Why is Naomi Osaka getting such a hard time for not doing press conferences?

[workwoes123]

I don’t know much about professional sport but what I see is a vulnerable and incredibly talented young woman being hounded by powerful organisations. Why is this such a big deal? Isn’t she there to play tennis?

This is the 3rd thread about her.
I am guilty for starting the 2nd thread - it is in Sports. I hadnt seen the original one.
The 1st thread was in AIBU, and got deleted yesterday evening, as MN said posters were not being nice enough about mental health issues.
My thread isnt so harsh on her. For now anyway, and is still running.

Oops never been into Sports! And I missed the first one. I was reading Marina Hyde in the Guardian this morning on this.

Havent seen the first two threads. I dont get it either op.

I read on one of the earlier threads that the interviews were part of the contract, and many of the players would like to bin off the interviews but dont as that's part of the contract / pay terms.
Also, it's usual to all sports, not just tennis.

If you choose to participate in a sport as heavily commercialised as tennis - to the extent it's your meal ticket, then you have to Dance With The Devil, so to speak.

Because it's part of her job.

It's part of the job sad for her she can't do it but then it's not the job for her.

She's a professional sports person. It's her job and this is part of the job. It's what brings money in to the sport from sponsors and people viewing. And that's important for the long term for the sport to thrive. I do feel for her, but it's part of the job.

I think 'tennis' have handled this terribly. The media also need to take a serious look at how they interview sportswomen in particular.

I do wonder if the whole structure could be reviewed. Yes media is necessary in professional sport - but is immediate post-match media necessary? Could it be done in a way that is less emotionally intense? Could the journalists be more professional in their questioning and less emotional?

It seems to me they want to push people to the brink emotionally and then throw their hands up when someone finds it too much.

I think she's a great role model for doing what she did - if my child was finding something too much in the same way I would absolutely advise them to step back and prioritise their mental health and their longterm happiness.

I hope it gets resolved for her.

Unfortunately she will have signed a contract agreeing to do press interviews.

@endofthelinefinally

Unfortunately she will have signed a contract agreeing to do press interviews.

I've signed a contract saying I will turn up to work. I am allowed to phone in sick with mental health concerns.

It’s part of her job and her contract - however, they were not listening to her effectively calling in sick, and that led to a pile on as if she just didn’t want to speak, as opposed to felt too ill to speak.

They need to examine how they handle mental health matters alongside the responsibilities of commercially driven contracts. It’s not an easy solution.

If there were no interviews the prize money would drop significantly as it comes from media interest. But I don't see why the interviews couldn't be an hour or so after the match to give players time to compose themselves.

But she still wants to participate in the tennis. Following that analogue you want to come to work to do the aspects you enjoy but then go home when it is your turn to do the jobs you don't want to do. If she were 'phoning in sick' then she would also not participate in the tennis. That is where I think it has come to now, but initially she wanted the chance to compete, to be paid, but not to speak.

Perhaps they could look at a less intimidating version of a press interview such as using video conferencing for the questions so they are one at a time, no shouting, not facing a room full of people?

For those that think it's part of the job, what does it actually add? It's the most tedious part of tennis.

Laura Robson was on the radio yesterday, and gave some real insight into how this works.

Apparently the contract says you have to have a press conference 30 mins after a match, but in reality, you can ask for a time that works for you. So apparently they often happen hours later. She was citing examples of this from the French Open, happening right now. She said she has never known of any issues in scheduling a time which is agreeable with the player. So they don't have to do them in the heat of the moment/straight off the back of a loss or intense match.

I realise this is not the only issue at play here, but the whole 'it's not fair to have to go straight off court and face the press' is much less of a thing than it's being made out to be.

@GoldenBlue

But she still wants to participate in the tennis. Following that analogue you want to come to work to do the aspects you enjoy but then go home when it is your turn to do the jobs you don't want to do. If she were 'phoning in sick' then she would also not participate in the tennis. That is where I think it has come to now, but initially she wanted the chance to compete, to be paid, but not to speak.

Perhaps they could look at a less intimidating version of a press interview such as using video conferencing for the questions so they are one at a time, no shouting, not facing a room full of people?

Well no, good workplaces are flexible around mental health concerns, and it would be stupid to get no work from an employee who was struggling only with part of the work.

But I accept many businesses are completely stupid about MH problems - a lot of emplyers would take the same route as RG have taken.

Osaka has spoken out about something many players hate in tennis. People who stand up for themselves are often bullied by the establishment, I don't think she'll get an easy ride at all because a lot of people make a lot of money out of bullying young tennis players to toe the line.

I think it’s discriminatory. Loads of male sports stars dodge these obligations (I know from first hand experience of male premier league footballers who ‘hide’ or jump in their car straight after training to avoid scheduled press or advertising call ups.) They don’t get the same push back.

Essentially calling in sick for a press conference was one thing, but if she’s too sick to do press conferences, then she’s too sick to play Tennis.

If you have an illness in any other kind of job then you call in sick from that job until you’re well enough to go back. You don’t just go in and say “I can do the admin/minutes today but I can’t do any photocopying.

If there is a specific part of your job which is impacted by your health then you would have some kind of medical proof of that in order to have it approved by your employer.

Presumably she wasn’t signed off sick from press conferences by her medical team, in which case she’s obliged to do the interviews or not play.

I've signed a contract saying I will turn up to work. I am allowed to phone in sick with mental health concerns.

I could phone in sick for a day, a week or a month but my employer wouldn’t be impressed if I said I was going to do a portion of my duties but expected to be paid the same.

It seems part of the problem is she said she wasn’t doing them then only later explained it was due to her mental health. I would hope if she had spoken to them earlier and explained they could have worked together to find a way around it.

But it does open up questions about how we treat those with mental health issues in sport

I started the thread that sadly got derailed. For me there was the specific of women tennis players often being teenagers, the double standards in that Alex Ferguson was allowed to dodge press interviews with the BBC for years, and though I did not mention it, for team sports it is usually only one or two of the team who are interviewed.

A reasonable adjustment would be the coach being interviewed instead, or the press conference being virtual, or the questions being pre-recorded. So that the player is not facing a wall of people and cameras.

@Hopdathelf

I've signed a contract saying I will turn up to work. I am allowed to phone in sick with mental health concerns.

I could phone in sick for a day, a week or a month but my employer wouldn’t be impressed if I said I was going to do a portion of my duties but expected to be paid the same.

If I went with a complaint that something in the duties was causing me the issue in the first place, my emplyer would be legally bound to investigate and would allow me to stop doing it whilst that happened.

Yes media is necessary in professional sport - but is immediate post-match media necessary? Could it be done in a way that is less emotionally intense? Could the journalists be more professional in their questioning and less emotional?

YES. Some of the questions they are ask are too emotionally probing and provoking. The journalists' need a code of ethical practice.

Essentially calling in sick for a press conference was one thing, but if she’s too sick to do press conferences, then she’s too sick to play Tennis.

Not necessarily, playing her sport and having to talk in front of the media are two different things so from a mental health POV could impact her very differently.

I have mental health issues and there are certainly some tasks that take a much larger mental load than others.

The sport need to look at how they can support her while at the same time making sure things are workable from a PR POV. Would she be comfier doing it by video or phone? Could they give her questions in advance? Could she give a written statement instead?