Naomi Osaka made headlines after her withdrawal from the French Open after she was fined for skipping a press conference. Many athletes came to the support of Osaka and mental health in general. But Brett Favre doesn’t agree with the rest.
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World No. 2 Naomi Osaka withdrew from the French Open earlier this month after not meeting her media obligations. The addressed the absence citing her mental health. After getting fined for the same, the Japanese international pulled out of the tournament midway through.
— NaomiOsaka大坂なおみ (@naomiosaka) May 31, 2021
“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 on Twitter. “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.”
Brett Favre weighed in on Osaka’s situation.
Many pro athletes came to Osaka’s defense. But Favre weighed his 2 cents on the matter and was very blunt about the situation.
Lewis Hamilton says he knows from experience how difficult being thrust into the limelight can be and how young athletes like Naomi Osaka need help and support to cope with its pressures. pic.twitter.com/hKbPrDTxea
— ESPN F1 (@ESPNF1) June 3, 2021
🤎 Will Smith has a message for @NaomiOsaka.
“You are right. They are wrong!” pic.twitter.com/xjL7UMZL9a
— Okayplayer (@okayplayer) June 3, 2021
“We should talk to the media. I’m not saying you have to; you chose to be fined or not,” Favre said this week on his Bolling with Favre podcast, adding, “I do think athletes are held to a different level and a different standard, and rightfully so, because of the money we make.”
Favre missed one press conference over the course of his career in 1998 after a game against the Detroit Lions.
“They said, ‘You’ve got to do it,’ and I said, ‘I’m not doing it,’” Favre said, adding: “I should have done the press conference and just owned up. It was one of those things where I said, ‘If I don’t have anything good to say, I’m not saying anything at all’ — well, go in there and say that!”
Favre’s comments definitely weighed on the other side of the fence when compared to the other athletes.
