Hey there. It’s been awhile. I don’t know about you, but the past 14 months have been…..whew chile! But thank God some of us are surviving. There’s so much that I want to say, but I’m not sure how to say it. My thoughts and ideas on the situation with Naomi Osaka are swirling around my head. My heart squeezes for her, and the big sister in me wants to protect her from the bullies. There are a lot of folks saying things and putting out statements which makes me question their humanity. Simply put they lack understanding and empathy. So, I’ll do my best to put all of my thoughts together in a coherent manner.
First, let’s normalize Black women saying they’ve had enough instead of being sick and tired of being sick and tired. What Naomi did in standing up to the dictates of the French Open, was standing up against the dangerous myth of the “strong Black woman”. This dangerous myth is what leads to unrecognized and undiagnosed cases of anxiety and depression. It leads to Black women not seeking help and experiencing high incidences of stress related illnesses such as heart disease and hypertension. It leads to us being so stressed and literally sick and tired all of the time. Our work suffers, our family and friends suffer, and our quality of life is substandard.
This situation has folks making outrageous statements about their expectations of pro-athletes and ignoring the plea of a 23-year-old young woman. What they fail to see is the unfair treatment of Black female athletes. Let’s not forget that famous clip that has circulated on the internet of Richard Williams checking a reporter in his interview of a young Venus. Let’s not forget that this is the same organization that banned Serena from wearing a catsuit in 2018. A catsuit which was functional in preventing her from experiencing blood clots after the birth of her daughter. This is the same sport that celebrated the outbursts and volatile personality of John McEnroe and vilifies the passionate stance that Serena Williams oftentimes takes in defending herself. Serena and Venus’ father was oftentimes painted as a difficult person, when in fact now we can see that he was protecting his children.
Look, I get that we want our pro-athletes to be superhuman. But the fact of the matter is that they are not. They show up and do their jobs by playing their best. The French open benefits from the press that Naomi and other athletes give them. In a world where we are saying that mental health is important, how do you fine someone for protecting their mental health? When that person maintains their stance, you continue to be in my opinion petty. So she withdrew. And the media is spouting a narrative of her not being able to stand the pressure. The New York Times listed the many ways in which she failed in this situation while pitting her against of players who “still showed up”. Well guess what? The only person Naomi needs to show up for is herself. And that’s what she did by withdrawing. This young woman showed a measure of strength that a lot of us struggle to attain. The strength it takes to say that we are struggling. The strength is takes to say no to situations that do not serve us. The strength it takes to say, “I need help and what you’re offering is not sufficient”. The logistics of how this situation was handled on both sides may be lost on me. But what’s not lost on me is the history of tennis as a sport and the actions of the French Open in their treatment of Black female players. Mostly what’s not lost on me is Naomi’s strength and her cry for help. I hope she gets it, and I hope a lot of us can be like Naomi and say I’ve had enough instead of waiting until we’re sick and tired of being sick and tired.