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  • 3 weeks later...
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16 hours ago, JoshBRFC said:

Thoughts people? I say fair play her.

As a one off if she announces she has poor mental health, why should she be punished for saying as a one off I would not like to face the media? 

 

I think it's absolutely pathetic how she's been treated, to be honest.

The way she's been hounded by some parts of the media (the precise reason she's not facing them anyway) is ridiculous.

If someone is claiming their mental health is suffering, you don't punish them or slap them with a fine ffs. You help and support them. The fact that all 4 Grand Slam organisations have said she faces the fine for not obliging with her duties is fucking stupid, too. What about their duties to protect their players? They've actually quoted 'fairness' in their reason to fine her, too, which is laughable. 

 

I fully back her for her decision. If she couldn't commit to the interviews/press conferences due to physical injury then that would be fine. Protecting her own mental health is still a valid reason for not doing it as well. 

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 Im sympathetic to her current situation, and of giving her 'time to get into the right space, or changing things around as a one-off. Thats all fine. But I have some concerns that she seems to be alluding to more than this.  It seems like she's done a bit of a mic drop in the back end of that message, and has now left it to the media to fight the issue on her behalf.

I may be wrong about that, but I think to some degree, if you do a difficult job, and get paid a great deal of money to do it, and are the envy of 'so many in the world, you have a responsibility to round out the job description as best you can. For sure, journalists and staff be respectful of her more introverted nature, and try to minimise the extent to which you put her on the spot, and keep the questions to a minimum, but she's there to inspire kids, and I think its better to do that with a positive message through what she communicates in an interview than in a message of hey I dont do interviews because it makes me uncomfortable, and thats bad for my mental health"".

I'm not insensitive to her social anxiety. I take mental health seriously, have had my own brushes with it, and am already readying myself to be a parent in a world with a very high prevalence of youth mental health issues. But in that world I am also concerned about a continuing trend towards hypersensitivity, which is something that gets reinforced with situations such as this, and I think has a negative psychological impact on the individuals involved and the broader collective when we start catering to each individuals particular concern, and sends a message of mental health is a weakness and excuse to have rules changed. There is some truth there, but its also very important that we continue to push people outside their comfort zone at times, and that we teach our kids that there are some aspects of our lives that are a bit shit but we still have to get on in and do them anyway.


 

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I think her argument is that it shouldn't be a pre-requisite as a professional tennis player to face the media every single day in a huge tournament. I can see that. You should also be able to compete as an elite athlete without it automatically being expected that you have to be this great charismatic character who inspires the next generation.

The way things are structured, the tournaments will lose sponsorship money if they stop insisting on the current rate of press conferences. It would take a lot of concessions on the part of tournament organisers, media and sponsors, but it would be better perhaps if players could decide whether to a lot of media duties or a bit less, even if it means a loss of sponsorship income and appearance fees. They could even set a lower limit so that sponsors and media still get guaranteed access to the players that they want, because I agree that it's an unavoidable part of the job to some extent. But this way would allow Naomi Osaka to do perhaps 3-4 press conferences throughout the tournament and have some days off instead of 8 press conferences between the opening weekend and the final if she gets that far.

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On 31/05/2021 at 17:14, JoshBRFC said:

Thoughts people? I say fair play her.

As a one off if she announces she has poor mental health, why should she be punished for saying as a one off I would not like to face the media? 

 

Yeah - I don't like her all that much, but I get what she is saying here. They (tennis tournaments) need to take a good hard look about how they treat tennis players and their dumb requirement for the players to speak with the media. 

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Federer pulled out of the tournament and is praised for looking after his physical health so he can be in the best condition for Wimbledon.

Osaka pulls out to preserve her mental health and gets proverbially shat on from all angles.

Double standards much...

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Just now, Stan said:

Federer pulled out of the tournament and is praised for looking after his physical health so he can be in the best condition for Wimbledon.

Osaka pulls out to preserve her mental health and gets proverbially shat on from all angles.

Double standards much...

Yes and No.

Certainly some double standards, but one is looking after his physical health, which is much easier to see than mental health is.

I'm not an Osaka fan, but respect her decision to pull out of the French, but she was trying to change the rules right before and during the French Open when it comes to the players requirement to speak to the press, whereas Federer simply stepped away due to injury.

Vastly different scenario, and hopefully Tennis takes Osaka's stance seriously and begins to allow the players to NOT be required to speak to the press.

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14 hours ago, Stan said:

@Eco you watching Djokovic/Berettini?

Rubbish fans have to go home halfway through the game. Shame players have to go off as they were primed to continue an epic game. 

Yeah - I rather like Berettini so I was hoping and praying he'd knock out Mr. Knobhead himself Djokovic.

No luck.

I really hope it's a Zverev vs Nadal final, as I can't really stand Tsitsipas and Joker.

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