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"Naomi Osaka withdraws from French Open after refusing to do news conferences"
Tennis athletes are forced to talk to the media within 30mins of the match. Questions deemed to be counterproductive to establishing a winning mentality.
What do people think? I think I'd take a Kimi approach to media duties if people asked stuff I didn't like.
I feel it is different to football, which is a team game, where the responsibility is somewhat shared.
Interesting that mental health was brought up and the French tournament was essentially "we give help for that" and "you are fined 15k".
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Petra Kvitova was talking about this before the tournament started and was saying exactly the same things. Maybe there's a bit of momentum gathering here on the female tour? You can see why the TV companies and sponsors want them to do the interviews though.
Its difficult and I entirely understand why they would not wish to do inane and often humiliating interviews straight after a game.
However, it is the coverage (including stuff like interviews) which makes playing your favourite game a profitable job rather than a hobby.
This is exactly right. Whether it's men's or women's, whether it's tennis or darts, without the telly money, it's barely even a job, let alone one which would net you millions of pounds/dollars. If you want to take the TV dollar, then I'm afraid you have to be available to do the press conferences. All popular sports have sold their soul. Maybe they shouldn't have, but they have.
Sadly, what she has signed up to includes these obligations. The rules state that she must attend press conferences, just as they state that you lose a point if you hit the ball out. She can certainly agitate for a change in the rules, but (a) simply disobeying the rules is unlikely to bring that about, especially when most others are happy enough to play by them, and (b) it seems to me unlikely that TV companies would ever give in to such demands.
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Tennis and the Media on 21:13 - May 31 with 3773 views
This is what I posted in the other thread on this:
I was listening to a number of ex players on the radio and they think she's in the wrong with this and that she should be voicing what her concerns are and how to fix them (which she hasn't done) rather than taking this course of action.
None of them liked doing interviews but the money she wins in tournaments partly comes from media sponsorship and from media access so they said she can't have it both ways.
This isn't the French Open on their own, Wimbledon, the US Open and the Aussie Open said they would also ban her if she persisted. All four grandslams issued a joint statement yesterday which is very unusual.
SB
Edit: I've subsequently heard Laura Robson say that the 30 minutes thing is very, very flexible and that if you say you want 2 hours or even the next day then they are amenable to that.
[Post edited 1 Jun 2021 8:21]
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Tennis and the Media on 22:17 - May 31 with 3664 views
Tennis and the Media on 21:13 - May 31 by StokieBlue
This is what I posted in the other thread on this:
I was listening to a number of ex players on the radio and they think she's in the wrong with this and that she should be voicing what her concerns are and how to fix them (which she hasn't done) rather than taking this course of action.
None of them liked doing interviews but the money she wins in tournaments partly comes from media sponsorship and from media access so they said she can't have it both ways.
This isn't the French Open on their own, Wimbledon, the US Open and the Aussie Open said they would also ban her if she persisted. All four grandslams issued a joint statement yesterday which is very unusual.
SB
Edit: I've subsequently heard Laura Robson say that the 30 minutes thing is very, very flexible and that if you say you want 2 hours or even the next day then they are amenable to that.
[Post edited 1 Jun 2021 8:21]
Think you might need to read what she has posted tonight. In the article below, they have added her statement from her Twitter account.
Why didn’t she just refuse the on court interview & do the press instead where you can be far more composed & prepared? Or if she wasn’t able to do either then obviously some help is needed. Can’t be getting the right guidance, the players have a large entourage at these events. Either way women’s tennis is something I’m really not that excited about.
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Tennis and the Media on 22:53 - May 31 with 3585 views
I might be simplifying this a bit, but it seems a fairly straightforward case of what's right versus what the corporate machine wants in order to make loadsa money. Why would you pressure or force someone to do something that makes them feel uncomfortable, especially if they've struggled with mental health issues? The obvious answer is because they are contracted to, which obviously holds a lot of weight as far as the lawyers/event organisers/media bosses are concerned. And they've paid a lot of money for the coverage, so I can see where they're coming from.
But fundamentally and morally it's not right, is it?
