The new Time magazine cover story is written by tennis star Naomi Osaka, who makes a point, in an essay focusing on mental health, to lecture Americans that it's "obvious" we should not "ferociously" oppose kneeling during the playing of our national anthem.
The piece from Osaka, a citizen of Japan who took a "mental health break" from the French Open rather than get fined for skipping press conferences, is titled “It’s O.K. to not be O.K.” Her mental depression is unfortunate, but we don’t rely on ridiculously rich, woke athletes for advice on how to comport ourselves during public events where we carry on time-honored traditions to respect our freedom and the people who sacrificed life and limb in defense of liberty.
Osaka, who advocated for Black Lives Matter through her wearing of seven facemasks bearing the names of victims of police shootings during the 2020 U.S. Open, wrote:
“Lesson one: you can never please everyone. The world is as divided now as I can remember in my short 23 years. Issues that are so obvious to me at face value, like wearing a mask in a pandemic or kneeling to show support for anti-racism, are ferociously contested. I mean, wow. So, when I said I needed to miss French Open press conferences to take care of myself mentally, I should have been prepared for what unfolded.”
It’s no wonder former First Lady Michelle Obama and radical Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez are fans - AOC tweeted Osaka in May that she was proud of her. Or that Osaka was featured last year in a Netflix documentary in association with LeBron James’ Uninterrupted media company (see photo above from that program).
The Associated Press reported Thursday on the new issue of Time that goes on sale Friday, saying Osaka hopes “we can enact measures to protect athletes, especially the fragile ones.” So, now we’re supposed to respect a fragile, foreign athlete telling us what is and isn’t acceptable in our nation? Not happening!
Osaka, who’s earned an estimated $16 million in endorsements from woke corporations (on top of her immense tennis winnings!), goes on to laughably propose sick leave for pro tennis players so they can be excused from attending press conferences without having to pay another $15,000 fine like she incurred at the French Open. Pocket change for her.
The world’s second-ranked Women's Tennis Association player, Osaka is a brand ambassador for Nissan and reaps in the big bucks from a Nike endorsement. It’s uncertain if she’s requesting sick leave days from these corporate giants, too. However, she appears to be psyched and emotionally recovered from her past problems to go for gold in Tokyo in the upcoming Summer Olympics. Osaka said she could “not be more excited to play” at the Olympics.
Furthermore, Osaka says tennis press conferences are “out of date and in great need of a refresh.” However, Time cover story lectures for American patriots opposed to social justice protests are really cool.