NAOMI OSAKA SHOULD HAVE BEEN ACCOMMODATED BY THE FRENCH OPEN.

ICHEOKU says by forcing her out of the French Open tennis tournament, the organizers have shown that they really do not care about the welfare of players but only cares about promoting their event through media publicity. Why should Naomi Osaka not have the power to refuse to speak with the media or simply reserve her right not to engage with them. Majority of them are fake news anyway and will as always partially report what she says, regardless; just to remain sensational and keep their bottomline healthy. 

Why should any reasonable person, including someone who is ordinarily not comfortable with speaking with the media, be compelled to face her worst fears and when she couldn't, was fined and threatened with more sanctions, which forced her to excuse herself from a tournament which she could have won handily, thereby foregoing millions of dollars in winning prize money, loyalties and advertisements fees, which would have come her way as a result Why did the organizers of the French Open respond the in the manner they did and not try to first find out why she is not comfortable with speaking with the media once she announced the planned boycott. Instead, they proceeded to fine her and threaten her with other punishments, including disqualification and a permanent banned from all future competitions. 

What if she is camera and publicity shy and would rather not be caught flatfooted, mumbling words in front of the world or even completely freezing up in front of the media. What if she has some speech disorder such as glossophobia, selective mutism or even social/media anxiety disorder which she has not previously disclosed. What if none of the above was the case and a pure desire not to engage with the media informed her decision to boycott them. Why must it be an added responsibility for an athlete to speak with the media, what if the athlete does not know how to speak in public before so many cameras and lights; or does not want to speak at all or is  not in the mood to engage the media. Why the media engagement compulsion?

ICHEOKU says the tournament should have focused more attention on an athlete's performance rather then her thought process as the French Open competition is to showcase her prowess and not to psychoanalyze her. Why is what she would have said more important than how she would have played in the competition, her first game considered. Why was the media not made to figure the rest out and treat it like beauty which is in the eyes of the beholder. Now that she has been forced to come out as a mental health sufferer and tell the world that her decision to avoid the media was mental health based, what will the organizers who boxed her into the corner, say to millions of people world over who are afflicted with one form of mental health challenge or the other. That they should not participate in tournaments simply because they cannot simultaneously be public relations experts for the tournament. 

Why do companies and corporations have PR departments instead of their CEO always opining on matters affecting companies in their interactions with the media on how their companies are faring and performing? To compel someone who prepared and trained for the French Open to abandon ship just because she is not comfortable speaking with the media is too drastic and callous. Why punish such a superstar who would have delivered her A game simply because she cannot stand the media, which increases her anxiety disorder. Then to add insult to the injury, the heartless French Open fined her thousands of dollars and threatened her with disqualification and permanent ban from all future tournaments which forced her to withdraw from the tournament. 

That the French Open could be so mean speaks volume about who they are and what they really care for. They have warped priorities and they are definitely not mental health friendly. Why did they go so hard on Naomi Osaka or is it possible because she does not have the "right" skin color? If she were white, would they not have done everything possible to meet her half way to explore possible accommodations? Afterall she announced that she will be boycotting the media ahead of the competition and provided the organizers with ample time to explore what is possible under the circumstance. They could have found her a psychologist to evaluate her and then determine what other options are available. What if she has aphasia or is even dumb? Does it mean that a person who is speech impaired cannot be a tennis player. They could have had the media submit their questions in advance and have her submit her written answers as handouts. 

It is unfortunate that the French Open have lost its best promise for a great competition and with her now gone, the light has dimmed on the tournament. ICHEOKU and millions of others, especially in Japan and other Asian countries who were previously rooting for their own Naomi Osaka and enthusiastically watching and following the French Open, will now definitely tune off as the reason for the season has been canceled out of the competition. It was such a disgrace that the organizers of the French Open did not to do all they could have done to mitigate the Naomi Osaka's media problem and instead, went the harshest route possible to punish her with fines and threats of disqualification and ban from all future competitions. It is not the right way to go and their approach and methodology are cruel and lacks a human face. In short, they are heartless. The French Open is anti disability and punishes mental health issues. It is sad. #StandWithNaomiOsaka.