04/25/24
May 31, 2021
Majors May Disqualify Osaka for Refusing to Do Interviews: Naomi Osaka was fined $15,000 for refusing to do interviews after her first round win in the French Open and the penalties will get much worse if it continues. The four majors issued a joint statement reminding her that the penalties could include disqualification. Osaka is currently ranked 2nd in the world. Her sister Mari posted on Reddit that the boycott is because the press keeps telling her she has a bad record on clay and "her confidence was completely shattered." Update: Osaka withdrew from the French Open.
This is stupid. Not doing the interviews gets the media and tournament more publicity, as long as too many top players don't copy her this should be left alone.
posted by billsaysthis at 12:07 PM on May 31, 2021
If she ends up suing and winning, that could open the floodgates for decades of Boston area athletes to retroactively sue Dan Shaughnessy and the late Will McDonough for wanton denigration and lessening of confidence and ability to compete.
posted by beaverboard at 12:32 PM on May 31, 2021
I don't think the majors can leave this alone. It's giving Osaka an advantage and other players would use it as a precedent.
posted by rcade at 12:47 PM on May 31, 2021
Osaka withdrew, which is probably a better option than fighting over media availability. A shame she's not going to have a shot to shut up her doubters about clay this year.
I'm watching a lot of the French Open and it's nice to see crowds again.
posted by rcade at 02:20 PM on May 31, 2021
And now I'm watching Serena in an empty arena. What the?
posted by rcade at 03:17 PM on May 31, 2021
There are some things that don't add up. A self proclaimed private person and introvert handling things in such a public and declarative manner for one.
The kicker for me is the fact that she took questions after her match from a Japanese broadcaster that she is under contract to, then said sorry, no media appearances.
Getting paid tens of millions a year and struggle with the media? Lose the broadcast contract. Show some consistency. She can afford the loss of revenue.
She's trying to have it both ways. Or rather, all ways, on an individualized custom basis.
Imagine what tennis and golf would be like if there wasn't an occasional reminder that the sport is bigger than the individual participant.
posted by beaverboard at 03:42 PM on May 31, 2021
"As a journalist who has sat through thousands of these inane obligations, and entertained numerous apocalyptic thoughts in the process, my first instinct was naturally to sympathise. And yet, the resounding chorus of condemnation and blind outrage suggests that there are some surprisingly strong feelings out there. For some, the press conference is clearly a sacred way of life. You may take our lives. But you'll never take our ability to ask an athlete "how they felt it went out there today, you know?"."
posted by rumple at 05:09 PM on May 31, 2021
There are some things that don't add up. A self proclaimed private person and introvert handling things in such a public and declarative manner for one.
Being public means that people have to talk about it, and maybe if they talk about it people will start to understand and won't belittle or demean an athlete who has mental health issues. Given the responses that have come out, that was probably wishful thinking...
The kicker for me is the fact that she took questions after her match from a Japanese broadcaster that she is under contract to, then said sorry, no media appearances.
I'm going to guess that the questions and discussion topics from the Japanese broadcaster were of a friendly variety, and probably not in an adversarial tone.
posted by grum@work at 07:36 AM on June 01, 2021
The majors are getting hammered over this but I'm not 100% Osaka on this.
If the problem is bad or invasive questions, there's a better way to handle that than allowing athletes to opt out of post-match interviews. The ATP and WTA could exclude reporters who ask them.
Tennis would lose if athletes could skip interviews. The sport has become big not just because of on-court action but because of the rooting interest that comes from getting to know the personalities of the top players.
posted by rcade at 10:37 AM on June 01, 2021
I don't know who is on Osaka's personal team, but hopefully, she is being properly advised going forward. When this first broke, it felt as though there was an absence of sage advice in her camp.
Mistakes have been made on both sides on this. But it seems as though there's reason to hope that coming out of it, there will be a sensible method for handling this scenario in the future based on what's been learned.
I wouldn't be surprised if the Wimbledon folks are being proactive on this, as their tournament is up next on the Slams calendar in very short order and it would serve them well to have this issue sorted out beforehand.
posted by beaverboard at 11:26 AM on June 01, 2021
I don't know that either side was really in the wrong here. The tour rightly asks players take interviews and a player should rightly decline if that's weighing on them in such a negative fashion.
It sounds like she said the right things when she withdrew (when I'm ready, I want to have the discussion on how to make this better for players, press and fans) and it sounds like all four majors are now saying the right things (mental health is a real issue and needs to be addressed, we'll work on finding how to make sure all stakeholders do their job to the best of their ability, without impacting player health).
posted by Ricardo at 03:23 PM on June 01, 2021
Media interviews are dangerous. Another leading player withdraws due to issues with a press conference.
posted by owlhouse at 01:02 AM on June 02, 2021
This will definitely get people to stop talking about her performance on clay.