{"id":2650,"date":"2021-06-03T01:00:58","date_gmt":"2021-06-03T08:00:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/shirscribe.com\/?p=2650"},"modified":"2021-06-03T01:01:04","modified_gmt":"2021-06-03T08:01:04","slug":"why-naomi-osakas-withdrawal-may-make-the-french-open-the-ultimate-loser","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shirscribe.com\/index.php\/2021\/06\/03\/why-naomi-osakas-withdrawal-may-make-the-french-open-the-ultimate-loser\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Naomi Osaka’s Withdrawal may Make the French Open the Ultimate Loser"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

When I first read that the four Grand Slams ganged up on Naomi Osaka and tried to pressure her into talking to the media or face expulsion, I thought damn, Naomi didn\u2019t realize who she was fuckin\u2019 with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Damn near everybody on Twitter who supports Naomi was saying to pull a Marshawn Lynch on they ass, the idea being she could give them what they wanted without giving them what they wanted. It would be a win-win for her, and perhaps some sort of win for the Slams too. Because the way the Slams hit back with that threat, this was no longer simply about press conferences and contractual obligations. This was about power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Naomi Osaka had already shown her power back in August when she chose to forfeit a game and instead influenced organizers to bring all play to a halt following the shooting of Jacob Blake. Perhaps this time, when she posted her original announcement on Twitter stating that she would not be talking to press, she thought it would go over the same way. And by the same way I mean that they would acquiesce. That they would simply fine her each time and that would be that. But oh, no. That was far from the case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I never really liked her first statement\u2014for several reasons. Chief among them is for selfish reasons. I simply love to watch the press conferences afterward. I enjoy watching the winner because that\u2019s aspirational\u2014not that I have tennis dreams, just dreams in general. But, I especially like watching the person who loss, because that\u2019s relatable, and it\u2019s always interesting to see how they handle it.  For that reason, I was sorry that Naomi wouldn\u2019t be doing pressers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I also didn\u2019t like the reasoning she gave for not doing the pressers. I talk about that more in depth in my previous post which you can read about here<\/a>. One thing I don\u2019t believe I mentioned there that I thought was in poor taste was the way she talked to the French Open people (I don\u2019t know what they\u2019re officially called) when she said something like, and I\u2019m paraphrasing: if they think she\u2019s going to do pressers she\u2019s gotta laugh. It just came off flippant and a bit disrespectful. This was a tweet by a young woman, who knows she is a huge star in the sport, and knows she has more than enough money in the bank to not be hurt by a fine. And so, she was displaying, as the younger people would say, the ultimate flex.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Only problem was, as the establishment, this wasn\u2019t the French Open\u2019s first time at the rodeo.  They weren\u2019t going to give up or give in so easily. They slapped her with a $15,000 fine, which was even higher than the fine Novak Djokovic received for skipping the presser after he defaulted during last year\u2019s US Open when a ball he carelessly launched behind him made contact with a lines judge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But wait, there\u2019s more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Taking Naomi\u2019s extensive bank account into account I\u2019m sure, they took it another-further. You see even if they were to hit her with the maximum reported amount of $20,000 in fines after each match, it\u2019s almost like she wouldn\u2019t even feel it. I mean five years ago, she probably didn\u2019t even have a million dollars, now she has over 50. What\u2019s a few $15,000 fines to someone like that?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I unfollow people on social media, I like to see their number go down, not that it matters to whoever it is, but I just like it\u2014I know, I\u2019m so sinister. Like if they have 3,459 followers, I like to see the number change to 3,458. But there is a certain number of followers a person can have, where you\u2019re unfollow doesn\u2019t even affect their count. It\u2019s like they have 5.3 million followers and I unfollow and they still have 5.3 million followers. That\u2019s how I imagine these fines are to Naomi Osaka. That\u2019s how much money this girl has in the bank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I know this, and the French Open people knows it too. So if they wanted to show their power, get her to bend, they knew they couldn\u2019t do it by hitting her in the pocketbook alone. They had to devise another plan. They banked on a four-time Grand Slam champion\u2019s love of the game, and did something she probably should have done\u2014they didn\u2019t go it alone. They could have been like talk to the press or we won\u2019t let you continue to play in this year\u2019s French Open.  