As with most athletes of her status, the real money is in endorsements. Until her endorsement deals are affected, she will be fine.
Osaka withdraws from French Open
- Thread starter EchoCrash
- Start date
Kind of curious as to the background of your last name. Hope your pops wasn't a bitch.
Respect to Naomi for putting herself first. As well she should. I do however wonder if this sets a precedent of some kind.
If an athlete(s) in the future says, “I can’t perform in front of all these people, it gives me anxiety..” or “these referees are not good for my mental health..” or “I can’t cope with the the televised eyes watching me as I play..” in any sport, do we vilify them for this as well, or do we understand with compassion and empathy?
Is this a slippery slope?
I have younger coworkers that refuse to work an 8 hour day because of mental health. Is this the new normal? Or a paradigm shift into the new normal?
If an athlete(s) in the future says, “I can’t perform in front of all these people, it gives me anxiety..” or “these referees are not good for my mental health..” or “I can’t cope with the the televised eyes watching me as I play..” in any sport, do we vilify them for this as well, or do we understand with compassion and empathy?
Is this a slippery slope?
I have younger coworkers that refuse to work an 8 hour day because of mental health. Is this the new normal? Or a paradigm shift into the new normal?
Who's talking about giving up millions? I'm suggesting they open their mouths and support her.
Refs have been attacked for years by athletes. That has and will be a losing battle.
There has always been athletes that have had issues with fans (look at all the basketball controversies as of late). Since the athletes pay partly comes from both there abilities and folks desire to see those athletes, it will only be so much an athlete can control in that regard.
The problem with the press issue is what real value does it provide? Did the teams that hired Marshawn lynch loose any money because he said fuck the media? As long as he was gaining yards and touchdowns it was all good.
At the end of the day, will fans and viewers boycott Osaka because she didn't want to be bothered? Will the networks stop broadcasting her matches if viewers don't give a shit about post game interviews?
A to the fucking MEN. Extroverts don't understand ... that is until the pandemic lockdowns happened. Going stir crazy at home they finally got a taste of what I feel being around them every day. But to me the lockdowns were "MEH" at most, in a way it was pretty kool going to work with less traffic on the roads and fewer people on the job, and after awhile even the stores were less crowded so I had a little bit of heaven for a good while. lol
Fam, can't do it. It is one thing to be harassed and unfairly treated. But to not want to answer questions when she is hardly ever on the losing end tells me something else is going on.
If I am straight serving niggas daily, answering questions seems to be the least difficult thing to do
What if refs were to say, “we’re not going out there if we’re berated by these players..”
Is that a valid mental health claim going forward?
How about the mega superstars on solo stages though? If a Messi, Ronaldo, Lebron, Serena, Tiger or whoever else advocates for this then what happens? All the power, as in this case, is squarely in the athletes control, full stop. Messi for example, actually has a stipulation in his contract that says he doesn’t have to talk to the press post matunless HE chooses to, which is extremely rare.
Perhaps that’s the route to go moving forward.
I can see Naomi’s agent drafting this up as we speak.
The press does have its value. It can be used for good and evil. If you’re a great athlete and can handle the pressure, you can use it to build your brand like Marshawn Lynch did in his own way. It also gives teams the ability to control the narrative of their brand and image but outputting things like feel good stories, community works, etc.
But the flip side of it all, is what’s we’re seeing here with Naomi. A witch hunt. And it can be problematic if you’re not equipped to handle it.
The refs have always been protected by the leagues. I believe every major sport (US anyway) fines players for calling out refs by name. This has been the case for years.
Refs directly affect the money involved in sports. Leagues need to bend over backwards to protect them cause if they don't professional sports will be treated as "professional wrestling" and loose a shit ton of money.
Seriously, how did professional sports survive in the pre 24 hour media era?
Social media is easily available for any team trying to put out there message. There is even less need for media to do it. Teams spend money on marketing which includes PR.
A-level athletes have a ton of options for getting their message out that doesn't include traditional media.
On the flip side, you act like athletes have never exerted their power before. How many gambling stories did MJ bury back in his prime playing days? Has anyone ever called out MJ over his power as a player back in the day?
I’m not sure I’m understanding this. You can protect the referees for sure, but where do you draw the line as to what constitutes mental health and what doesn’t? If a referee says, “I can’t ref Game 7 tonight because my anxiety is through the roof..”
Is that acceptable? In the new 24 hour media era, this is a possible scenario.
Absolutely. I work for a pro sports team and our comms department is as rampant as ever. However, the offset of traditional media is necessary to ensure balanced reporting, which is why we give the breaking stories to our more trusted and local sources first. Sure, we can put the stories out there, but it can have greater effect coming from a trusted journalist in our local community.
I have no issues with athletes exerting their power. Quite the contrary, I’m an advocate for it. If more people did, the NFL wouldn’t be the shit show it currently is.
