Believe it or not, even the GOAT has dealt with his own mental health struggles at one time or another. Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady related to tennis star Naomi Osaka and applauded her for making the tough decision of taking a mental break from the game.
Brady spoke out on the matter during an episode of “The Shop”, via BR:
“I went through a lot of things in my early 20’s that I didn’t know how to deal with.”
“Now as someone who’s twice her age, you have compassion and empathy for that,” Tom Brady said. “You hope that she can deal with that, because you wouldn’t want that to take away from her true joy of playing tennis.”
Osaka opted out of the French Open after the tournament fined her $15,000 for refusing to do any interviews, citing her mental health as the reason. Now, Osaka is focusing on the Tokyo Olympics in her native country and will also skip the prestigious Wimbledon tournament, which begins on Monday.
While Tom Brady did come to her defense in the mental health regard, he did make it clear that doing interviews is just part of the job and likened the matter to Marshawn Lynch’s “I’m just here so I don’t get fined” comments.
“No, because I think you’re in an enterprise and I’m an employee of that enterprise. You know, I’m not my own entrepreneur where I can make my own individual choices,” Tom Brady said. “… You’re still in this structured system, so you gotta feel like you gotta play by—at least my own [view] is ‘I have to play by their rules.”
The Buccaneers star certainly has a point. Hopefully, Naomi Osaka can improve her mental health and not only get back on the court but also conduct interviews again because the media relies on an impactful voice like hers.
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