But that\u2019s not what they did, oh no. They were like talk to the press, or not only will we suspend you from this year\u2019s French Open, but we will expel you from future Grand Slam competition\u2014that\u2019s the US and Australian Opens and Wimbledon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m talking they went extra heavy-handed with their response. I was like really, is all that necessary?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve been quite the rebel-with-a-cause myself on the job. I grew up going to Christian schools where they put an emphasis on doing the right thing, because it\u2019s the right thing, and that\u2019s what God would want me to do. I remember being in the eighth grade, taking a test where you had to memorize and right down a Bible verse. Well, I didn\u2019t memorize it, so I decided to cheat. I had the Bible verse written down on my hand and would casually glance at it every now and then. I was getting away with it too until this little asshole, I mean little boy in my class told on me. I was sent to the principal\u2019s office and got in trouble. I remember the principal asking me did I even pay attention to the verse. I didn\u2019t, then found out it was something about honesty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You would think I may probably remember that Bible verse by heart now, but I don\u2019t.  But they made me feel so bad that I never cheated again\u2026okay once I let someone else copy my homework in 11th<\/sup> grade, but that was it. If I passed, I passed; If I failed, I failed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That was the thing about going to Christian school, at least for me, it made it seem like anything bad I did was because I was an immature sinner who hadn\u2019t evolved morally enough to do the right thing. Like they were preparing me to enter into a world of adulthood  where everybody, save for the marginal deviants, had grown out of illicit behaviors such as lying and cheating.  Then I became an adult, traded in my school desk for a cubicle and found out that \u201cthe right thing to do\u201d gets trumped by the bottom-line every time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But if you think about it, that\u2019s the way it\u2019s always been. Workers\u2019 health and safety has never been the priority. It\u2019s only become more of a priority insofar as the powers that be come to realize that it can be more costly not to put measures in place to protect workers, and, of course, laws and regulations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sports, in particular, can be very calloused when it comes to its workers. One example of this is how they trade athletes. Just the idea of calling it a trade when a player is made to go from one team to another team just sounds so transactional, like what you do with your car when you\u2019re done with it, or exchanging shoes or something. And the way some of them find out about it, just brutal.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This just goes to show that it happens when you make a lot of money, it happens when you make a little money, there are all these reminders that you are a commodity. Or, as one job I used to have called its workers\u2014labor.  Like, \u201cWe need to cut labor,\u201d meaning somebody was about to lose hours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a result, I went to these jobs, fighting the good fight, not even realizing that was taboo, and soon thereafter found myself fired, or caught so much hell I was forced to quit to protect my sanity. Every time I quit a job or was fired, you could say the company had the upper hand. I remember some years ago, going to a professional conference, actually just days before I got fired, and during one of the sessions they were talking about not getting along with your boss and basically how you just have to suck it up because the company always wins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While ultimately I believe that God is in control, my destiny is in my hands and His hands, when you feel the full force of their power, or even a fraction of it, and see just how strong it is, you can\u2019t help but say, \u201cDamn, what the hell am I gonna do now?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So when Naomi pulled that boss move by announcing her intentions publicly and having the money to back it up, and they upped the ante, by threating suspension and expulsion, forcing her to withdraw, I was like, \u201cdamn, they got her.\u201d But did they, really?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You see, the more I thought about it and read articles about Naomi and her sponsors, read the response of supporters, celebrities and people in the media, I realized the French Open and the rest of the Slams may have just shot themselves in the foot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Naomi Osaka is the highest-paid female athlete on the planet. If she never earns another dime in her life, as long as she spends and invests her money right, she\u2019s already set for life. Furthermore, she\u2019s a four-time Grand Slam champion. There are people who\u2019ve been playing far longer than she has who cannot say the same. If she never plays another game of tennis, even as she\u2019s yet to conquer clay and grass surfaces, she\u2019s already made her mark on the sport.