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Pressure For Players To Give Interviews

miktec said:
Some of the Neanderthal attitudes displayed in this thread are indeed very saddening ... the ignorance they evidence also quite staggering.

I thought things might have moved on since the '60s .... clearly not.
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Part of it for me is that, from what I’ve seen of how veterans of the Iraq and Afghan conflicts are treated, we’ve a much bigger problem than a few overpaid sporty types to worry about.
The media and the government show off a few ticks in boxes, and it’s all sorted. Everyone is happy.

Except it isn’t.

And the awful time my mother is having, trying to cope with my father's dementia. On her own. Because guess what? Social services, AgeUK etc will smile, promise you the Earth, and then forget about you, won’t answer the phone. And there’s nothing my mother can do. I’m 150 miles away, my wife is disabled, and there has been Covid. And the poor buggers at work are helped more by us taking the piss and smiling with them than they appear to be by many ‘veterans’ organisations.

So, I’m sorry, and I just hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me for not giving one flying f**k about sporty types. They’ve a choice. My mum, Blinky at work, and many thousands around the world don’t.
 
It’s just grim how many people identify with bosses, especially when it comes to something that shouldn’t actually have anything to do with work. I guess it’s the usual “She’s getting away with it! Why should I slave away while some people get to...” Everything has to be a joyless slog.

She’s got a gift, just enjoy it.
 
I'm surprised that it has come to this for Osaka. She has the resources to have obtained help and advice but has chosen not to engage. The organisers cannot chose who to apply their rules to. She could even have press conference coaching. A lot of the problems for players stems from questions relating to nervous and inhibited play which they are understandably reluctant to discuss in public. It's a shame. Osaka has made things worse for herself. If she had a point to make, she could have made it at the press conferences themselves. Now she will be the focus of attention at the next slam and not for her tennis. If she played on the lower tier, she'd earn far less money but wouldn't have to give press conferences. I imagine most of those that are asking questions at press conferences wish her well.

And for Serena Williams' problems at press conferences; she's fine when she wins but when she loses I think her off-court self-esteem determines her behaviour to losing. Like bringing her public image on court when receiving a code violation for coaching "I'm a mother, I wouldn't do that". Osaka's problems started with that match at the US Open in 2018. She was placed in a very uncomfortable position.
 
Tony Lockhart said:
So, I’m sorry, and I just hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me for not giving one flying f**k about sporty types. They’ve a choice. My mum, Blinky at work, and many thousands around the world don’t.
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I don't see empathy as a finite resource - to be used sparingly and only for the most worthy causes ...

But what I really find depressing about the whole Osaka story is the outright hostility being shown by some ... as if she deserves nothing but contempt for actually being honest enough to say that she found operating in the intense media spotlight extremely difficult.

She has paid for that honesty by stepping down from what was apparently the career she dreamed about and aspired to from a very early age - quite a price to pay when you come to the discovery that the reality doesn't quite match the illusions of the dream.

I have no doubt she will not suffer too much financially and is very probably sorted for life - but as has been noted, money may make life a damn sight easier ... but it isn't the be all and end all.
 
Mike Reed said:
I still don't understand why women only play 3 games (and often 2). Okay, from a fitness and stamina p.o.v., there may be justification, but if you've progressed to the semi's and finals you've proved your worth, and should play up to the 5 games in these 2 events, just like the men.

Women's semi's and finals is so frequently a dull wash-out and I can't understand anyone wanting to pay to watch what is frequently a 1 hour match.

Re. Osaka, if she felt that strongly, why on Earth did she not take it up with the authorities prior to the tournament rather than suck it 'n' see, incurring a $15K fine (?) and a great deal of controversy. After all, I believe she's a 4 times champion, so hardly a newcomer at 23.

Maybe these rules are anachronistic and need adaptation, and this fiasco will certainly invite discussion and introspection among the tennis fraternity. Who knows, the publicity she has engendered may have been worth the fine and losing the chance of another feather in her cap; there may even have been an element of planning, as I think her actions may be unprecedented.
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Women play best of 3 sets, not games.
 
Tricky one this. my first instinct is to side with Naomi.

