The sports world took a historic and deeply important time-out on Wednesday in support of Black Life and in response to the shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wis. Among the number of elite athletes and teams that organized spontaneous strikes was tennis star Naomi Osaka, who canceled her Thursday semi-final match at the Western & Southern Open 2020, forcing the tournament to stop the game thereafter for the day.
“[B]that’s why I’m an athlete, I’m a black woman, ” tweeted Osaka, who is of Japanese-Haitian descent. “And as a black woman, I feel that there are far more important issues at hand that need immediate attention, instead of me playing tennis.
“I do not expect that to happen drastically if I do not play, but if I can start a conversation in a majority white sport, I consider that a step in the right direction,” she continued, adding hashtags. “Watching the ongoing genocide of Black people by the police makes me honestly sick to my stomach. I’m tired of showing a new hashtag every few days and I’m very tired of having the same conversation over and over again. When will it ever be enough? ”
On Thursday afternoon is the Fad reported that Osaka has meanwhile agreed to play a rescheduled semi-final on Friday, and issued a statement to the outlet reading:
As you know, I withdrew from the tournament yesterday in support of racial injustice and continued police violence. I was (and am) ready and willing to give the game to my opponent. However, after my announcement and long consultation with the WTA and USTA, I agreed to their request to play on Friday. They offered to postpone all matches until Friday and in my mind that brings more attention to the movement. I want to thank the WTA and the tournament for their support.
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The triumph may seem small, but it does show that at 22, the 2018 en Grand Slam Champion 2019 has emerged as not only a formidable force in the tennis world (and currently the worlds highest paid female athlete, thanks to numerous sponsors, including Nike) but exercises its power to speak freely on issues of social justice. Osaka even followed the protests for George Floyd in May, and met rapper friend Cordae in the streets of Minneapolis. She recently recounted the journey before Wall Street Journal Magazine (WSJ) as the star of their latest cover story, while also appearing on the cover of HighSnobiety‘s digital magazine this month, where she models her new Nike Blazer collaboration with Japanese-based luxury brand Comme des Garçons.
“I’ve always seen protests on TV, and I never had the chance to go, because I always played tennis,” she said, adding later, “Everyone was so passionate … I thought it was really powerful used to be.”
“Just go there and see what the whole city was like at that moment … it was definitely a bit surreal for me,” she told High Snobiety. “And I just started thinking, ‘Even if one person cares about what I say, maybe that person will show another person.'”
While Osaka did not widely publicize its participation in the protests, it began posting content in support of Black Lives Matter. Predictably, there were those who were able to tell the young athlete that she had to keep up with sports, causing her to tweet (h / t WSJ):
“I hate it when random people say athletes should not get involved in politics and just get involved. First and foremost, this is a human rights issue. Second, what gives you more right to speak than me? By that logic you can only talk about the ‘GREEN MEMBER?’ ”
Doubling, Osaka wrote a scathing essay for Esquire this July in which she discussed the impact of her visit to Minneapolis and supported the reimbursement of the police, and wrote (in part):
Over the past few months, I have re-evaluated what is really important in my life. It’s a reset that I often really needed. I asked myself, “If I could not play tennis, what could I do to make a difference?” I decided it was time to talk … for every George there’s a Brianna, a Michael, a Rayshard. The sad list goes on. Those are just the tragedies captured on camera. I still remember seeing the shame over Michael Brown’s case in 2014, and since then nothing has really changed. Black people have been fighting this oppression alone for so many years and progress is fleeting at best. Being “not racist” is not enough. We need to be anti-racist.
Osaka is clearly growing in its activism and platform, one she just started getting used to when The Glow Up interviewed her early 2019 in celebration that she became a Barbie “Shero”.
“I think when I was younger, I tried to brush away the responsibility,” an apparently embarrassed Osaka told us at the time. “But now, there have been incidents [where] people come to me and they start crying, and I realize how important it is to be a role model … I think that’s a great honor, and I’m thankful that I have that responsibility. ”
“She’s starting to figure out what she’s worried about in the public eye – she’s learning herself while we learn about her,” said LeBron James’ longtime business partner Maverick Carter WSJ, who reports that he and James, at the moment executive and produce a documentary series about Osaka for Netflix.
The facts of Osaka’s statue speak for themselves; she is the first Asian or Haitian tennis player to become No. 1 and only the fifth Black woman and only Japanese player to ever win a Grand Slam. But as Serena Williams, Osaka’s hero and opponent in a very memorable final of the US Open 2018 for women, told WSJ, this moment demands more.
“If you’re an athlete and you don’t say anything, there’s a problem,” she said. Osaka, wa has to do with her share of discrimination and ridicule as a black woman represents Japan, it clearly agrees.
‘There’s a time when you need to talk about things. “Like, you can’t just keep slipping under the rug, ‘she told HighSnobiety. “For me, what I want is for people to be more aware of themselves.”
“I found out my voice more,” she explained to WSJ. “I definitely think it’s time to gain confidence and accept what you’re feeling.”
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