Naomi Osaka and Mental Illness

Most folks may find this article insensitive. For those who do, I offer a halfhearted apology. A slightly sincere apology because (1) I don't know the subject personally, and (2) my article falls under freedom of speech and my opinion, which I'm entitled to.

One reason I'm hard on Naomi Osaka is because Ben Simmons, a NBA player recently traded from Philly to Brooklyn (a very good basketball player, 25 yrs old) claimed mental illness as to why he couldn't really compete in Philadelphia. Last week, the Brooklyn Nets played in Philly and every time Ben touched the basketball, 15k fans chanted in unison:

"Ben Simmons sucks!"  

Ben didn't cry! Maybe he did behind closed doors, we will never know. The point being, we are tougher than that. Less we forget, our ancestors survived the most horrendous, 400+ years of mistreatment - in practically all unimaginable, sadistic ways - in human history.

Naomi's last meltdown started because 1 white woman shouted:

"Naomi you suck!"

And she goes on to lose to an unranked player.

Can you imagine all the cruel things said to the Williams sisters?

Furthermore, women want - and DESERVE - equal pay to men and equality across the board... Well, that means you must take the good with the bad you can't have it both ways 

Lastly, she didn't claim her blackness (she was to play in the Olympics for Japan, as she is a dual citizen) until after George Floyd. She was born in Japan in 1997 to her Japanese mother and Haitian father. Naomi really didn't call herself African American until the civil unrest that occurred after the Floyd murder.

So she's somewhat of a fraud and so is Simone Biles (who cried "mental health" when she realized that she probably would not win the gold medal, and would lose to a teammate).

As Shaq stated, the folks who really need mental health assistance are the homeless. I agree, I've tried to help when I can, homeless folks, and from my experience working with them, the longer they are without shelter, they slowly began to have serious mental issues. These are the people society needs to help... not some spoiled diva...  

Sure glad women like Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth, Madame C.J. Walker, Venus and Serena, Rosa Parks, and so many other STRONG BLACK WOMEN didn't cry "mental health" when they faced a challenge. 

Quitting, being soft, is not in the DNA of African Americans, we get this emotional characteristic from white folks!