The Australian Open is history but unfortunately as is usually the case with a worldwide sporting event, we saw protesters, and shady media (aren’t they all), trying to bait athletes into talking about things completely unrelated to the particular sporting event.
The media is driven by likes, retweets, and clicks, so you can count on the media, even the sports media to attempt to stir up and manufacture controversy whenever they can. Last week during a presser at the Australian Open, an Australian media person asked the wrong Belarusian tennis player the wrong question and got a pointed, necessary smackdown.
It isn’t uncommon for the media to get off-topic and attempt to be provocative. We all know they can’t be trusted, and drama sells, but what was unusual and refreshing was the way Victoria Azarenka handled it. She was calm, controlled, and turned the situation back on the hapless reporter, in the process exposing the ulterior motive with the line of questions.
The reporter started by asking Azarenka if she had any opinions on Novak Djokovic’s father being photographed with a group of pro-Russian supporters during the week and her thoughts on the pro-Russian storyline. Why that is relative to women’s tennis, Azarenka, or the Open is irrelevant, but of course that never stops the media.
“There’s been a lot of scrutiny about a lot of the Russian and Belarusian players here. Is it difficult for you when you go out there to put all those things out of your mind? Do you think there are other players who get impacted by it?”
After a long, thoughtful pause, Azarenka drop the hammer and embarrassed the shady reporter. Azarenka said: “I don’t know what you guys want us to do about it. I don’t know what’s the goal here, that it’s continuously brought up.”
Azarenka continued, “These incidents that, in my opinion, have nothing to do with players. But somehow you keep dragging players into it. So what’s the goal here? I think you should ask yourself that question. Not me.”
At this point, the reporter returned the serve and asked Azarenka why she was so frustrated with the question. The Belarusian star volleyed with precision, saying: “Whatever the answer, I’m going to give it to you right now, it’s going to be turned whichever way you want to turn it to. So does it bother me? What bothers me is there are real things that are going on in the world. And I don’t know. Are you a politician? Are you covering politics?”“No, I’m a sports journalist,” the reporter answered.
“Yes. And I’m an athlete. And you’re asking me about things that maybe somebody says are in my control. But I don’t believe that. So I don’t know what you want me to answer. And if it’s a provocative question, then, you know, you can spin the story however you want.”
Boom! Game over, man! Sports fans don’t want to hear their favorite athlete’s opinions on politics. It’s refreshing and satisfying to see the reporter serve in such a delicious, savage fashion.
Sports are one of the tools we use to FORGET about the crap going on around us every day. If more sleazy reporters were to get the same direct, pointed response to their so obviously loaded questions, maybe we would be able to enjoy sports more. Victoria Azarenka put this one in her place and maybe she will think twice before trying to manufacture drama next time.
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