The original draft of this unpublished letter to the editor was submitted to the Wall Street Journal in response to sports columnist Jason Gay’s rather sympathetic take on tennis great Naomi Osaka’s decision to withdraw from the French Open rather than meet the tournament’s contractual obligations to participate in news conferences. She has used social media to explain that depression and anxiety make dealing with the media unpleasant and sometimes unbearable. And in an era when female high school track and field athletes have to take Connecticut to court just to keep biological males who “identify” as females from dominating their sport, Gay is by no means alone in suggesting that Osaka and just about everyone else seeking special dispensations should be accommodated.
To the Editor:
Not that it applies in France, but the Americans with Disabilities Act requires U.S. employers to make “reasonable accommodations” for employees with recognized disabilities, including some mental health problems such as tennis star Naomi Osaka’s depression and anxiety (“Listening to Naomi Osaka,” Sports, June 3).
But there’s a mountain of court decisions favoring employers who have successfully argued that particular accommodations sought by certain employees were not reasonable. And considering the critical roles that screaming fans and clawing media play in enriching and promoting professional sports, it can certainly be argued that a pro athlete’s desire to be exempted from media exposure is unreasonable.
Ms. Osaka is a great player and a seemingly bright and lovely young lady. And all fans and non-fans alike wish that answering a few rude questions from sportswriters now and again didn’t cause her such angst. But there’s no law requiring athletic savants to pursue careers in competitive professional sports, and there’ll never be a shortage of worthy up-and-comers eager to replace those who, for whatever reasons, can’t handle or otherwise disdain the spotlight (see charismatic 17-year-old golf phenom Megha Ganne stealing the show at this week’s U.S. Women’s Open).
Ms. Osaka is a young multimillionaire who can afford to and perhaps should take time away from tournament tennis to seek the best professional help available for her problems. If she can overcome them and someday make a comeback, fans and media will welcome her with open arms. But even if she can’t she’ll certainly be able to find more suitable and fulfilling career and life alternatives. The media’s rush to create yet another victim serves no one, for if everyone’s a victim no one is.
Darren McKinney, Washington, D.C.