I’m simply asking what are the ramifications or praise of this “everything stems from mental health..” world were living in. What’s acceptable? What’s not? I’m sure time will tell.
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Fam, can't do it. It is one thing to be harassed and unfairly treated. But to not want to answer questions when she is hardly ever on the losing end tells me something else is going on.
If I am straight serving niggas daily, answering questions seems to be the least difficult thing to do
It's not just "answering questions" tho....
You know there are times when they are moreso making a statement than asking a question...
Or planting seeds of doubt and loss versus asking a question.
"Naomi your record on clay is pretty bad, you've got an upcoming match against a tough challenger on clay. How do you see that going?"
"Your serve was looking a little weak lately, are you concerned about X, because they've been great at returning your serves?"
She said she ain't with that slick shit. And instead of hearing it and letting it affect her, however or if ever slightly....she needs to stay mentally focused and avoid the media.
researching further now, she actually told their devil assess way ahead on the DL private meetings that shes dealing with mental health issues , the Org shouldve responded with better mechanism to deal with it she did the right thing way ahead and they still fucked her over for their sponsors
See, that's where you're wrong.
The only thing she owes is services rendered for playing sports.
This is the bullshit I'm talking about right here.
You feel entitled. Those are your feelings.
All she is required to do is play sports. Like I said, she is the Tiger Woods of tennis right now. She would play along with the media if she wasn't but she is, so she's flexing.
This "the fans make you" is some bullshit social media nonsense that has gone on for far too long without being checked.
She is not a great tennis player because of "the fans." She has fans because she is a great tennis player.
Too often artists, entertainers and athletes ego stroke the fans. Its true that they feel the love and support that fans give...but thats it. Its love and support. The truth is, they could do it without fans. They have already done it without fans. They reason they are great is because they did it. The fans come after. The press is the press and truth be told, they don't matter. They love you when things are good and turn on you when things are bad, so they are not her friends, either.
This is why Prince stopped giving interviews. This is why MJ stopped giving interviews. The knew what time it was with the media and only spoke to them when they needed to play them for exposure.
Naomi is learning the game. She's controlling the narrative. The press is trying to hide behind the fans when its really the press that's salty about her not speaking to them. She can speak to her fans through social media.
I'll say to you what was just being said by sportscasters here when they were talking about basketball and the doodle ran on the court. The fans are not paying the players, the money to pay the players is coming from the TV contracts. That is where the money comes from. So while fans do help as long as those matches are getting televised people will get paid.
People don't realize that she's making bank.
"Naomi Osaka Is The Highest-Paid Female Athlete Ever, Topping Serena Williams"
Naomi Osaka Is The Highest-Paid Female Athlete Ever, Topping Serena Williams
Osaka earned $37.4 million before taxes, including $3.4 million in prize money and $34 million in sponsorships over the past 12 months.
www.forbes.com
I don’t get some athletes. Losing is apart of that playing a sport. Why take it so personal when you are compensated millions
Cause we see things from the fan perspective and just assume what we know over the players perspective. Money doesn't compensate for everything it just offers a temporary fix.
No one on BGOL can out play Naomi Osaka in tennis. You have not walked in her shoes, so you do not know what is easy or hard for HER. YOU are assuming that its losing that is troubling her but you don't know that because you are not Naomi Osaka.
Its interesting that sympathy is doled out so biased on here.
Why is it so important to you that she obey the press?
I was talking about Williams
fuck SAS
My bad.
I would love to punch that little wimp ass fool in his face.
Just give me one shot. I swear I can break his jaw on the first punch.
He's just looking out for his end. Its what I'd expect him to say. He's sports media, so it directly affects him. Like the rest of them, he doesn't give a shit about her mental health. He just wants an interview and a chance for a commentary.
No one should have the expectation she have mental toughness at such a young age. Let her protect her mental health. I would say she needs a good team (PR or whatever its called) to be her buffer as well.
She's young. What other young girl her age has to deal with that level of pressure, scrutiny, and stress?
I hope she somewhere chilling by a pool or on a secluded beach clearing her head
Absolutely, pillows and champagne and foot rubs at all those press conferences.
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All of this rings a bit hollow to me considering that Serena is married to a cac and tried to turn herself into Sammy Sosa. I wish Naomi well but the cacs "won" in the case of Serena...
All of this rings a bit hollow to me considering that Serena is married to a cac and tried to turn herself into Sammy Sosa. I wish Naomi well but the cacs "won" in the case of Serena...
What's that's got to do with these CACs sweating Naomi?
Let's not lose focus here.
This is about how the press creates drama and pressure for stories and bylines and how the racist owners of these companies use the press to strike at sistas like Naomi who show support for black men.
At no point should black folk forget that these assholes only want to divide and conquer. Its all they know how to do. They hate us and more than anything, they hate to see us support each other or show any kind of togetherness or harmony.
They want her to fall apart and want the public to turn on her and some of you suckas are so mindwashed that y'all believe any and everything somebody holding a microphone tells you to.
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