Activism of Naomi Osaka Essay Example

In today’s world, athletes are viewed as more than people who dribble basketballs, hit home runs, or slam serves–rather, they are seen as leaders and role models with the power and platform to speak out on social justice issues. As the Black Lives Matter movement swept the nation this past year, professional athletes from various sports across the world condemned systematic racism by kneeling during the anthem and expressing their beliefs via social media and press conferences. In particular, tennis star Naomi Osaka, the winner of the 2020 U.S. Open, has remained at the forefront of the reform for social justice through her actions both on and off the court. From wearing masks with names of Black victims of police violence to boycotting matches altogether, Osaka has emerged as one of the most prominent activists in all of sports, embodying a political symbol just as much as she represents a tennis champion. Her persistent defiance has captured the attention of individuals worldwide, expanding the influence that her voice carries in contemporary society. As a result of her broad audience, Osaka decided to enter the realm of journalism to tackle racism head-on and change public perceptions and opinions. Through her July 2020 Op-Ed I Never Would've Imagined Writing This Two Years Ago, Naomi Osaka transforms rhetoric into reality by utilizing intersectional identification, social power, and resignification to highlight systematic racism and police brutality, ultimately fighting for a safer and more hopeful future for the Black population of America, Japan, and the world at large.

As the daughter of a Haitian father and Japanese mother, Naomi Osaka reflects on the intersectionality of her identity to establish a shared sense of “anti-racist” sentiment among multiple audiences. She begins her Op-Ed by emphasizing how people have always struggled to define her, as she has “never really fit into one description–but people are so fast to give [her] a label” (Osaka, 2020, para. 1). By describing her diverse background in the first paragraph, Osaka aims to identify with different cultures and unify them on the basis of human nature. She makes it clear that racial injustice extends beyond American borders, highlighting the magnitude of the movement “from Oslo to Osaka, from Tallahassee to Tokyo” (Osaka, 2020, para. 7). As she transitions to the impact of George Floyd’s death, Osaka discusses how she signed petitions, protested, and donated money like many other Americans. Although Osaka represents one of the best tennis players in the world, she takes a step down from her pedestal and attempts to relate to her audience through common demonstrations of resistance. Moreover, Osaka further establishes a relationship with her readers by subtly shifting her personal pronouns from “I” to “we” throughout the Op-Ed. In an effort to unify people behind the shared issue of racial injustice, Osaka effectively groups herself with not only other Japanese or Black athletes but individuals of every background. She asserts that all people play a role in this movement and that “[w]e can’t let the ignorance of a few hold back the progressiveness of the masses” (Osaka, 2020, para. 8). By targeting an expansive audience and categorizing herself as a human rather than a renowned athlete, Osaka utilizes rhetoric to create shared values among a diverse population and to shed light on the extent of the movement as a whole.

Naomi Osaka employs her social power as a successful Black athlete from Japan in order to illuminate the reality of racism around the world. As the first Japanese tennis player to win a Grand Slam title and one of the most visible proponents of racial justice in sports today, Osaka holds a certain level of credibility that grants her the social power necessary to induce others to take action. She capitalizes specifically on her expert power, “the perceived authority of the rhetoric stemming from knowledge, talent, or skill,” by alluding to incidents of racism in her own life (Palczewski et al., 2012, p. 176). Osaka acknowledges that “Japan is a homogenous country” and that she has “received racist comments online and even on TV” in order to demonstrate an unfortunate truth: even the best athletes in the world experience the harsh realities of blatant racism (Osaka, 2020, para. 8). Although a multitude of people referenced their encounters with racism throughout the Black Lives Matter movement, Osaka’s status as a world-class athlete adds a sense of ethos to her words. In addition to her use of expert power, Osaka possesses a level of referent power through her connection to the audience on a humanistic level. After her actions at the 2020 U.S. Open in particular, fans across the world admired Osaka’s courage and willingness to sacrifice her reputation for a greater cause. As a result, they likely chose to identify with her, which vaulted her to the forefront of the movement and elevated her referent power. In turn, Osaka utilizes this referent power throughout her Op-Ed to inspire individuals to “take a holistic approach to our communities and to keeping each other safe” (Osaka, 2020, para. 6). She calls attention to her own individual efforts in the movement and effectively persuades others to follow in her footsteps. Nevertheless, Osaka argues that shifting approaches entails redefining the meaning of certain words altogether.

By incorporating the rhetorical device of resignification in her Op-Ed, Naomi Osaka motivates individuals to become more active rather than passive in their attempts to combat racial injustice. Specifically, she reconceptualizes what it means to be “not racist” through her use of resignification–“the process in which people reject the connotation of a symbol, expose how the meaning of the symbol is constructed, and attempt to change its connotation” (Palczewski et al., 2012, p. 56). In order to provide context and reason for this resignification, Osaka initially points to the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Michael Brown, and Rayshard Brooks, four Black individuals murdered at the hands of White police officers. While she does not explicitly criticize other races for not playing a part in the fight, Osaka insists that Black people have battled oppression for years and that “[b]eing ‘not racist’ is not enough. We have to be anti-racist” (Osaka, 2020, para. 5). In essence, she asserts that individuals of other races must become more proactive and less complacent in their responses to racism. Osaka wants her audience to realize that being “not racist” can only go so far; people must outwardly condemn and confront systematic racism in order to enact tangible change. Ultimately, this redefinition serves as a call to action and emphasizes the imminent importance of engaging in external displays of resistance.

By utilizing identification, social power, and resignification, Osaka clearly recognizes her influence as a biracial athlete and a role model in society today. She understands that she lies at a crossroad in her life with the power to break the trend of silence among athletes and to bridge the gap between sports and social issues. Through meticulous integration of rhetoric, Osaka successfully navigates the tightrope between establishing common ground with readers and demonstrating an air of expertise and authority that lends her a sense of credibility. In doing so, she effectively reaches a diverse audience, illustrates the omnipresence of racism, and promotes further action among the broader community. Osaka concludes by painting a picture of “a biracial girl in a classroom in Japan glowing with pride when [Osaka] win[s] a Grand Slam” (Osaka, 2020, para. 9). She creates this virtual experience to provide hope for the future of racial justice not only in Japan but across the world. A future where people of every background are treated with the same underlying level of respect and human decency. A future where athletes do not need to choose between sports and social justice. A future where that girl in the classroom can become both a U.S. Open Champion and a social justice warrior, just like Naomi Osaka.

References

Osaka, N. (2020, July 1). I never would've imagined writing this two years ago. 

Esquire.https://www.esquire.com/sports/a33022329/naomi-osaka-op-ed-george-floyd-protests/

Palczewski, C. H., Ice, R., & Fritch, J. (2012). Rhetoric in civic life (2nd ed.). Strata Publishing.