Osaka on French Open interviews: No comment

Movie stars not named Tom Cruise don't "refuse press." They do all kinds of press. Hell, the red carpet is press. Kate Winslet, a giant movie star, did countless interviews for Mare of Easttown.

But to make this about the media is to miss the point. Real reporters just roll their eyes at Osaka's comments, move on, and do the work of covering the folks who will talk. The real point is how her note ends - and to whom it's addressed. The organization.

 

I'm kind of OK with athletes opting out from media coverage, as long as they're consistent about it. Meaning, if you're saying anxiety means you don't want to be interviewed before big matches, it also means you don't do interviews after big wins. However, I kind of doubt most athletes would be consistent with this. In particular, I'm thinking of Kevin Durant, who was happy to do four relatively friendly, softball podcasts with Bill Simmons, but not much other stuff.

When it comes to the idea that the interviews and access are helping to "grow the game" though, I kind of think that effect is minimal or non-existent. The most popular sports league in the U.S. is the NFL, and most of those players give fucking awful interviews. Lacrosse and hockey feature interviews with players and coaches *during the game* and I've never heard that cited as a reason why people like either sport. Ultimately, it's the product on the field that puts butts in seats. If Osaka is going to play better and be a more compelling athletic force on the court with no media interviews, then it's probably in that sport's best interest if she doesn't.

 

She doesn’t talk to pawns.

 

Poor girl.

Sampras won everything but the French but still answered questions.

 

It's PR from their end, sure. It's mostly PR from Osaka's end, too.

But I get it. If she loses, she must reflect on the loss.

Again: I think the end of the note is a tell. The media has not been particularly unkind to Osaka, who, fairly, has given them no cause to be unkind.

 

Nobody had a real problem with Steve Carlton or George Hendrick not talking to the press. In fact, it was boilerplate in stories where they’d otherwise be quoted.

 

In fact, Carlton's thorniness led to one of the greatest columns of all time, written by the legendary Diane K. Shah: Director’s Cut: ‘Oh, No! Not Another Boring Interview With Steve Carlton,’ by Diane K. Shah

 

She may not do the interviews, but I'll bet Osaka will be tweeting every chance she gets ...

 

I've thought about this in the past and how it might be more prevalent in tennis because a high percentage of the media are feature writers from magazines. It just doesn't seem fair.
The athlete has finished a match or a game. They've given maximum effort. They are exhausted. Then they are confronted by media and anything can be asked. They get a couple of "What was your key to winning?" or "How do you think tomorrow's match might transpire?" Then they could be asked about the transgender issue, or a Russian player might be asked about the airspace controversy.
There might be topics they've never given one second of thought to, and they are asked their opinion as if the opinions of athletes are so important. And it's up to the writer to figure out how to deal with that.

 

None of those topics have ever been broached with baseball, football, basketball, and hockey players.

 

Ultimately, if a person doesn't want to talk, don't talk. The media will survive. Some media members are unpleasant. Most work hard at their job and want to provide good information for readers/viewers.
I do think athletes, in general, have a responsibility to those who came before them and to the next generation to promote the sport and give fans a reason to care. Being interesting/compelling in interviews is one way to bring the public in. It is also a way to be gracious in defeat/victory and talk about an opponent/fans. If she's not interested in any of that, she may be missing an opportunity.