Naomi Osaka has conquered her 3rd slam title after playing fantastic tennis even if she was nursing a hamstring injury for almost 3 weeks. Naomi also hit the headlines for her great stance in defending the people of color. The Japanese sensation “forced” both the ATP and the WTA to postpone the semifinals of the Western & Southern Open in protest of the horrible shooting of Jacob Blake. Furthermore, she made history wearing 7 different face masks carrying the names of people of color that have been recently murdered.
Naomi’s position was very well accepted and it was great to see the graciousness of Osaka in carrying the message.
YBN Cordae’s unapologetic middle finger
While Naomi’s message was carried in such a delightful way, his boyfriend and American rapper YBN Cordae went “a bit” out of line. He posted a picture with Naomi carrying the US Open trophy, honoring her ‘big bro’ Kobe Bryant wearing his jersey and YBN Cordae showing the middle finger
.YBN Cordae later tweeted:
“Ultra black, unapologetically black. No matter where I’m at. Forever”
Many complained (even on YBN Cordae’s Twitter account) about the gesture was completely out of line and even damaging Naomi’s credibility and brand. One of the most interesting comments was the stark difference between YBN Cordae’s gesture and the magnificent one of Tommie Smith and John Carlos when each raised a black-gloved fist during the ceremony of the Olympics back in 1968.
These some of the other comments.
Naomi Osaka in 2020
Ranked world no.9, Osaka played her last match on the 12th of September when she overcame Victoria Azarenka 1-6 6-3 6-3 in the final of the U.S. Open to win her 6th career title.
This year the Japanese has a 16-3 win-loss record. Osaka has won 1 title at the U.S. Open. Osaka got to the final in New York.