By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
Lawn tennis’ rising star and the current world no. 3 female singles’ player Naomi Osaka just clinched the Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year.
An activist and a passionate athlete in her craft, Osaka garnered the majority votes of the AP member sports editors and AP beat writers.
Out of the 35 first-place votes, Osaka had 18 with a total of 71 points, overtaking WNBA superstar Breanna Stewart who had nine first-place votes.
“It was difficult to be isolated from my family for large parts of the year, but that’s nothing compared to others. It was sad to watch and read the news of people suffering from COVID-19, and the economic and social effect on so many, losing jobs, mental health. It was such a tough year for so many people,” Osaka wrote in an email interview.
Osaka was under the limelight after being vocal with her thoughts regarding racial and police injustices that happened in the US months ago and provided to be the voice of those who were afraid to speak up in the women’s athletes’ congregation.
“And then watching the police injustices like George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Jacob Blake (to name just a few) in the summer broke my heart. I am proud of my U.S. Open victory, but more so that I got people talking about the real issues,” continued Osaka’s statement.
For the AP Male Athlete of the Year Award, it was NBA champion and Finals MVP LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers who notched the prestigious feat.
