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There has been a lot of buzz about Naomi Osaka in the news lately. I really did not know much about her nor the details of why she was newsworthy.
I did know she was an athlete and if pressed, I would have narrowed it down to golf or tennis. I also was aware that she was headline newsworthy because of suffering from depression. That was it. I had no intention to delve deeper and write this blog about her.
Jason Gay is a sportswriter for The Wall Street Journal. I pretty much read everything he writes. He has a unique and mostly humorous perspective but can also be serious and cerebral if the subject demands such. I read him for the laughs but am even more appreciative of his craft when he is serious. He is a very good writer. On June 2, 2021, his column was titled Listening to Naomi Osaka. I read it, learned a bit more about the tennis star, and found myself wanting to know more. I then stumbled across a more extensive article about Osaka in The New Yorker: Naomi Osaka’s Complicated Withdrawal from the French Open. I read that as well and here I am writing about it.
Naomi Osaka is a tennis star. She is 23 years old and has won four Grand Slam championships, most recently the US and Australian Opens. She is ranked #1. She is the first Asian tennis player to have a #1 ranking. Last year she earned more than $50 million from a combination of tennis prowess and the resulting endorsements. Her mother is Japanese. Her father is Haitian. She was born in Japan but has lived in the US since she was 3 years old.
In professional tennis, players are required to attend press
conferences and are fined if they do not.
Some players that can afford to forego the press conferences and pay the
fines. Are the press conferences
necessary? I don’t know but there are
lots of fans who want to hear from the stars of the game. Do reporters ask pointed questions in a quest
to create more newsworthy content, usually controversial, than might otherwise
be there? Certainly, they have a job to
do and are trying to advance their own value in their profession. I suppose it is all part of the culture of celebrity.
To me it matters not that Osaka is a woman, a tennis player, half black, or half Asian. Race, gender, particular sport, or artistry of any kind all have a role in such a situation. But, to me, I am more intrigued by the phenomena of being so young and suddenly becoming unbelievably wealthy and incredibly famous. How does that not go to one’s head? How does that not mess with one’s head? How does that not mess with one’s head especially in a sport laden with the pressure of intense competition and an entourage of people dependent on your doing well for their own livelihoods? I am not sure how well I would handle becoming super wealthy and famous at my current age. At 23, wow… I couldn’t even imagine how I would have reacted. We have seen athletes, movie stars, and musicians handle it in so many ways. Some, spend all their money faster than they ever could have imagined, live large, and become destitute once they beyond their physical peaks. Others handle it through self-medication and spiral downward as a result. There are also those that handle it well and become astute managers of their lives and brands. There are numerous movies of luminaries, fact and fiction, at both extremes. There is a reason they have remade a Star is Born like 17 times.
When I was 23, I would have had little sympathy for Naomi Osaka. I would have said, “What are you fricking complaining about… you made $50 million dollars last year. Suck it ip, you have it made!” Now, I am much more sympathetic and understand that neither wealth nor fame is a guarantee of happiness or a shield from depression and other mental health issues.
Wishing the best to Naomi Osaka and everyone battling health concerns of any kind.
This all made me think of Plato’s quote: Be kind for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle. It also made me recall the E. A. Robinson poem, Richard Cory, and the Simon and Garfunkel interpretation of it.
Richard Cory
Whenever Richard Cory went down town,
We people on the pavement looked at him:
He was a gentleman from sole to crown,
Clean favored, and imperially slim.
And he was always quietly arrayed,
And he was always human when he talked;
But still he fluttered pulses when he said,
"Good-morning," and he glittered when he walked.
And he was rich—yes, richer than a king—
And admirably schooled in every grace:
In fine, we thought that he was everything
To make us wish that we were in his place.
So on we worked, and waited for the light,
And went without the meat, and cursed the bread;
And Richard Cory, one calm summer night,
Went home and put a bullet through his head.
Richard Cory
Simon and Garfunkel
They say that Richard Cory owns one half of
this whole town
With political connections to spread his wealth around
Born into society, a banker's only child
He had everything a man could want, power, grace and style
But
I work in his factory
And I curse the life I'm living
And I curse my poverty
And I wish that I could be
Oh, I wish that I could be
Oh, I wish that I could be Richard Cory
The papers print his
pictures almost everywhere he goes
Richard Cory at the opera, Richard Cory at a show
And the rumor of his parties and the orgies on his yacht
Oh, he surely must be happy with everything he's got
But
I, I work in his factory
And I curse the life I'm living
And I curse my poverty
And I wish that I could be
Oh, I wish that I could be
Oh, I wish that I could be Richard Cory
He freely gave to charity,
he had the common touch
And they were grateful for his patronage and they thanked
him very much
So my mind was filled with wonder when the evening
headlines read
"Richard Cory went home last night and put a bullet
through his head"
But
I, I work in his factory
And I curse the life I'm living
And I curse my poverty
And I wish that I could be
Oh, I wish that I could be
Oh, I wish that I could be Richard Cory
Source: https://www.musixmatch.com/lyrics/Simon-Garfunkel/Richard-Cory
