A sporting career at the highest level can bring wealth, fame and adoration. It does not cushion you against the pain of being human
When I saw the news of Naomi Osaka’s withdrawal from the French Open I thought of two people: my former teammate Michael Jordan and my 13-year-old daughter, Imani.
With all due respect to the greatest basketball player of all time, family comes first so I’ll deal with him later. So on to Imani. As much she has enjoyed me sticking up for my former teammate Kwame Brown’s struggles with the media, she thought it was just as important to defend Osaka.
Related: Sport loves athletes with mental health issues – as long as they shut up and play | Marina Hyde
I remember when he was going through his divorce. One day, I came in early to get some treatment and saw MJ turned toward his locker, just sitting there, looking at nothing. He didn’t even hear me walk into the locker room. After practice, one reporter asked if a divorce was inevitable, and he cut them right off, telling them it was none of their business. I turned to our teammate Christian Laettner and said: “Why would they ask him that?” Laettner looked at me and said: “Because they don’t look at us as humans.”
It was tough enough for Jordan to deal with those questions at the time but he was in his late 30s, had been one of the most famous people on the planet for more than a decade and was not, as far as I am aware, dealing with any mental health issues. When we played, answering questions at press conferences was a dull, occasionally annoying, part of the job. But imagine dealing with those questions when, like Osaka, you’re 23, prone to depression and, as Japan’s most famous athlete, the face of the Tokyo Olympics. No wonder she wanted to step away.
Related: French Open’s response to Naomi Osaka is a shameful moment for tennis | Tumaini Carayol
“I am so proud of Naomi for prioritizing her mental health on the world’s stage,” she told me. “As a mental health advocate who found the courage to speak out against the stigma and shame of mental illness after I retired, I admire her fortitude being one of the most notable athletes today, to advocate for self care and knowing that her mental and physical health are both incredibly important. No matter how the media portrays this situation or whether or not people agree with these outdated rules and regulations, she has made a powerful statement that will positively impact the next generation of athletes and young people about mental health.”
Hopefully what comes from this is a shift toward viewing athletes as humans and not robots or video game characters. It is great to see the outpouring of support Naomi Osaka is receiving from athletes such as Steph Curry, Kyrie Irving, Serena Williams, Martina Navratilova, Billie Jean King and Laurie Hernandez.
