Naomi Osaka, Athletes, and Mental Health

In this episode, Natalia, Neil, and Niki discuss the controversy over tennis champion Naomi Osaka’s decision not to participate in post-match press conferences.

Here are some links and references mentioned during this week’s show:

• Citing mental health concerns, tennis champion Naomi Osaka decided not to participate in post-match press conferences at the French Open. Natalia referred to this history at Forbesof how the press conference supplanted locker room interviews. Neil drew on this three-part series on the history of sports journalism.

 In our regular closing feature, What’s Making History:

• Natalia recommended Lyz Lenz’ Substack, “A Grown-Ass Woman”.
• Neil discussed the new FX documentary series, Pride.
• Niki talked about what the “post-pandemic” period might mean.