Bermuda Banner Seen In Naomi Osaka Interview
In an effort to highlight the systemic injustice and police killings in the United States, tennis star Naomi Osaka recently wore a face mask with the name ‘Breonna Taylor’ at the US Open in New York City, where she was interviewed in front of a Bermuda banner.
The Bermuda signage is due to the island being the U.S. Open’s tourism partner, a partnership that began in 2019.
An ABC News story said, “Tennis star Naomi Osaka donned a face mask with the name of Breonna Taylor, the 26-year-old Black woman who was shot and killed by Louisville police officers in March, at her debut match Monday night at the U.S. Open.
“Osaka, the 2018 U.S. Open champion, wore the mask before and after her first-round victory against Japan’s Misaki Doi at Arthur Ashe stadium.
“Osaka said she brought seven different face masks with her to the Grand Slam tournament, each honoring a different person killed by police.
“It’s quite sad that seven masks isn’t enough for the amount of names, so hopefully I’ll get to the finals so you can see all of them,” said Osaka, according to The Associated Press. “I’m aware that tennis is watched all over the world, and maybe there is someone that doesn’t know Breonna Taylor’s story. Maybe they’ll, like, Google it or something.”
“Osaka, 22, joined fellow athletes in protest last month after the police shooting of Jacob Blake, a 29-year-old Black man who was shot seven times by police in front of his children. The shooting sparked civil unrest in Blake’s hometown of Kenosha, Wisconsin, and across the country.
“Osaka protested the shooting by not competing in an Aug. 27 scheduled semifinal match at the 2020 Western & Southern Open.
“Hello, as many of you are aware I was scheduled to play my semifinals match tomorrow,” Osaka wrote in a statement shared on Twitter.
“However, before I am an athlete, I am a black woman. And as a black woman I feel as though there are much more important matters at hand that need immediate attention, rather than watching me play tennis.”
Read the full story here on the ABC News website.
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