OTOH, "elite" performers, whether sports or arts, are happy to "bare all" to the media (sometimes more than mere mortals like us would want) when it suits them.
 
It needs to be made clear to professional sportspeople that they are only to play their sport. They are never to give an interview. They are never to promote any products or events. They are certainly never to help design a tennis shoe.
 
Tony Lockhart said:
If you don’t like the rules, give something else a go.
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Since when did it become a 'rule' of the sport. Are you seriously suggesting that only those who are prepared to subject themselves to nit wit questions immediately after a match and before they have had any time to properly compose themselves are entitled to compete? People would still watch, the competition would be better for not having such pressures.

There is a tacit admission from the French Open in their absurd statement, that to allow her not to give interviews would give her an unacceptable advantage! How much more evidence do we need that this ritual is not in the interests of the quality of the actual sport?
 
The sole reason for post match interviews is for unsuccessful people to mock the inarticulate. Many an armchair critic has made themselves feel superior by making fun of footballers being thick etc.
 
miktec said:
Some of the Neanderthal attitudes displayed in this thread are indeed very saddening ... the ignorance they evidence also quite staggering.

I thought things might have moved on since the '60s .... clearly not.
Click to expand...


indeed, look hard enough (not very) and it is all over the forum.
 
Tony Lockhart said:
Part of it for me is that, from what I’ve seen of how veterans of the Iraq and Afghan conflicts are treated, we’ve a much bigger problem than a few overpaid sporty types to worry about.
The media and the government show off a few ticks in boxes, and it’s all sorted. Everyone is happy.

Except it isn’t.

And the awful time my mother is having, trying to cope with my father's dementia. On her own. Because guess what? Social services, AgeUK etc will smile, promise you the Earth, and then forget about you, won’t answer the phone. And there’s nothing my mother can do. I’m 150 miles away, my wife is disabled, and there has been Covid. And the poor buggers at work are helped more by us taking the piss and smiling with them than they appear to be by many ‘veterans’ organisations.

So, I’m sorry, and I just hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me for not giving one flying f**k about sporty types. They’ve a choice. My mum, Blinky at work, and many thousands around the world don’t.
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I’m very sorry to hear about your parents but their plight is entirely down to Boris Johnson’s lies and the people who vote for them and has very little to do with a tennis player not wishing to have her issues with anxiety and depression publicly exposed.
 
ks.234 said:
I’m very sorry to hear about your parents but their plight is entirely down to Boris Johnson’s lies and the people who vote for them and has very little to do with a tennis player not wishing to have her issues with anxiety and depression publicly exposed.
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You might almost say that a tennis player coming out and speaking about mental health could raise awareness and help bring about positive change.
 
ks.234 said:
I’m very sorry to hear about your parents but their plight is entirely down to Boris Johnson’s lies and the people who vote for them and has very little to do with a tennis player not wishing to have her issues with anxiety and depression publicly exposed.
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I really don’t think that if I had issues with anxiety I’d have elevated myself to a top pro tennis player. We are all so different!
I wasn’t really comparing my parents, just saying that my capacity for empathy is greatly reduced. I think.
 
Tony Lockhart said:
I really don’t think that if I had issues with anxiety I’d have elevated myself to a top pro tennis player. We are all so different!
I wasn’t really comparing my parents, just saying that my capacity for empathy is greatly reduced. I think.
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She may not have been born with anxiety issues. Telling someone that they possibly shouldn't play top level tennis because they are painfully shy or have anxiety issues is like telling a snooker player they shouldn't play top level snooker because they don't like beetroot.
 
Sue Pertwee-Tyr said:
You might almost say that a tennis player coming out and speaking about mental health could raise awareness and help bring about positive change.
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Absolutely.

If a player has a physical injury then they don't try and hide it. And it should be the same for mental health issues.
 
myles said:
She may not have been born with anxiety issues. Telling someone that they possibly shouldn't play top level tennis because they are painfully shy or have anxiety issues is like telling a snooker player they shouldn't play top level snooker because they don't like beetroot.
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Would that snooker player enter a tournament if they had to be seen eating beetroot?
 
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