Naomi Osaka serves against Elise Mertens during the Western & Southern Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushig Meadows, NY, August 28, 2020. (Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports)
But will rescheduling some games solve the world’s problems?
No.aomi Osaka is the highest paid female athlete in the world. The tenth tennis player in the world earned $ 37.4 million in prize money and sponsorships in 2019. Ms. Osaka was a dual citizen of Japan and the United States, but chose to represent Japan while living in America, and recently renounced American citizenship to represent Japan at next year’s Olympics. On Wednesday, he announced on his Twitter feed that he was boycotting his Western & Southern Open semifinal against Belgian player Elise Mertens to protest the shooting for Jacob Blake. Ms. Osaka wrote, “Watching the continuing genocide of black people at the hands of the police makes me really nauseous.” He argued that, hopefully, his move would “start a conversation in a predominantly white sport”.
Wealthy athletes have never been known for their humility and Ms. Osaka is far from the only athlete to boycott the games. The NBA canceled its games after the Milwaukee Bucks refused to take the field, three MLB games were postponed, as well as several MLS football games. LeBron James and other NBA players threatened to end the NBA season but quickly backtracked. The Bucks started the trend, but they play in Wisconsin and their statement, even if you disagree with it, required specific action. They asked the Wisconsin legislature to “take significant steps to address the issues of police accountability, brutality and criminal justice reform.” On the contrary, Ms. Osaka has dehumanized police officers everywhere with her reckless, dangerous and insensitive “genocide” charge.
He says his goal is to strike up a conversation in a predominantly white sport. None of the seven other singles players remaining in the tournament at the time of its announcement were American. Police misconduct is a legitimate issue worth looking into, but somehow I don’t think tennis players from Belgium, Belarus, Canada, Serbia, Greece, Spain and the UK will solve the problem.
Ms. Osaka has a huge platform, and therefore her genocide allegation deserves a thorough examination. Genocide is the mass extermination of a people; in any case, American police officers are not conducting a “genocide of blacks,” as you claim. US police shot 14 unarmed black people to death in 2019, the number dropped by 63% from 2015. The idea that police officers, many of whom are Black and Latino, are involved in a coordinated genocide against blacks suggests the police are. inhuman monsters who should be seen as outlaws, even enemies of the state.
Ms. Osaka’s tweet has over 400,000 likes. If large numbers of people (mostly young people) believe that the police are conducting an extermination campaign against blacks, this will only lead to more violent clashes with the police, more people who will oppose the arrest and be shot. His statement was outrageous, insulting and frankly ridiculous. But the tennis world has done nothing but pat her on the back and confirm her position.
Tennis legend Billie Jean King called it “a bold and impactful move,” and tournament officials quickly capitulated rather than rejecting her from her match or asking her opponent if he would agree to their decision to postpone the match. Friday. I find Mr. Blake’s shooting troubling and worthy of a thorough investigation and possibly a criminal case. But athletes like Ms. Osaka try to turn Mr. Blake – who has a criminal record that includes allegations of domestic violence, trespassing and sexual assault and may have taken a knife in his car when he was shot – in one the hero and the police in the death squads are misled.
Most people have only seen a short video clip of Mr. Blake’s interaction with Kenosha police, so it is worth reviewing the circumstances surrounding his shooting. His girlfriend called the police because she was on his property in violation of a restraining order. Mr. Blake had an active warrant for criminal sexual assault and the police were aware of it. According to New York Post, a woman accused him of sexually assaulting her on multiple occasions. Rather than submit to arrest, he got into a wrestling match with the police and put one of them in a headlock. They hired him but he still hasn’t given up.
His lawyers say he was unarmed, but after they shot him he admitted he had a knife and the police say he had it on him during the fight. During the fight, the police are heard saying “drop the knife”. It is not up to me or Ms. Osaka to determine guilt or innocence – in the end it will probably be up to a jury to decide whether the police have committed any crimes. But the point here is that genocides are carefully planned and orchestrated, while incidents like this are far from intentional.
I also find it troubling and self-righteous that many on the left, including Ms. Osaka, whose father is Haitian and her mother is Japanese and who identifies as black, seem to care only about police brutality and not the scourge of violence in black neighborhoods.
I would also like to ask Ms. Osaka why she chose to live in Florida if the police are really conducting a genocidal campaign against blacks. But I won’t get the chance, and no member of the media would ever dare question his claim of genocide. They are too busy applauding her courage. Sports reporters are a smart bunch and a shocking number of them would rather cover up boycotts and protests than play games. Conversely, most sports fans want a break from politics when tuning into the games, but unfortunately too many athletes are focused on building their “brands” as social justice warriors.
As misguided, Ms. Osaka is entitled to her opinions. And I’m actually a fan of his. I was moved to tears in 2018 when she beat Serena Williams to win the US Open and had to suffer the humiliation of a hostile crowd, which got angry when referee Carlos Ramos dared to enforce the rules. of sport at the expense of Serena. (And please don’t get me started with the absurd “I’m fighting for women’s rights here” defense Mrs. Williams used in that game.)
Although I am a fan of Ms. Osaka, I fear that when no one objects in situations like this, his irresponsible claims are validated. It is a mistake for sports leagues to cancel matches to score political points, but it is even worse to give athletes who report individual virtues the power to veto competitions.
Editor’s Note: This article has been revised since its publication. The initial published version incorrectly stated that Mr. Blake admitted he had a gun.
