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Sports icon Naomi Osaka is forcing the community to come to terms with its media rules

Naomi Osaka has made it clear in the past that she values her mental health more than speaking to the media. Those comments though, and her outright refusal to do so, have the sports world up in arms particularly officials who feel she has no right to not speak to the media. The refusal came after an announcement from Osaka that confirmed she would not be giving any interviews during the coveted French Open.

But the truth is most people are siding with Osaka on this one considering the pressure she is under.

But according to CNN Osaka has now been find for her stance on giving media interviews at all. The fines may get bigger if Osaka doesn’t address the media as she’s apparently supposed to do so on a regular basis, though, it is unclear if tennis officials have made any viable efforts to address her concerns over her mental well-being.

“I’ve often felt that people have no regard for athletes mental health and this rings very true whenever I see a press conference or partake in one,” Osaka wrote.

“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 just not going to subject myself to people that doubt me.”

But the org is fighting back against the stance citing she can’t do that.

The org maintains that it asked Osaka “to reconsider her position and tried unsuccessfully to speak with her to check on her well-being, understand the specifics of her issue and what might be done to address it on site.””Following the lack of engagement by Naomi Osaka, the Australian Open, Roland-Garros, Wimbledon and the US Open jointly wrote to her to check on her well-being and offer support, underline their commitment to all athletes’ well-being and suggest dialog on the issue,” the statement reads. “She was also reminded of her obligations, the consequences of not meeting them and that rules should equally apply to all players.”

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