Advertisement

“I’ve always watched protests on TV, and I never had the chance to go because I was always playing tennis,” she said, later adding: “Everyone was so passionate...I thought it was really powerful.”

“Just going there and seeing how the whole city was at that moment…it was definitely something surreal for me,” she told HighSnobiety. “And I just started thinking, ‘Even if one person cares about what I say, then maybe that person will show another person.’”

Advertisement

While Osaka didn’t widely publicize her participation in the protests, she began posting content in support of Black Lives Matter. Predictably, there were those who presumed to tell the young athlete she should stick to sports, prompting her to tweet (h/t WSJ):

“I hate when random people say athletes shouldn’t get involved with politics and just entertain. Firstly, this is a human rights issue. Secondly, what gives you more right to speak than me? By that logic if you work at IKEA you are only allowed to talk about the ‘GRÖNLID?’”

Advertisement

Doubling down, Osaka penned a poignant essay for Esquire this July in which she discussed the impact of her Minneapolis visit and backed defunding the police, writing (in part):

In the past few months, I’ve re-evaluated what’s actually important in my life. It’s a reset that perhaps I greatly needed. I asked myself, “If I couldn’t play tennis, what could I be doing to make a difference?” I decided it was time to speak up...for every George, there is a Brianna, a Michael, a Rayshard. The sad list goes on. That’s just the tragedies captured on camera. I remember watching the outrage at Michael Brown’s case in 2014, and nothing has really changed since. Black people have been fighting this oppression alone for so many years and progress has been fleeting at best. Being “not racist” is not enough. We have to be anti-racist.

Advertisement

Osaka is clearly growing into her activism and platform, one she was only beginning to become accustomed to when The Glow Up interviewed her in early 2019 in celebration of her becoming a Barbie “Shero.”

“I think when I was younger, I used to try to brush away the responsibility,” a seemingly shy Osaka told us at the time. “But now, there’s been incidents [where] people come up to me and they start crying, and I realize how important it is to be a role model...I think that’s a really big honor, and I’m grateful that I have that responsibility.”

Advertisement

“She is starting to figure out what she cares about in the public eye—she is learning herself while we are learning about her,” LeBron James’ longtime business partner Maverick Carter told WSJ, which reports he and James, are currently executive producing a documentary series on Osaka for Netflix.

Advertisement

The facts of Osaka’s stature already speak for themselves; she is the first Asian or Haitian tennis player to be ranked No. 1 and only the fifth Black woman and only Japanese player ever to win a Grand Slam. But as Serena Williams, Osaka’s hero and opponent in a very memorable 2018 Women’s U.S. Open finals, told WSJ, this moment demands more.

“If you are an athlete and you don’t say something, there’s a problem,” she said. Osaka, who has faced her share of discrimination and derision as a Black woman representing Japan, clearly agrees.

Advertisement

“There’s a time when you kind of have to talk about things. Like, you can’t just keep shoving it under the rug,” she told HighSnobiety. “For me, what I want is people being more aware.”

“I’ve been figuring out my voice more,” she explained to WSJ. “I definitely think it’s time to start gaining confidence and taking on what you feel.”

Advertisement

Join the discussion! The Root is hosting its first-ever, virtual Root Institute, presented by Target, featuring several of the leading minds in our community talking about politics, culture, health, community building and social impact. Subscribe for updates today!