Osaka on French Open interviews: No comment

If Osaka is beaten, it should be fairly easy to write around the fact that she is not talking. If Osaka does win, I disagree with using a pile of quotes from the opponent to write around her silence. It's our job to fairly represent any match that involves her. It's not our job to cover up this pile of crap that she seems eager to serve out of whatever she thinks, feels or is being fed by someone on her team.

Early on, it's not a tricky writearound unless you need a bunch of coverage. In the later rounds, if Osaka is still in it, is when it could get interesting if she continues to advance.

 

Well, I know it's not about the media - even for Osaka. Not really. The end of her message is a tell, and the Grand Slam group's response is, too. It may have to do with who gets credentialed at these events, and the kinds of questions that get asked by a few folks who like to find flaws in, say, a 4 and 4 win.

My point is, if there was going to be some group of people who stood up for Osaka - especially if it meant access favors later - it'd be American media. Am I wrong?

There's an interesting topic to be explored here - including the idea that Osaka's own social media could be more disconcerting and stressful than actual media, and the real problem is getting addicted to that - but to explore it requires questioning the idea of whether someone's personal truth - especially the personal truth of a celebrity - is always...true.

 

Roland Garros is the only slam that ESPN doesn't have rights to. So if she's shunning any U.S. TV, it's Tennis Channel (and NBC, though NBC doesn't do much of the post-match interviews aside from the finals). She does have sponsor deals with Japanese TV, and I heard she did an interview with them after today's match. To me, only doing media that's paying you is worse than doing none of it at all and should carry sanctions of its own. How many Japanese newspapers sent reporters to Paris expecting to get her in press conferences?

 

It's behind a paywall, but Gay Talese's "Frank Sinatra Has a Cold" for Esquire might be the definitive example.

Frank Sinatra Has a Cold - Gay Talese - Best Profile of Sinatra

 

Other than the basics -- newspapers, magazines and television and networks and stations, who gets credentialed for these events?

 

Tweet following her first-round victory in Paris. She participated in an on-court interview, then skipped the mandatory presser and was fined $15,000. Has been warned that she could default from the tournament:

 

Here’s an example of the American media



Now - to be clear, it’s a perfectly fine perspective to have. I’m just not surprised it’s that strong from a reporter.

 

Billie Jean King is “torn.”

 

Not Bo here, but just a thought.
What if Osaka had said: "The media is the enemy of the nation."

 

Not to throw a ton of shade here, but I'm not sure how to interpret the perspective on a topic this heavy when that person graduated college two years ago and is a NOW reporter for Gannett (whatever that is).

 

A couple of things, and any of you who have more experience than me covering tennis, please help with the first one:
1. How much of this is that the European media, especially the Brits, go in for the gossipy, TMZ type of stuff? Was there a big difference in the questions of treatment she received from the Euros than the Americans?
2. If talking to the media is "endangering" her mental health, how the hell did she have the mental toughness to stand up to Serena Williams or Azarenka to win a grand slam? As annoying or pesky or insipid the media can be, can it be possible that dumb or repetitive questions actually endanger anyone's mental health? There are a ton of frustrating experiences we all have to deal with in life. Is waiting in a long line at the airport dangerous to mental health? A slow waitress? Going to the DMV? (admittedly, all mundane things in life a world-class athlete probably doesn't have to bother themselves with).
3. Jimbo Fisher once responded to a question I asked him by saying, "are you crazy?" Does that mean Jimbo was endangering my mental health?