PETALING JAYA, Sept 9 — Tennis superstar Naomi Osaka made a strong statement about racial injustice when she walked onto the US Open court on Tuesday wearing a mask with George Floyd’s name.
Floyd was an African-American man who died on May 25 in Minneapolis, Minnesota after a white police officer knelt on his neck for several minutes, sparking a resurrection of the Black Lives Matter movement across the United States.
Osaka, who is of Haitian and Japanese heritage, has been vocal about racial injustice towards Black people and labelled the ongoing police brutality against them as “genocide” in an Instagram post.
She has since attended every US Open match with a mask bearing the name of a victim of police brutality and racism, including Breonna Taylor, Elijah McClain, Ahmaud Arbery, and Trayvon Martin, to raise awareness about their deaths.
"This did not have to happen, none of these deaths had to happen ... I just want everyone to know the names more."@naomiosaka continues to use her platform to spread awareness ✊🏿 pic.twitter.com/usyED4fi9m
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 4, 2020
Osaka also wrote about how Martin’s death affected her after the unarmed teenager was shot to death by a neighbourhood watch volunteer named George Zimmerman in 2012.
In an Instagram post, the world’s highest-paid female athlete said she avoided wearing hoodies for years after Zimmerman described Martin as looking “suspicious” for wearing one.
“Actually, I have a lot to say about this. I remember Trayvon’s death clearly. I remember being a kid and just feeling scared.
“Irreverent info but I actually didn’t wear hoodies for years cause I wanted to decrease the odds of ‘looking suspicious.’
“I remember watching the events unfold on TV and wondering what was taking so long, why was justice not being served.
“To see the same things happening over and over still is sad. Things have to change,” said Osaka.
