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by uselesstech 1842 days ago
Just to be clear, post match interviews aren’t “paparazzi”, they aren’t randomly followed on the street, they meet at a given place at a given time and interact with cleared media people.

Do they get asked bad questions sometimes? Yes and it’s amazing to see that reporter asking something inappropriate get slammed by the players.
1 comments
nrb 1842 days ago
Why is it amazing for the players in the midst of a very emotional moment to have to endure an inappropriate question, and respond with an attack?

People have such a fetish for “Person A DESTROYS Person B” drama that they’re disregarding the humanity and dignity of the people along the way.

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throw0101a 1842 days ago
> Why is it amazing for the players in the midst of a very emotional moment to have to endure an inappropriate question, and respond with an attack?

It is amazing that people make a lot of money from playing a game, and for making millions in sponsorships from being famous for that game:

> Both sponsorship agreements follow a wave of success for Osaka. The three-time Grand Slam winner defeated 23-time champion Serena Williams in 2018 and became the highest paid female athlete in 2020, earning around $34 million from endorsements alone.

* https://insidersport.com/2021/01/20/naomi-osaka-signs-luxury...

* https://www.forbes.com/sites/kurtbadenhausen/2020/05/22/naom...

* https://sportskhabri.com/naomi-osaka-brand-ambassador-endors...

If she doesn't want to go out there in public, perhaps she should stopping putting herself out there in public.

If you don't want to be rich and famous, but just rich, go run a hedge fund. Many fewer people will know about you and you'll have just as nice a lifestyle.

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tolbish 1842 days ago
It's incredible how entitled we think we are to another person's time, attention, and peace of mind just because they had the audacity to be the best at what they do.
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throw0101a 1842 days ago
If someone does not want to be in the public, they have every right to not be in the public eye.

But when you are paid to be in the public eye, especially with multi-million dollar endorsement/advertisement contracts, then complaining about being in the public eye... seems non-sensensical IMHO.

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p49k 1842 days ago
Someone might want to play tennis at the highest level and at the same time only be in the "public eye" to a medium extent (spectators and broadcast of the actual match) rather than to the extreme. That shouldn't be an unreasonable ask.
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throw0101a 1842 days ago
> Someone might want to play tennis

Then play tennis.

But when you sign endorsement deals that has your face on billboards that are several stories tall, complaining about being the public eye is disingenuous:

* https://www.instagram.com/p/Bv4DGMdJgcm/

* https://tennistonic.com/tennis-news/60258/naomi-osaka-takes-...

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TomSwirly 1842 days ago
>But when you are paid to be in the public eye,

I beg to differ. She is competing in a tennis competition. To do this she should be required to play tennis, and nothing else, not "be in the public eye".

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tolbish 1842 days ago
Pro athletes have done basic media days, outreach, and non-antagonizing interviews. Why do they need to do more than that? Why does the default need to be for the public to obsess over them?
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harperlee 1842 days ago
On one hand I agree with you; on the other hand, they are getting paid to perform, and that includes the interview by contract. The problem with performances such as those interviews, or theatre plays, is that they need to be done in a timely manner. I think it is reasonable that their career worsens if the reliability is not there - even if there are perfectly legitimate causes for it such are not being emotionally able. Same way there are career issues if you break a leg during a tournament.

Regarding dignity, these people do have alternative paths to earn money, so if they choose a job that they find undign, they can just resign.

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uselesstech 1842 days ago
Because that is what the markets have determined. There weren’t always post match pressers and clearly the sport has determined that there is a value to having them.

Also, inappropriate questions are very rare but I was just using that as a personal example of what I enjoy but there are also good bits in those pressers on mentality and good examples of composure with a loss that people can learn from. There’s a lot people can get out from a champions mindset which you otherwise wouldn’t get unless they choose to release a book later in life.

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TomSwirly 1842 days ago
> Because that is what the markets have determined.

So what? Markets aren't a god or a person. Championship tennis is about as far away from a free market as you can imagine.

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