Tennis and the Media on 22:53 - May 31 by Swansea_Blue
I might be simplifying this a bit, but it seems a fairly straightforward case of what's right versus what the corporate machine wants in order to make loadsa money. Why would you pressure or force someone to do something that makes them feel uncomfortable, especially if they've struggled with mental health issues? The obvious answer is because they are contracted to, which obviously holds a lot of weight as far as the lawyers/event organisers/media bosses are concerned. And they've paid a lot of money for the coverage, so I can see where they're coming from.
But fundamentally and morally it's not right, is it?
Quite. Neither they, nor we, can say on the one hand that we support those struggling with MH issues, whilst simultaneously holding her to a generic requirement to give interviews. There can also be particular and temporary reasons which may cause individuals to struggle - family problems, e.g.
In any case, quite aside from that, I don't know why the media want instant post-match comments from either winners or losers anyway - they're never anything but trite, cliched, boring & worthless.
Thanks, that's very different to the information which had been coming out previously and different to what ex-players had been saying.
Her sister put out a statement last week (which she deleted) saying that Osaka didn't want to do the media anymore because she didn't like them pointing out she wasn't good on surfaces like clay and that her record was bad. That's very different to what she has said there which of course takes precedence as it's directly from her.
This is going to get complicated because it's wrong to force her to do something with causes health issues but any other player who doesn't fancy doing the media could also go down the same route without actually having the issues she has.
Obviously there now needs to be a debate about what is an appropriate expectation of the players.
SB
[Post edited 1 Jun 2021 8:19]
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Tennis and the Media on 06:17 - Jun 1 with 3393 views
Tennis and the Media on 22:48 - May 31 by BlueForYou
Why didn’t she just refuse the on court interview & do the press instead where you can be far more composed & prepared? Or if she wasn’t able to do either then obviously some help is needed. Can’t be getting the right guidance, the players have a large entourage at these events. Either way women’s tennis is something I’m really not that excited about.
Ooh, so close. You made it to the last sentence without coming across as too much of a bell this time. Kudos though, you managed it right at the death.
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Tennis and the Media on 07:11 - Jun 1 with 3335 views
Quite. Neither they, nor we, can say on the one hand that we support those struggling with MH issues, whilst simultaneously holding her to a generic requirement to give interviews. There can also be particular and temporary reasons which may cause individuals to struggle - family problems, e.g.
In any case, quite aside from that, I don't know why the media want instant post-match comments from either winners or losers anyway - they're never anything but trite, cliched, boring & worthless.
Exactly - tennis players aren't usually the most interesting lot, are they, and it's not really a very interesting sport to talk about.
These statements and action from Osaka will have generated more clicks and column inches for the media than the combined post-match quotes from the rest of the players in the tournament.
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Tennis and the Media on 07:29 - Jun 1 with 3305 views
The only reason most people see the interviews is because they are within minutes of the end of the match. If they were pushed back half an hour or an hour then most people would have moved on to watching something else and wouldn't care that they didn't see the interview.
I back Osaka on this. There was a punishment of a fine, which she was willing to accept because she is one of the biggest names in the game. Then because she was willing to accept the punishment, the authorities decided they would move the goalposts. Ridiculous.
"Never argue with an idiot. They will drag you down to their level and beat you with experience."
I utterly sympathise with her mental health struggles, but this is not something that’s been sprung on her, it’s been part and parcel of her chosen career since long before she was born and she’ll have grown up watching all her role models in the sport do it. That’s not to say things might not benefit from change, but the way this is all being conducted makes it seem rather like she isn’t cut out for the lows of her dream career and thinks she’s entitled only to the highs.
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Tennis and the Media on 08:11 - Jun 1 with 3206 views
I utterly sympathise with her mental health struggles, but this is not something that’s been sprung on her, it’s been part and parcel of her chosen career since long before she was born and she’ll have grown up watching all her role models in the sport do it. That’s not to say things might not benefit from change, but the way this is all being conducted makes it seem rather like she isn’t cut out for the lows of her dream career and thinks she’s entitled only to the highs.
She’s voluntarily withdrawn from the tournament thereby voluntarily sacrificing the highs ...
The Paz Man
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Tennis and the Media on 08:19 - Jun 1 with 3197 views
Does anyone actually care about sportspeople's interviews?
