very true whenever I see a press conference or partake in one,” tweeted Osaka.
“if the organizations think that they can just keep saying, ‘do the press of you’re going to get fined’, and continue to ignore the mental health of the athletes that are the centerpiece of their cooperation then I just gotta’ laugh. Anyways, I hope the considerable amount I get fined for this will go towards a mental health charity,” she added.
The backlash and support were both immediate.
A few in the media took offense and criticized her. Some of her fellow athletes jumped to her defense and cheered her decision.
Osaka simply handled her business and defeated Romania’s Patricia Maria Țig, 6-4,7-6 in her first match of the tournament.
After she skipped the post-match press conference, Roland-Garros fined her $15,000 and the Grand Slam Board threatened to kick her out of the French Open.
They issued a statement on Sunday regarding the incident.
“We have advised Naomi Osaka that should she continue to ignore her media obligations during the tournament, she would be exposing herself to possible further Code of Conduct infringement consequences. As might be expected, repeat violations attract tougher sanctions including default from the tournament (Code of Conduct article III T.) and the trigger of a major offence investigation that could lead to more substantial fines and future Grand Slam suspensions (Code of Conduct article IV A.3.).
We want to underline that rules are in place to ensure all players are treated exactly the same, no matter their stature, beliefs or achievement. As a sport there is nothing more important than ensuring no player has an unfair advantage over another, which unfortunately is the case in this situation if one player refuses to dedicate time to participate in media commitments while the others all honour their commitments.”
Naomi didn’t succumb to threats of heavier fines or expulsion. Instead, she announced on Monday that she was withdrawing from the French Open.
“I never wanted to be a distraction and I accept that my timing was not ideal and my message could have been clearer,” tweeted Osaka. “More importantly I would never trivialize mental health or use the term lightly. The truth is that I have suffered long bouts of depression since the US Open in 2018 and I have had a really hard time coping with that.”
Bravely disclosing her battle with depression drew waves of support for Osaka.
“The only thing I feel is that I feel for Naomi,” said Serena Williams. “I feel like I wish I could give her a hug because I know what it’s like. Like I said, I’ve been in those positions.”
Her home country of Japan rushed to her defense as well.
“The first thing to be considered is Ms. Osaka’s health. I wish her the earliest possible recovery,” said Japan Tennis Association (JTA) Executive Director Toshihis Tsuchihashi.
But the haters voiced their venom as well.
The forever thirsty Piers Morgan said Naomi is “an arrogant spoiled brat whose fame and fortune appears to have inflated her ego to gigantic proportions. How else to explain her extraordinary decision to announce she will no longer participate in media press conferences, supposedly to protect her mental health?”
This is both hilarious and hypocritical. Morgan himself stormed off the “Good Morning Britain” set this past March after being challenged by co-presenter Alex Beresford about his continued attacks on Meghan Markle.
Dueling Naomi Storylines
Some in the media voiced opinions about the storylines surrounding Osaka’s decision not to speak with the press.
“Osaka simply has this all twisted,” wrote Rob Parker on Deadspin. “Talking to the media and selling the game to fans is part of her job. It’s what players sign up for before cashing all those million-dollar checks from playing professional tennis.”
Jane McManus, his Deadspin colleague, challenged the perspective that the storyline is Naomi vs. the press.
“Athletes aren’t often allowed to have something that is more important to them than the game,” wrote McManus. “Osaka makes an important point by drawing those red lines for herself. But because this is something that affects her doesn’t mean that press access needs to be cut off, or demonized.”
Both perspectives hold water.
Being an athlete does come with demand for access. But that access should not include those simply looking for the hot take or clickbait answer/moment. Take Kyrie Irving for example. While some wanted to discuss basketball, others wanted to harp on his “the earth is flat” theory so that they could make fun of him while generating clicks in the process.
That media is why athletes like Naomi detest attending pressers. They’re silly and exhaustive and exemplify the media athletes seek to avoid.
But everyone needs to remember that no one owns athletes but themselves.
Fans have become too comfortable in their belief that they somehow have the right to confront athletes. This false entitlement is what fuels racist fans in Utah, dangerous fans in Boston, and ignorant fans in Washington. This belief also fuels some in the media who feel that they have the right to ask athletes anything. That does nothing but alienate athletes and their colleagues.
As for Naomi Osaka, nobody owns Naomi but Naomi.
She’s not an employee of a team or a single corporation. In the last 12 months, she earned $55.2 million. That’s $5.2 million in prize money and an estimated $50 million off the court. So her decisions aren’t solely dependent upon the Grand Slams or the press. That’s evident from this past weekend’s events.
She is her own brand and entity, and that’s what scares organizations that are used to having more control over athletes. In Naomi’s case, the Grand Slams swung at her but got chin checked instead.
Naomi Osaka withdrew from the French Open and the event will proceed without her. Serena, Sloanne and Coco are still playing and will carry the torch of independent Black excellence despite her absence.
But Naomi withdrew on her own. She took the punch and countered by walking out on her terms, shocking fans, players, and organizers.
When you’re comfortable with who you are and have a firm grasp on the control of your narrative and future, you can do that.
So if you’re going to love Naomi Osaka, truly love her and not just when it’s convenient or trending, then love her.
But if you’re not going to love her the way she deserves to be loved, then leave her alone.
