00:00 Lady Colin Campbell, 71, has slammed Naomi Osaka over her refusal to engage in a press
00:16 conference after she vowed to put her mental health first.
00:23 The royal author claimed tennis players are paid vast sums of money, and should be able
00:28 to deal with tough questions when they lose matches.
00:34 On her YouTube channel, Lady Colin said, "I know what it is like to be grilled by the
00:38 press, it is very discomforting.
00:44 I get that it is discomforting for the players, I get that they find it very humiliating when
00:48 at the end of a match that's not gone well they are put through the ringer.
00:56 I get all of that but they are getting vast sums of money," she added.
01:00 The aristocrat mused that in her opinion sports players only appear to become disheartened
01:05 to speak with the media when a match has not gone their way.
01:08 Although Naomi did win her match before refusing to speak with press.
01:13 The dispute between Naomi and tournament officials began when she announced she would not participate
01:21 in post-match news conferences during the French Open because she said negative questions
01:25 about her play affected her mental health.
01:29 It came to a head after her first-round win, and she made good on her promise to skip the
01:36 news conference.
01:41 Within hours Ms Osaka was fined $15,000 by the French Open's tournament referee, and
01:46 the leaders of the four Grand Slam tournaments — the Australian, French and United States
01:51 Opens, and Wimbledon — threatened that she could be expelled from the French Open and
01:56 face harsher penalties if she would not fulfil her media obligations.
02:04 Lady Colin added, "I also get that these are super competitive people.
02:08 Why is it their mental health comes into play when the press are involved?
02:12 Their mental health doesn't kick in otherwise when they are climbing over the corpses of
02:16 their competitors.
02:18 I'm sorry it doesn't wash," she finished.
02:24 After the tennis star withdrew from the French Open last month, Meghan Markle was just one
02:28 of the many famous names to offer Naomi support.
02:36 Naomi revealed that the famous figures who stood by her included Michelle Obama, Michael
02:41 Phelps, Steph Curry and the Duchess of Sussex.
02:48 Meghan and her husband Prince Harry have long championed the importance of speaking out
02:52 regarding mental health and have recently shared their own experiences managing their
02:56 emotional well-being during royal life.
03:03 Naomi typed in a personal essay for Time magazine.
03:06 "I want to thank everyone who supported me.
03:12 There are too many to name, but I want to start with my family and friends, who have
03:16 been amazing.
03:21 There is nothing more important than those relationships.
03:24 I also want to thank those in the public eye who have supported, encouraged and offered
03:28 such kind words.
03:33 Michelle Obama, Michael Phelps, Steph Curry, Novak Djokovic, Meghan Markle, to name a few.
03:44 Trending Naomi also reiterated her decision to not participate in a press conference for
03:49 the French Open, and eventually withdraw from the tournament as a whole, wasn't meant to
03:54 be seen as a stand against the press and media at large.
04:01 This was never about the press, but rather the traditional format of the press conference.
04:09 Ill say it again for those at the back.
04:11 I love the press.
04:12 I do not love all press conferences," Naomi explained.
04:17 "I have always enjoyed an amazing relationship with the media and have given numerous in-depth,
04:24 one-on-one interviews.
04:30 Rather than those superstars who have been around much longer than I, Novak, Roger, Rafa,
04:36 Serena, I de-estimate that I've given more time to the press than many other players
04:40 over recent years."
04:46 She continued, "I always try to answer genuinely and from the heart.
04:50 I've never been media trained, so what you see is what you get.
04:58 The way I see it, the reliance and respect from athlete to press is reciprocal.
05:03 However, in my opinion, and I want to say that this is just my opinion and not that
05:07 of every tennis player on tour, the press conference format itself is out of date and
05:12 in great need of a refresh.
05:18 I believe that we can make it better, more interesting and more enjoyable for each side.
05:26 Less subject vs object, more peer to peer."
05:29 Naomi concluded her essay by stating that after having time to rest, she's looking
05:34 forward to competing at the Olympics in Tokyo later this month.
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