They almost always say innane rubbish (being a great orator is not a prerequiste to being a sportsperson).
Whenever there is conflict or trouble, they tend to publically toe the party line in order to not get in trouble with their manager, club or sports body.
I'd personally be in favour of not having any scheduled interviews. Give a platform on an ad-hoc basis when sportspeople actually have something interesting to say.
Ironically, in this instance, Osaka has said far more by refusing an interview than she ever would in the interview.
[Post edited 1 Jun 2021 8:20]
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Tennis and the Media on 08:41 - Jun 1 with 3155 views
Tough one this. The big part of me feels for her and hope all involved can show themselves adaptable and flexible to each players needs.
However, there are plenty of careers where requirements or job spec seem to mean that some people are not suited for that career. Or should employers adapt their practices to the needs of each employee.
It’s not an easy one, especially where mental health is at issue.
1) Sport is enslaved to the media, selling their souls to pay the ever-inflating bills. In return, the media must get more and more content, preferably exclusive, in order to fill airtime and column inches.
2) This throws a burden upon sports stars to constantly perform not only in their chosen discipline, but also upon the press rostrum. Young people, many only in their late teens and twenties, face constant grilling, accompanied by waves of bile on social media. Not easy to withstand, especially as they are also in the throes of gruelling regimes of travel, training and top-level competition, separated from family and friends.
3) Particularly in the current, Covid world of bubbles and isolation, where the players have been sacrificed to let the money-making show go on.
4) If they dare to complain, these sportspeople are openly derided for being soft, not appreciating the adulation they receive or the privileged lives they [supposedly] lead. The amount they are paid is somehow supposed to insulate them from all mental pressure.
How is it surprising that such an environment can sometimes break people or cause them to lash out?
Tough one this. The big part of me feels for her and hope all involved can show themselves adaptable and flexible to each players needs.
However, there are plenty of careers where requirements or job spec seem to mean that some people are not suited for that career. Or should employers adapt their practices to the needs of each employee.
It’s not an easy one, especially where mental health is at issue.
"should employers adapt their practices to the needs of each employee?"
They do, without hesitation for employees or customers who have physical challenges. Why would they not be similarly flexible/helpful for people with mental health challenges?
25 years ago, am sure there were plenty of employers moaning at the first disability act and having to give access to people in wheelchairs. Attitudes change, am sure in 25 years we will have significantly different attitudes to dealing with staff with mental health issues.
Exactly - tennis players aren't usually the most interesting lot, are they, and it's not really a very interesting sport to talk about.
These statements and action from Osaka will have generated more clicks and column inches for the media than the combined post-match quotes from the rest of the players in the tournament.
I feel the same about post-match interviews in all sports tbh.
I thought this yesterday when I saw it brewing. She missed one media appearance and got hit for £10k (with threats of plenty more).
If it was me I would have just done the media and said “I dunno”, “I dunno”, “Good question” on repeat.....but massive respect to her for pulling out.
It is part of the job and I think most players see it that way. Osaka was warned she would be to fined.
I think you're right in as much as there is a clear way round it which would be to be totally monosyllabic and that allows both the fulfilment of duty and to make the pint.
Was it a tough match? Yes. How do you think you played? Good.....
Fair play to her for sticking to her principle though.
Exactly - tennis players aren't usually the most interesting lot, are they, and it's not really a very interesting sport to talk about.
These statements and action from Osaka will have generated more clicks and column inches for the media than the combined post-match quotes from the rest of the players in the tournament.
Yes - it's about appearing in front of the press with branded gear, logos etc than it is about interesting comments on tactics and game plans. She needs help and support rather than Piets Morgan weighing in. I'm more upset that there no Minder on ITV4 due to 12 hours blanket coverage
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Tennis and the Media on 16:07 - Jun 1 with 2904 views
Why am I not surprised how the Fench Open have treated her? People forget that these athletes are human. Yes, it does contractually say that she must attend interviews, but come on support the lass if she wants to take a step back for a while. She is not in a good place clearly.
Going forward she should adopt the Marshawn Lynch approach to answering interview questions. I think it's clear why he is really there......
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