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Naomi Osaka took a stand against “the hatred, racism and blame for COVID towards the Asian community” in a powerful message on the eve of the Australian Open.
The Japanese tennis star took to Twitter on Sunday afternoon, shortly after the two women’s OA preparation events ended, to denounce the “disgusting” feelings she said she encountered on social media.
“The amount of hatred, racism and blame for COVID towards the Asian community is disgusting,” Osaka said.
“I am concerned that this topic is not covered very widely. I only found videos and news because I was scrolling through my IG feed and by some algorithm it appeared.”
She also added, “And while I’m here – saying ‘Ching Chong’ and ‘Shrimp Fried Rice’ when talking about / to an Asian person is not cool. You are not funny, you are. no joke and you are beyond pathetic. “
Osaka has found its voice in recent years, paving the way for many big names in tennis to speak out against injustices on the world stage.
At last year’s US Open, she took the lead in a moving position in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement following the tragic death of George Floyd, where she donned masks with the names of the victims of the police brutality.
Floyd was killed in Minneapolis last year when a police officer knelt on his neck for several minutes during an arrest.
The names of Breonna Taylor, Elijah McClain, Ahmaud Arbery, Tamir Rice and Trayvon Martin all appeared in matches in Osaka, whose father is Haitian and mother is Japanese.
Osaka will kick off their Australian Open campaign on Monday morning when they face Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova at Rod Laver Arena.
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