Naomi Osaka Talks LeBron James, Colin Kaepernick, Athlete Activism in NYT Op-Ed

U.S. Open singles champion Naomi Osaka put the spotlight on athlete participation in protesting racism and police brutality in an op-ed that was published in the New York Times on Monday. 

Osaka wore face masks memorializing victims of police brutality—including Breonna Taylor, George Floyd and Philando Castile—during her U.S. Open championship run this summer and issued a bilingual statement about feeling a need to start a conversation about "the continued genocide of Black people at the hand of the police" before playing in the semifinals.

"Sports have never been apolitical, and as long as they continue to be played by human beings, they won’t be," Osaka wrote.

A three-time Grand Slam singles champion, Osaka celebrated the work of LeBron James, former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick and U.S. women's national soccer team star Megan Rapinoe, "a stalwart of the L.G.B.T.Q. movement and equal pay." She also credited other tennis legends, Venus Williams and Billie Jean King, with "fighting for equality in women's tennis" and shared her admiration for competitor Coco Gauff's support of the Black Lives Matter movement.

The 23-year-old said she felt that athletes have a "greater responsibility" to speak out about injustices and noted that she "will not shut up and dribble," referring to comments made by Fox News anchor Laura Ingraham toward James back in 2018.  

"Just because we are athletes doesn't mean we are unaffected by what happens around the country, nor does it obligate us to keep our mouths shut," Osaka wrote.