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s face it, she\u2019s flipped the script. Unlike your average worker, or even average sports player, she really has nothing to lose.  The French Open and the other Slams were betting on Naomi wanting to pursue an ultimately arbitrary tennis title more than she wants her own agency. So they fucked around and found out that she could let that go as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now the French Open has lost someone who is a huge draw for the tournament. If Naomi stayed in the tournament, even if she lost, people would be eying the moves of whoever beat her, seeing if that woman would be an upcoming star. It seems to me, in tennis, that\u2019s how you gain notoriety, you beat the best, and win consistently, which is what Naomi did. However, The French Open has now denied someone the possibility of doing that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The French Open, however, still has some options. Coco Gauff is a rising star that\u2019s recently shown some promise on the clay. If the 17-year-old continues to perform well, beats Serena and takes it all, that has the potential to draw people into the sport. Speaking of Serena, she\u2019s still in this thing, and has advanced to the third round. She\u2019s playing with more finesse and has really adjusted her game to position herself for a real shot at her 24th<\/sup> Grand Slam title. That happens, and the French Open can weather the storm a bit more created by this debacle with Naomi Osaka. Otherwise, they are setting themselves up for less ticket sales and viewership, they\u2019re also widely seen as a bully of the sports world. That\u2019s something much harder to come back from.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When I first read that the four Grand Slams ganged up on Naomi Osaka and tried to pressure her into talking to the media or face expulsion, I thought damn, Naomi didn\u2019t realize who she was fuckin\u2019 with. Damn near…<\/p>\n

Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wprm-recipe-roundup-name":"","wprm-recipe-roundup-description":"","_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[254],"tags":[294,292,243,290,176,244,291,293,295],"class_list":{"0":"post-2650","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-in-the-news","7":"tag-australian-open","8":"tag-grand-slams","9":"tag-naomi-osaka","10":"tag-roland-garros","11":"tag-sports","12":"tag-tennis","13":"tag-the-french-open","14":"tag-us-open","15":"tag-workers-rights","16":"entry"},"yoast_head":"\nWhy Naomi Osaka's Withdrawal may Make the French Open the Ultimate Loser - Shirscribe<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/shirscribe.com\/index.php\/2021\/06\/03\/why-naomi-osakas-withdrawal-may-make-the-french-open-the-ultimate-loser\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Why Naomi Osaka's Withdrawal may Make the French Open the Ultimate Loser - Shirscribe\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"When I first read that the four Grand Slams ganged up on Naomi Osaka and tried to pressure her into talking to the media or face expulsion, I thought damn, Naomi didn\u2019t realize who she was fuckin\u2019 with. Damn near...Read More\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/shirscribe.com\/index.php\/2021\/06\/03\/why-naomi-osakas-withdrawal-may-make-the-french-open-the-ultimate-loser\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Shirscribe\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-06-03T08:00:58+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-06-03T08:01:04+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Shirscribe\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Shirscribe\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"9 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/shirscribe.com\/index.php\/2021\/06\/03\/why-naomi-osakas-withdrawal-may-make-the-french-open-the-ultimate-loser\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/shirscribe.com\/index.php\/2021\/06\/03\/why-naomi-osakas-withdrawal-may-make-the-french-open-the-ultimate-loser\/\",\"name\":\"Why Naomi Osaka's Withdrawal may Make the French Open the Ultimate Loser - Shirscribe\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/shirscribe.com\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2021-06-03T08:00:58+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-06-03T08:01:04+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/shirscribe.com\/#\/schema\/person\/a7347811ae0cb446db51c8ff22f7048f\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/shirscribe.com\/index.php\/2021\/06\/03\/why-naomi-osakas-withdrawal-may-make-the-french-open-the-ultimate-loser\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/shirscribe.com\/index.php\/2021\/06\/03\/why-naomi-osakas-withdrawal-may-make-the-french-open-the-ultimate-loser\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/shirscribe.com\/index.php\/2021\/06\/03\/why-naomi-osakas-withdrawal-may-make-the-french-open-the-ultimate-loser\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/shirscribe.