Rising above issues

When Naomi Osaka lifts her racquet on the red clay courts at Roland Garros during the Paris Olympics later this month itrsquoll represent more than a highstakes competition for the tennis starFor Osaka a fourtime grand slam champion itrsquos an important step in her journey after returning to tennis earlier this year after stepping away to prioritise her mental health and give birth to her daughter Osaka will join gymnastics icon Simone Biles and track and field star SharsquoCarri Richardson on the Olympic stageSharsquoCarri RichardsonThese Black women athletes at the height of their careers have been vocal about mental health public critique and other personal struggles Osaka and Biles needed time away from their respective sports to prioritise mental healthRichardson returned to competition after a highly scrutinised ban from track and field Theyrsquove all bounced back to the worldrsquos biggest stage while displaying different levels of vulnerability Their different yet similar stories give viewers a unique image of Black womenlsquoWersquore humans firstrsquoldquoI always think about this We werenrsquot born playing our sportrdquo Osaka recently told The Associated Press ldquoWe were born the same way as everyone else I wasnrsquot born holding a racquet Wersquore humans first and wersquore athletes as a professionrdquoNaomi OsakaThat idea is often overlooked when it comes to Black female athletes who sit in the shadowed intersection of racism and sexism said Ketra Armstrong a professor of sport management and director of the Center for Race and Ethnicity in Sport at the University of MichiganldquoIt is critically important that theyrsquore elevated in this wayrdquo Armstrong said ldquobecause I think itrsquos helping people to reimagine what Black women are and who they arerdquoBiles Osaka create space for women like them Biles withdrew from the allaround gymnastics competition at the Tokyo Games to focus on her wellbeing after what she described as feeling the ldquoweight of the worldrdquo on her shoulders After a twoyear hiatus Biles 27 proved to be just as dominant in her 2023 return to the international stage as she was at her first Olympics in 2016Time out is vitalShe won the individual allaround title at the gymnastics world championships in October and breezed through last monthrsquos US Olympic trials ldquoMost athletes are wired to winrdquo Armstrong said ldquoTheyrsquove been winning all of their lives And so oftentimes in their sport they know how to take a day off And I think what wersquore seeing is theyrsquore realising that even as life intersects with sport itrsquos OK to take a time outrdquoOsaka and Bilesrsquos return to the Olympics is important in creating space for women who look like them to be just as vulnerable said Victoria Jackson a sports historian and clinical associate professor of history at Arizona State University while ldquoalso kind of forcing broader culture to acceptrdquo them for who they are beyond what they do in their sportIrsquom attacked because I am Black SchroderThe 2023 FIBA World Champions Germany are set to continue their dominance on the international stage at the Paris Olympics Basketball team captain Dennis Schroder who was named as the countryrsquos flag bearer said ldquoI am attacked because I am Black my wife Ellen because she is with a Black manrdquoThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever