Naomi Osaka withdrew from the French Open after saying she would not attend press conferences
Channel: MentalHouse TV w/Khadijah
Date: 2021-06-06

I do not know Osaka and I would not presume to second-guess her decision. She made a statement about it that made her rationale very clear. I do know that she is one of the game’s brightest stars and that tennis needs her. 

It also appeared the treatment of Osaka in Paris was heavy-handed. It seemed to many she was being hounded out of the tournament. It is a natural instinct, I hope, to wish that tennis finds a way to help Osaka, not punish her, but what I do not understand is why the corollary to that instinct seems to have been to condemn press conferences as exercises in futility. 

In an era when access to sports stars is controlled more and more tightly, and agents and governing bodies are seeking to vet questions, open press conferences are more important than ever.

When I think of press conferences, I think of Kimmage confronting Lance Armstrong at the Tour of California in 2009, I think of being in Barcelona in 1999 when Sir Alex Ferguson said ‘Football, bloody hell,’ I think of Stamford Bridge in 2004 when Jose Mourinho said ‘I am not one out of a bottle, I am a special one’, I think of listening to the reminiscences of Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player in the press room at Augusta National.I think of being in the audience at the Hudson Theater in New York in 2002 when Mike Tyson and Lennox Lewis turned their presser into a brawl, I think of the excruciatingly awkward American Ryder Cup team press conference at Gleneagles in 2014, which told you precisely why the US lose so often to Europe when the world rankings say they should win every time.Back in 2017, when the journalist asked that question at London’s Olympic Stadium, Bolt was incredulous. He leaned back in his chair, nudged Gatlin and indicated that he would field this one. ‘Whoa, whoa, whoa, what?’ he said. ‘What’s she saying there?’ The journalist began to repeat the question. ‘I heard you but I’m saying what?’ said Bolt. He was playing to the audience now and some journalists, who wanted to ingratiate themselves with him, tittered obligingly. (By Oliver Holt For The Mail)






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