Osaka on French Open interviews: No comment

Just like you to "don't ever" me, after I did. I'm not taking it back.

 

I couldn't care less what you think, or how you convey yourself on this board. That's your problem for putting it out there, not mine.

 

Osaka’s agent calls Cincy columnist (a damn good columnist, IYAM) a bully.

Naomi Osaka's agent calls reporter a 'bully' after tennis star makes press conference return

 

This whole situation was blown out of massive proportion. Daugherty is definitely known for being tough and blunt in press conferences. This was an extremely soft version of Daugherty.

But the fact the agent flipped out was an interesting look at her press dynamic. It felt as if the backlash to what Daugherty represented and not the question itself.

 

The clue about the agent's response is that he's from IMG. They think that anything that doesn't help their client make money is detrimental.

 

It was a legit question, though I may have cut the “you’re not crazy about us” statement that preceded it. More importantly, it’s a question that Osaka, if she was mentally ready to return to press conferences, should have prepared for in the three months since her last press conference. If she did prepare for it, and it still went awry, then that’s a bigger concern.

 

Noted: In seven years as a reporter in the late 1980s and early ‘90s, the only serious shit I took was from a tennis player’s agent.

 

Great IMG story. A guy I had covered since junior golf was on the Tour, making money, winning tournaments. He was with IMG. I'm getting some advance stuff on the Masters from him on the range one day at Bay Hill when his agent came by and said they had to chat. Player asked me if I could hit him on his cell phone later on. Sure, I said. No problem. Agent starts berating him, "I told you not to give those assholes your cell number," like I wasn't even standing there. To his credit, the player told his agent, "fuck you ... this guy's been with me since I was winning 12 and under tournaments."
There's a reason we call IMG the Evil Empire.

 

Thought this was an interesting quote weeks later about all of this. Feels like Osaka said it was a mistake to some degree, which honestly, I'd disagree with because I feel like the move gained her even more fans.

 

It didn’t gain her the kind of fans that’ll stick around for half a second.

 

Good for her. Saying that takes a lot of courage. It would be easy for some PR flak to provide cover. Again, glad she said something on her behalf.

Onward, upward, forward, etc. ...