Stay Connected
Atlanta Black Star/Sports
Sports

‘It’s Hard’: Giannis Antetokounmpo Relates to Naomi Osaka’s Mental Health Journey Through His Own Struggles

Posted byBy TSL Contributor | Published on: CommentsComments (0)

Perhaps it is our fault for pouring more into the athletic prowess of an athlete than they wanted. The power of hardwood dominance in the paint or explosive back serves on the Wimbledon green imbue more influence over us mere athletic mortals.

The Journey of Giannis Antetokounmpo To NBA Champion Is Incredible

However, all admiration comes at a cost to the admired, and for both Naomi Osaka and Giannis Antetokounmpo, that cost has been mental health.

Mental Health Is The New Normal

“I started doing it when I was 18,” said Giannis to GQ Sports. “When you’re that young and you’re doing it, people don’t understand the amount of pressure because, at the end of the day, you don’t only have to perform and be the best, you have the big brand that you got to f**king carry on your shoulder.”

“You have your own country, Japan, that you got to carry on your shoulder. Or Greece, in my case. You have all these people that you got to take care of.”

The Summer Of Giannis Continues To Be One To Remember

Since entering the NBA at 18 years old, Giannis has had to represent Greece as the “Greek Freak” and fill the star chasm missing in Milwaukee. Although he led the Bucks to their first NBA championship since 1971 last year, the back-to-back MVP knew it was expected of him.

The Osaka Factor

Similarly, after Naomi Osaka defeated her idol, Serena Williams, at the 2018 U.S. Open Finals, becoming the first-ever Japanese Grand Slam champion, she revealed her battles with anxiety and depression.

In her Netflix documentary, “Watch Naomi Osaka”, intimate moments showed Osaka constantly concerned about the pressures of being a superstar.

This pressure is compounded by the issues of identity as a biracial youth and being a symbol for both Japan and Haiti. 

For more on the journey’s of Giannis and Naomi Osaka and how they approach their mental health challenges, click here.

Democracy needs journalism it can trust.

This election season, the stakes are higher than usual — and so is the pressure on newsrooms to soften their coverage, stay quiet, or just disappear. Independent reporting, the kind that answers to readers instead of advertisers or political pressure, matters more in a moment like this, not less.

For over 14 years, Atlanta Black Star has stayed independent and reader-funded. We have no corporate owner and no shareholders telling us what to cover or how to cover it. That independence is also our biggest vulnerability: nothing protects it except readers choosing to fund it directly.

Newspaper ad revenue has fallen more than 80% since 2005, and local newsrooms are closing at a rate of roughly two a week nationwide. When outlets go under in a moment like this, it's rarely the independent, reader-funded ones that get to stick around.

We know a request for support isn't why you came here. But without readers choosing to fund this work directly, the depth of reporting we can do at home and abroad shrinks along with everyone else's. If you're not in a position to give, that doesn't change how much we value you as a reader.

If you are able to, a recurring contribution does more for us than a single one-time gift, because it lets us plan the next investigation instead of just the next invoice. It takes about 30 seconds, no long form, no account. Thank you for continuing to support independent journalism and freedom of the press.

Give once Give monthly Support another way

Related Stories

Back to top