For the .oat part I agree with you, especially about the part of reigning in the press's access a bit. Even people in a public life deserve some modicum of privacy and respect for their time. It's not good for people to always be on display in an anything goes sort of capacity.

How many Disney kid meltdowns or sports figure blow ups do we have to witness before we clue in to that fact? And do something constructive about it?

That said, and as Tony said, really what's the difference between a physical injury and a mental episode? And why are we drawing that line? Why can't reasonable allowances be made?

I don't follow professional sports so maybe I'm off on this, but if an athlete has a physical problem during play, even if it's not an injury like maybe their appendix burst during the game, they're not expected to deal with the press while clutching their side in agony, right? Even freelance contractors have sick days right?

So don't they just reschedule the press for that athlete when something like that happens? Give them a chance to get sorted so they CAN meet their contractual obligations on good sound footing? I mean, you DO see them in interviews...AFTER they've seen a doctor and gotten treatment. Isn't that just good sense for everyone involved both business wise, cultural wise, sport wise, and humanity wise? So I ask again, what's the difference? Why couldn't she have been allowed to do the press thing AFTER seeing a therapist and getting her anxiety in check? You wouldn't deny an asthmatic athlete an inhaler until after press time because they had an inconvenient asthma attack would you? They can't help when those attacks hit either. No, you would get them their inhaler, give them some space until they're breathing well again, and then carry on without making undue fuss about it as soon as they're able.

So why not apply that same tactic to issues of mental health going forward? Why can't athletes take a sick day, or a few sick hours to collect themselves before dealing with the press when they need it? Osaki was self aware enough to realize she was having a mental episode and that she needed to not put herself in a situation where that episode could devolve into a full blown mental crisis. She really shouldn't be punished for that. She should be applauded (as you did) and respected.

Yeah, she should have communicated needs instead of just not showing up. Then again, there needs to be an avenue available to her and other athletes to do so.

There's an opportunity here for athletes and everyone involved in sports as an industry to do better. To learn. To move forward in a manner that is good for the athletes, the fans, the organizations and the sports themselves.

Fines aren't productive moving forward any more than the scattershot of social media rage is.