
Naomi Osaka's withdrawal from the French Open highlights the tenuous relationship between athletes and the media
CNN
Osaka's withdrawal will reverberate throughout sports and could prompt the powers that be to rethink how athletes and the press interact.
Naomi Osaka of Japan, who at age 23 is ranked No. 2 by the Women's Tennis Association and has four Grand Slam titles, withdrew from the French Open this week, a decision she said she made to prioritize her mental health. The international sports establishment saw her decision as a stunning rebuke of the status quo. But it's evidence, too, of the changing paradigms of what professional athletes, particularly women of color, are willing to accept from an international media whose treatment of said athletes often teeters from embarrassingly ignorant to blatantly sexist and racist.More Related News