Photo/Illutration Naomi Osaka, of Japan, looks up during her match with Anett Kontaveit, of Estonia, during the quarterfinals at the Western & Southern Open tennis tournament on Aug. 26 in New York. (AP Photo)

As a young Black athlete, Althea Gibson (1927-2003) endured countless painful experiences while challenging the historically all-white world of tennis in the United States.

She was effectively barred from entering competitions because she was not allowed on the courts. Even when she was able to enter tournaments, no hotels would accommodate her. 

In 1950, she finally became the first Black player to be invited to the United States National Championships (now the US Open), thanks to intense lobbying by a high-profile retired champion and other supporters.

Gibson would go on to achieve extraordinary feats, including winning back-to-back Wimbledon championships.

The ethnic diversity of professional tennis players today owes greatly to her pioneering efforts.

Fast forward to the present era.

"I am a Black woman before I am an athlete," declared 22-year-old Naomi Osaka when she announced on Aug. 26 her decision to pull out of the Western & Southern Open after reaching the semifinals.

“I don’t expect anything drastic to happen with me not playing, but if I can get a conversation started in a majority white sport I consider that a step in the right direction,” Osaka tweeted. 

Her action came in the wake of the police shooting of a Black man in Kenosha, Wisconsin, which led to players of multiple NBA teams voting to go on strike for the remainder of the NBA season. 

Their message was that people must realize that there are more important things than watching basketball games.

The boycott has since spread to other professional leagues, including Major League Baseball.

Competing in games is how professional athletes earn their money. Resorting to the unprecedented action of sacrificing their income source in protest underscores the magnitude of systemic racism that continues unchecked in America.                

I recall a most moving speech given at a Black Lives Matter rally in June by Osaka's archrival, Cori Gauff.

Quoting Martin Luther King Jr., the 16-year-old Gauff said, "The silence of the good people is worse than the brutality of the bad people."

The attitude of many good people around the world, who have chosen to remain silent for a long time, is being questioned.

--The Asahi Shimbun, Aug. 28

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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.

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