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Why Naomi Osaka’s Withdrawal may Make the French Open the Ultimate Loser\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/shirscribe.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/shirscribe.com\/\",\"name\":\"Shirscribe\",\"description\":\"I talk a little bit about a lot of shhh...\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/shirscribe.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/shirscribe.com\/#\/schema\/person\/a7347811ae0cb446db51c8ff22f7048f\",\"name\":\"Shirscribe\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/shirscribe.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/be9a010a1f1ffb865725e6b7dc9dbb261c4d1c414ba4ba842cf8a05ea76957e3?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/be9a010a1f1ffb865725e6b7dc9dbb261c4d1c414ba4ba842cf8a05ea76957e3?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Shirscribe\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/shirscribe.com\/index.php\/author\/mescribe\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Why Naomi Osaka's Withdrawal may Make the French Open the Ultimate Loser - Shirscribe","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/shirscribe.com\/index.php\/2021\/06\/03\/why-naomi-osakas-withdrawal-may-make-the-french-open-the-ultimate-loser\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Why Naomi Osaka's Withdrawal may Make the French Open the Ultimate Loser - Shirscribe","og_description":"When I first read that the four Grand Slams ganged up on Naomi Osaka and tried to pressure her into talking to the media or face expulsion, I thought damn, Naomi didn\u2019t realize who she was fuckin\u2019 with. Damn near...Read More","og_url":"https:\/\/shirscribe.com\/index.php\/2021\/06\/03\/why-naomi-osakas-withdrawal-may-make-the-french-open-the-ultimate-loser\/","og_site_name":"Shirscribe","article_published_time":"2021-06-03T08:00:58+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-06-03T08:01:04+00:00","author":"Shirscribe","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Shirscribe","Est. reading time":"9 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/shirscribe.com\/index.php\/2021\/06\/03\/why-naomi-osakas-withdrawal-may-make-the-french-open-the-ultimate-loser\/","url":"https:\/\/shirscribe.com\/index.php\/2021\/06\/03\/why-naomi-osakas-withdrawal-may-make-the-french-open-the-ultimate-loser\/","name":"Why Naomi Osaka's Withdrawal may Make the French Open the Ultimate Loser - Shirscribe","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/shirscribe.com\/#website"},"datePublished":"2021-06-03T08:00:58+00:00","dateModified":"2021-06-03T08:01:04+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/shirscribe.com\/#\/schema\/person\/a7347811ae0cb446db51c8ff22f7048f"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/shirscribe.com\/index.php\/2021\/06\/03\/why-naomi-osakas-withdrawal-may-make-the-french-open-the-ultimate-loser\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/shirscribe.com\/index.php\/2021\/06\/03\/why-naomi-osakas-withdrawal-may-make-the-french-open-the-ultimate-loser\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/shirscribe.com\/index.php\/2021\/06\/03\/why-naomi-osakas-withdrawal-may-make-the-french-open-the-ultimate-loser\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/shirscribe.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Why Naomi Osaka’s Withdrawal may Make the French Open the Ultimate Loser"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/shirscribe.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/shirscribe.com\/","name":"Shirscribe","description":"I talk a little bit about a lot of shhh...","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/shirscribe.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/shirscribe.com\/#\/schema\/person\/a7347811ae0cb446db51c8ff22f7048f","name":"Shirscribe","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/shirscribe.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/be9a010a1f1ffb865725e6b7dc9dbb261c4d1c414ba4ba842cf8a05ea76957e3?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/be9a010a1f1ffb865725e6b7dc9dbb261c4d1c414ba4ba842cf8a05ea76957e3?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Shirscribe"},"url":"https:\/\/shirscribe.com\/index.php\/author\/mescribe\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/shirscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2650","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/shirscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/shirscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shirscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shirscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2650"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/shirscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2650\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2651,"href":"https:\/\/shirscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2650\/revisions\/2651"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/shirscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2650"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shirscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2650"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shirscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2650"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}