>> This kinda started yesterday. Yesterday I just woke up and I was really depressed,
but I don't know why. >> The recent
revelations are nothing new. >> I'm just an okay player that
was able to play okay. I'm so sad right now. >> Naomi Osaka has been open about her struggles.
>> I feel for Naomi. I feel like I wish I could give her a hug cuz I know what it's like.
>> Anyone that knows me knows I'm introverted, and anyone that has seen me at the tournaments
will notice that I'm often wearing headphones as that helps dull my social anxiety.
I get really nervous and find it stressful to always try to engage
and give the best answers I can. >> In an Instagram post,
she laid it out for everyone. >> The 23-year old revealing she's,
quote, suffered long bouts of depression since the US Open
in 2018 and I have a really hard time coping with that.
>> And yet even with her being so honest, media, predominantly, the old guard of white
males like Piers Morgan, were none too pleased and responded viciously. It all started when Osaka,
the second ranked player in the world, announced she would not partake in press conferences.
She cited her mental health and told the world she has suffered because of it in the past.
>> The press at these tournaments, and this is not the first time that this has been said,
certainly by women athletes in particular, that there is a tremendous amount of pressure that's
put on these players by the media themselves, particularly in France.
>> In effect, she was fined $15,000 for skipping her mandatory press conference.
All four Grand Slams, including the clay courts of Roland Garros, touted the potential for a
suspension and sanctions levied against her just because she would not take questions.
>> I'm much more interested in the tennis than how she feels afterwards. I mean,
it's really stunning, this is what it felt like to me reading this letter from the four tournaments.
That they're putting a line in the sand and saying not only will we not accept this from Naomi Osaka,
we're not gonna accept this from anybody. >> So Osaka responded. She withdrew from the
French Open citing reasons we played above in this clip. As the Post wrote, it was a dramatic exit.
I think now the best thing for the tournament, the other players, and my well-being is that I
withdraw so that everyone can get back to focusing on the tennis going on in Paris,
she said. This is Gilles Moretton. He is the French Tennis Federation
president. After Osaka's decision, Moretton, in pure hypocritical fashion, held a presser,
read out a statement in French, then read out the same statement in English, called
Naomi Osaka's withdrawal unfortunate, then left without taking a single question from the press.
Seeing Moretton, of the French Tennis Federation,
calling a presser, reading a statement, but refusing to take any questions,
ironic doesn't quite cover it, wrote Joe Molloy in a spot on post. Naomi Osaka said she had
written to tournament officials privately to apologize for the distraction she had
created and had offered to speak with them after the tourney about potentially changing
rules requiring players to engage with the media that she described as outdated.
Before returning to the tour, she said, she would discuss with tournament officials ways
they could make things better for the players. The schedule is virtually year
round and nonstop. The travel can be isolating. The results are never based on a teammate's play
or a coach's decision, but on a single person's effectiveness on a given day or over two weeks.
Professional tennis is almost designed to foster mental health issues.
Dismiss them at your own peril, wrote the post. Interactions with the media shouldn't
drive elite athletes from the best competitions. Interactions with the media should help enhance
the competitions by showing how those athletes became elite. It's a journey,
and understanding it can deepen the feeling a fan has for the performer.
Data even has shown that as many as 35% of elite athletes have suffered from a mental
health crisis, such as stress, eating disorders, burnout, depression or anxiety
according to Athletes for Hope, a group that seeks to engage athletes in charitable causes.
As we close, some thoughts from Matt Haig, who wrote this.
Think of how the media treats women who speak about their mental health. From Naomi Osaka
to Meghan Markle, from Princess Diana to Amy Winehouse, from reality TV stars to royalty.
The women change, the will to humiliate doesn't. It is deeply rotten, outdated, and needing change.