Due to the ongoing pandemic that has ravaged sports throughout the country, tennis had to postpone the French Open and cancel Wimbledon. The U.S. Open luckily was able to be played without fans but had to be played with heavy hearts due to the horrific events of George Floyd, Jacob Blake and unfortunately so many other black lives that were taken due to police brutality. Some tennis players decided to take a stand, with the biggest being Naomi Osaka.
The Japanese star Osaka decided to protest her match to begin the U.S. Open in a courageous move as she could have been disqualified from the tournament but she did not care as she was making her feelings known to the world. The Tennis Federation did end up making the right move as they cancelled all tennis matches for the rest of the day and did not disqualify her as they recognized the BLM protests.
A few days later, Osaka came out with a mask that immediately caught the eyes of tennis fans around the world and eventually became national news. It had the name Breonna Taylor on it. When interviewed after winning the match she was asked about it and replied by saying she had a mask with a different victim’s name for every match she would go to all the way to the final. At this point, many should have been pulling for her to make the final as this was bigger than tennis as she was going to give national attention to those seven names that had their life taken way too soon.
Fortunately, Osaka’s game is as good as her heart as she did end up making the final. The names of the victims she wore on her masks were Breonna Taylor, Elijiah McClain, Ahmuad Arbery, Trayvon Martin, George Floyd, Philando Castile and Tamir Rice in that order. After the Final, the parents of all these victims were put up on the video board in Arthur Ashe Stadium to thank her as they broke down into tears.
Osaka didn’t stop there as she ended up winning the tournament and when accepting the trophy she decided to put on her Kobe Bryant Jersey and said that he was everything to her. Kobe was a well known supporter of the BLM movement as well as a beloved international superstar, growing up in Italy. She once had a conversation with him and she said I want to be just like you. His response was absolutely not, be better. Kobe would be proud if he was with us today and has seen the difference she has made.Osaka is an inspiration to anyone looking to come from another country and make a difference in the United States. It can be noted that everything about Osaka is bigger than tennis.
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