Money doesn’t matter when dealing with mental health

By David Mullen

Four-time Grand Slam tennis winner and the world’s No.2-ranked woman’s player, Naomi Osaka, was fined after not appearing at a press conference at the French Open in Paris on May 31. She had previously expressed concerns to tournament officials, the media and the tennis world that she did not want to face the media.

 “Naomi Osaka … chose not to honor her contractual media obligations. The Roland-Garros referee has therefore issued her a $15,000 fine, in keeping with article III H. of the Code of Conduct,” the four Grand Slam tournaments said in a joint statement. Osaka withdrew from the French Open on June 1. 

On May 26, Osaka announced she would not speak to the press at the French Open because she considered the practice harmful to an athletes’ mental health. 

After winning the U.S. Open in 2018, Osaka, a dual citizenship Japanese American, was asked by a reporter: “Your last name is Osaka, you were born in Osaka, which is a bit strange because your father is Haitian. So how come your last name is the same name of the city? You should have the last name of your father.’’ Using her mother’s surname made life easier being born to a Black father in Japan.

Through Instagram, she said: “We’re often sat there and asked questions that we’ve been asked multiple times before or asked questions that bring doubt into our minds and I’m not just going to subject myself to people that doubt me. Anyways, I hope the considerable amount I get fined for this will go towards a mental health charity.”

Bloggers called her “spoiled” because she makes a reported $40 million annually and “only has to answer a few questions from a podium” and “typical” for acting like she would rather be anywhere else but in front of a microphone.

As an editor and senior writer for deadspin and cohost of the podcast “The Ladies Room,” which focuses on women and sports, Julie DiCaro is uniquely qualified to discuss the Osaka dilemma.   

“I support her, obviously, and she was asking for a pretty reasonable accommodation with the powers that be at the French Open to excuse her,” DiCaro said. 

“I think that initially she didn’t communicate very well exactly what her mental state was. I think it came off to the French Open like ‘I’m just not going to do this’ or ‘It’s not good for me mentally’ … kind of flippant. There was much more involved.”

Dr. Elizabeth Lombardo, a nationally-known expert on mental health now based in Chicago after previously practicing in Dallas, said: “Mental illness does not have any barriers. It doesn’t matter how much money you make or your background. It does not discriminate. She [Osaka] is struggling. My guess is she is struggling with some social anxiety. I have not personally worked with her, but I have worked with a lot of professional athletes who have social anxiety. Being asked questions, particularly if it is a topic where she is not an expert, can cause a lot of anxiety.

“Here’s the thing about mental illness,” Dr. Lombardo added. 

“There’s one thing to be anxious or sad. There’s another thing to have full-blown clinical depression and/or social anxiety. It’s a whole other depth of what going on with the brain. People will say ‘She makes $40 million. She has no right to deal with a mental illness.’ It doesn’t matter how much money she is making.”

DiCaro points out many writers are not seeking real insight, just a quote they can plug in to finish off a story already written in the press box. “There is going to have to be a conversation going forward, especially with so many other athletes weighing in, that feel the same way [as Osaka] about post-game press conferences.”

Questioning the real “utility” of the post-match Q & A, DiCaro inquired: “What are the parameters we want to set in terms of not asking the same questions over and over again? [We should] not ask overly obtrusive questions or ask questions that aren’t part of the game.” 

The bigger the event, like the French Open, the more obtrusive and sometime ridiculous the questioning can be. Citing differences between the American press and the foreign press, which is male dominated and more aggressive, DiCaro, who has personally suffered with bouts of anxiety and depression, sees other contributing factors in Osaka.

“First of all, she’s 23 years old and in this position where she has very much been thrust into the center of the spotlight,” DiCaro said. 

“In addition to that, she is someone that has been very outspoken about social and racial justice issues. So, I think what she sees coming is that people are going to ask her about police brutality or the murder of George Floyd or about COVID and whether the Olympics should be held in Tokyo because she represented Japan on the Olympics. I think a lot of this has to do with being afraid to set a foot wrong and the pressures that come with trying to keep a lot of groups happy.”

While the intensity of playing in a major event may not seem like the right forum, DiCaro said: “I think it is an issue of ‘once you have chosen to speak out, you never again get to choose when and where you can speak out.’ People are going to ask you about it. Even if it is in the middle of something big like a Grand Slam, I think bringing up issues that you have spoken about in the past in the middle of a press conference is not fair. In that regard, we always expect them to talk about [social issues] whenever we want them to talk about it.” 

When an athlete brings up mental health as a concern, it is often dismissed. The media and sports fans don’t know how to deal with it. A pulled hamstring is understood. Social anxiety is not. 

On June 7, a statement released from officials at the upcoming Berlin WTA 500 said that Osaka has decided to pull out of the tournament. “After consulting her management,” the statement said, “She will take a break.” The Berlin WTA 500 is looked at as a tune-up for the next Grand Slam event, Wimbledon, which begins on Monday, June 28. 

“The thing I always tell people is that depression and anxiety lie to you and make you think everything is bigger and more insurmountable than it actually is,” DiCaro said. “It doesn’t surprise me that she feels that she would rather not play than deal with it.”

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