By now, you probably know that Naomi Osaka had a rough time at this year’s Indian Wells Tennis Tournament. There’s been a running commentary on it since Saturday. If you’ve got a few minutes, please allow me to contribute my two cents. On today’s Jazprose Diaries—”The power of trickle-down racism.”
Let me begin with a quote
“The past is a life sentence, a blunt instrument aimed at tomorrow.”
— Claudia Rankine, Citizen: An American Lyric
To understand the truth of Rankine’s words, look no further than Naomi Osaka at Saturday’s Indian Wells tennis tournament. After a lone heckler yelled, “Naomi, you suck,” following the third match in her first set, Osaka failed to rally and lost in two straight sets. What happened to the Williams sisters at this very tournament in 2001 had gotten into her head, she told the crowd afterwards. Watch the video, she said.
