Sportico just released a list of the top 100 highest-paid athletes in the world. UFC star, Connor McGregor came in at number 1 with 208 million dollars made last year which was almost double what the second-place recipient made, Lionel Messi.
The top 10 consisted of athletes from five different sports- one from UFC, three from soccer, two from the NFL, three from the NBA, and Roger Federer from tennis.
One noticeable feat from the article was that they were only two women mentioned in the top 100. Those two women, Naomi Osaka and Serena Williams, both tennis players are global stars in their own right. Osaka, 23, set a record for the over $55 million she brought in last year. That lack of female representation in sport does further bring up the discussion of equal representation and pay for women athletes (See chart below).
Of course, the counter-argument has been the number of people that view and attend women's sports. However, as ABC networks and the WNBA has found, if you make games more accessible for fans to watch, they will.
However, with more attention comes more stress. Osaka is arguably the second most famous women tennis player in the world right now behind Serena Williams. Since 2018, she has taken the tennis world by storm and has become a superstar in her sport.
Osaka recently shocked the tennis world when she announced that she was not going to be doing any press conferences or talking to media at the French Open to protect her mental health announced on an Instagram post (see below).
This isn’t the first time that we have seen athletes avoid press conferences. Former Seattle Seahawks running back, Marshawn Lynch was infamously famous for his comical post-game press conferences. Even after he was told he would be fined if he avoided press he gave us this memorable Super Bowl interview. While he is not the only one to have verbal jousting matches with reporters, these types of responses to media are not new.
As the French Open commenced, Osaka did just as she said. The French Open responded by fining the star $15,000 for her refusal to speak to media. It was at this point that the story picks up and becomes interesting- Osaka responded by withdrawing from the tournament and releasing the following message on her social media accounts:
Other stars chimed in on the story in support of Osaka.
Fellow tennis star weighed in on the topic when she was asked about the issue and responded with this answer:
All of this leads to the question of do we really respect athletes? More specifically, do we respect female athletes? I often say that sports is a microcosm of society and I believe that to be true. Malcolm X said in his famous speech titled “Who Taught You to Hate Yourself” that the black woman is the most disrespected person in America. One might cringe at that statement and strongly disagree but once you take a closer look, that statement holds a little more weight. Let’s take a look at some of the facts:
Despite being the most educated demographic in the country, black women are among the lowest paid in the workforce.
Black women have the highest mortality rate in pregnancy than any other demographic
Black women are perceived to be older at younger ages (adultification bias) which results in harsher punishments by school and law enforcement
So what does this have to do with sports and even more so, Naomi Osaka’s decision to withdraw from the Open? Think about some of the stereotypes we put on women in general in our society- angry, sassy, unpredictable, and independent. When you take a step back from it all, Osaka was essentially punished for trying to protect herself. As fans, we often see athletes as superhuman and immune from critique. We must understand that these athletes, no matter the fame are still human.
Osaka has spoken about her struggles with mental health before. In her 2019 Wimbleton interview she opened up about being in a depressive state. She made her decision to skip the pressers before the tournament. She also understood the risk of doing what she did. However, she took a stance for a rule that frankly is outdated and wrong.
We have an obligation as a society to protect our most vulnerable. In this instance, Osaka is a vulnerable person. What better way to show godly love than to speak up for those who at the moment might not have the strength to speak up on their own. We are all weak vessels that are only strong when we rely on Christ.
The common verse that is often quoted in sports from Philippians 3:14 “I can do all things in Christ who strengthens me.” In Christ is the key part in that verse because it reflects a reliance on Christ outside ourselves. For those who don’t know that reliance, we can be good neighbors and show that love towards them when they are in these seasons.
However the future with sports and mental health goes, I hope to see more fans support women in sports. Let me know in the comments what your thoughts are about Osaka’s decision. Do you think that the response from the French Open was fair?
Other News & Notes
The Athletic released an article interviewing former NBA player LaMarcus Aldridge. In the article, he discusses his bouts with depression and struggling to adjust to retirement life.
The Indy 500 had a crowd of over 135,000 last week. Shattering the previous post COVID record and signaling a light at the end of the tunnel for the pandemic.
I know I wrote about the Tulsa Massacres last week but, David French wrote a wonderful piece on how we move forward while remembering the significance of Memorial Day but also the tragedies of the Massacre. You can check out his article here.
Lastly, Damian Lilliard had one of the most absurd games I have ever been able to witness and he did it all in a loss to the Denver Nuggets in game 5 of their series. Watch his highlights from that game and be amazed.
Verse of the Week
“Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered” 1 Peter 3:7