Jack Nicklaus hopes Naomi Osaka gets help she needs, encourages media to show understanding
empathized with Osaka.
“If she has [anxiety issues] … that that bothers her … then you guys [the media] should be able to accommodate her and allow her to do what she needs to do without running her through the ringer,” he said. “If she has a problem, if she really has one, you don’t know that, I don’t know that, only she knows that and her doctor probably knows it. … so I can’t fault her. I feel badly for her and I hope that she [gets] whatever she needs.”
Nicklaus also said that the media was different when he was playing.
“I think you have a few people in the media today who are trying to make a name and they want to get sensational,” he said. “We have had that for 20 years or so. Didn’t have it much right when I was growing up. But … you pretty well identify those people pretty quickly. And then you’re just careful with what you do. But you still [the media] you got a job to do.”
Nicklaus said he’s found that fairness begets fairness.
“I’ve always dealt with you guys … I treated you fairly, you treated me fairly,” he said. “And I don’t understand some of the young people today and thinking they’re not going to get treated fairly. I mean, you always get treated fairly if you treat somebody else fairly.”