- Brett Favre addressed Naomi Osaka's withdrawl from the French Open after her media policy fine.
- Favre said that he believes athletes should talk to the media because of the money they make.
- Favre admitted he once got fined for not talking to the media after a loss, but regrets it.
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Brett Favre doesn't exactly agree with Naomi Osaka's recent stance on not talking to the media.
The Hall-of-Fame NFL quarterback addressed Osaka's withdrawl from the French Open after she was fined for skipping a press conference, on his podcast "Bolling With Favre." He believes athletes should talk to the media.
"We should talk to the media. I'm not saying you have to, but you chose to be fined or not," Favre said. "I do think athletes are held to a different level and a different standard, and rightfully so because of the money we make."
Favre played in the NFL from 1991 to 2010, and spent 15 of those seasons with the Green bay Packers in the league's smallest media market. Still, as one of the league's most transcendent players at the time, Favre garnered as much media attention as any other superstar athlete, and almost never shied away from speaking to reporters.
But there was one instance where Favre refused to do a press conference, similar to Osaka.
In 1998, after Favre's Packers lost 27-20 to the Detroit Lions on Thursday Night Football, the disgruntled quarterback was so frustrated about the outcome of the game that he refused to do his regular post-game press conference. But he regets that decision today.
"I told our PR guys Jeff Bloom and Mark Scheefelback 'I'm not doing it,' and they said 'you got to do it,' and I said 'I'm not doing it,'" Favre said. "I should have done the press conference, and just owned up. It was one of those things where I said 'if I don't have anything good to say, I'm not saying anything at all.' Well just go in there and say that!"
Favre was fined $25,000 for his decision, which ultimately pioneered the NFL's current media-related requirements and fines.
"At the time, there was nothing written into the 'rule book' for media. I was not required," Favre said. "There wasn't anything where if I chose not to speak I would be fined, so I chose not to speak, and was fined $25,000, and it was written into the rule book after that."
Osaka was fined $15,000 for skipping her media session, but her decision was driven by long-term mental health concerns as opposed to short-term frustration in Favre's case.
"I get really nervous and find it stressful to always engage and give you the best answers I can," Osaka said in a statement. "I do feel like the rules are quite outdated in parts and I wanted to highlight that ... We're often sat there and asked questions that we've been asked multiple times before or asked questions that bring doubt into our minds and I'm just not going to subject myself to people that doubt me."
-NaomiOsaka大坂なおみ (@naomiosaka) May 31, 2021
Osaka withdrew from the French Open shortly after receiving the fine, and has since garnered mixed reactions from other athletes and figures in media.
Favre joins a list of critics that includes British journalist Pier's Morgan who called Osaka a 'spoiled brat,' in his Daily Mail column, and current top-ranked women's tennis player and reigning French Open champion Ashleigh Barty who said "press is kind of part of the job," according to the Associated Press.
Osaka's supporters include fellow women's tennis player Serena Williams, Olympic champion swimer Michael Phelps, and actor Will Smith.