By Michael Jorgensen
Access is a privilege
As spectators of sport, we often take for granted our unfettered access into the lives of professional athletes. Perhaps we even feel a sense of entitlement to it. This is certainly the case with sports media who regard this access as part of a broader social (and often financial) exchange. Athletes provide quotes, the media provides exposure. In days gone by, this exchange was necessary for athletes to build their brand and connect with their fans. With the expansion of social media this is no longer the case, yet the press conference remains. It is only when our access is restricted do we as a society begin to reflect on the nature of this transaction.
For spectators, access is a privilege that enables us to connect on a deeply personal level with our sporting idols. It allows us to feel with the athlete. We feel elated in victory. We feel helpless in defeat. It is part of our experience. But what of the athlete’s experience? Our access to these individuals often comes during moments of immense vulnerability; in the aftermath of athletic competition. In these moments athletes are afforded very little control. As such, access is a privilege that Naomi Osaka had the foresight to restrict in the interest of preserving her mental health.
“So here in Paris I was already feeling vulnerable and anxious so I thought it was better to exercise self-care and skip the press conferences. I announced it preemptively because I do feel like the rules are quite outdated in parts and I wanted to highlight that.” – Naomi Osaka
A few days ago, Naomi Osaka made the decision to boycott press conferences at the French Open citing mental health concerns. She was subsequently fined and threatened with expulsion which resulted in her refusing to compete in the tournament altogether. Osaka highlighted the predatory nature of these events and used her position as a professional athlete to elevate the global awareness for athlete mental health. Consequently, these actions also sparked significant outrage from sports administrators and members of the sports news media. At the foundation of this condemnation were references to the contractual obligations of professional athletes. Though some more sinister responses challenged the decision with loaded comments and questions including this excerpt from an article titled: Princess Naomi Osaka’s comical press conference ban
“Osaka putting herself above every other player in the world has gone down poorly in the locker room. Is she in there with the rest of them? Or does the diva have her own trailer?”
Though I’m not going to unpack the many layers of sexism embedded within this statement, we must acknowledge the intent of this messaging. There is a long history of this type of narrative in professional tennis against female athletes, particularly those of colour. For instance, following a verbal confrontation with an umpire during a match against Naomi Osaka, Serena Williams was the target of misogynoir in the form of cartoons and comments describing her behaviour as “hysterical”. The double standard is such that when males confront umpires they are perceived to be passionate and true competitors. This behaviour by the media should not be tolerated and must be called out at every opportunity.
Instead, I am going to explore this event in relation to the broader discourse on the mental health of professional athletes. In Osaka’s first statement, she notes the general disregard for athlete mental health during press conferences, calling out the media for their probing questions and sports organizations like Roland Garros for threatening athletes with fines. This event has since inspired many within the sporting community to start asking what more can be done to support athletes. One option would be to change the rules and expectations regarding the press conference, but what else needs to happen?
What can be done to improve the mental health of professional athletes?
A recent article was published in the International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology providing a consensus statement on improving the mental health of high-performance athletes1. With this statement comes a number of recommendations for research. Given the recent events and the importance of establishing research and evidence-based practices, these recommendations should be well understood by sports administrators and other key decision-makers. This begins by establishing a more holistic understanding of mental health. This means going beyond the common conceptualization of mental health as the absence of mental illness. To assume that any athlete who does not present with clinical disorders is healthy is problematic and overly simplistic.
Furthermore, mental health must be contextualized. Alignment between the individual and the context is a key aspect of mental health1. Consider how your favourite athlete behaves during competition, how they respond to questions from the media, and how they respond to injury. An athlete may thrive in one sports environment or area of life and struggle in another. Behaviours that may seem dysfunctional in one may be viewed as functional in another. For instance, if Osaka had made a statement about declining press conferences leading up to a tournament, one might view this as an elite athlete focusing on their training and the task at hand. It is important for those who work with athletes to consider how to best support athletes across various contexts to ensure a person-environment fit1. Special consideration should be given during moments of vulnerability, such as the press conference. Jonathan Liew, Sportswriter for The Guardian provides the following insight on the press conference,
“And so the modern press conference is no longer a meaningful exchange but really a lowest‑common‑denominator transaction: a cynical and often predatory game in which the object is to mine as much content from the subject as possible. Gossip: good. Anger: good. Feuds: good. Tears: good. Personal tragedy: good. Meanwhile the young athlete, often still caught up in the emotions of victory or defeat, is expected to answer the most intimate questions in the least intimate setting, in front of an array of strangers and backed by a piece of sponsored cardboard.” – Jonathan Liew
This brings us to my final point, which is that mental health needs to be decoupled from our understanding of performance. There exists a relationship between mental health and performance, where athletes with good mental health are more likely to perform well, achieve more, and are less likely to experience career-ending issues. However, the presence of one does not necessitate the other. Quite often athletes are able to achieve world-class performances despite mental health issues and clinically diagnosable disorders1. This point is directed at every sports media person who thought to question the validity of Osaka’s mental health disclosure on the grounds of her performance and position as the #2 ranked female tennis player.
Health related-disclosures by athletes are routine and unproblematic occurrences in professional sport. However, this is often not the case when the disclosure relates to mental health concerns. Athletes may encounter barriers in conceptualizing and communicating their mental health status while attempting to maintain privacy through this experience2. Unlike physical injuries which have well-established recovery timelines, time away from competition due to mental health concerns can vary widely. Additionally, due to the complexity and uncertainty of the diagnosis, athletes may find it difficult to articulate the details of their situation. This is especially true when pressure is put on the athlete to do so.
“Marrying the needs and welfare concerns of players and the “public interest” is not always satisfactorily achieved when the competing interests of coaches, team-mates, team medical staff, media and fans can place pressure on players to “hide” their mental health issues and play through them. Players and teams should consider where to draw lines or mark boundaries between public and private matters in which players’ rights under disability legalisation might be systemically undermined.”2
So what can be done to improve the mental health of professional athletes? At the very least,
Osaka should be celebrated, not condemned or fined, for setting boundaries in support of her mental health.
- Henriksen, K., Schinkeb, R., Moeschc, K., McCannd, S., Parhame, W. D., Hvid Larsenf, C., & Terry, P. (2020). Consensus statement on improving the mental health of high-performance athletes. International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 18(5): 553-560.
- Elsey, C., Winter, P., Litchfield, S. J., Ogweno, S., & Southwood, J. (2020). Professional Sport and Initial Mental Health Public Disclosure Narratives, Communication & Sport, 1-20.