Getty/Dan Istitene
- Lewis Hamilton showed support for Naomi Osaka, saying she has "so much weight on her shoulders."
- Osaka dropped out of the French Open after opening up about mental health struggles.
- Hamilton said that such an incident was "inevitable" because of the pressure young athletes face.
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Lewis Hamilton slammed backlash against Naomi Osaka for dropping out of the French Open, and said what happened to her was "inevitable" because she was under so much media pressure.
"Naomi is an incredible athlete and human being and her activism has been so impactful," Hamilton said ahead of this weekend's Azerbaijan Grand Prix, The Guardian reported.
"But when you are at such a young age with so much weight on her shoulders, it is inevitable what happened.
"She was incredibly brave and it is now about asking questions of those in power, making them think about how they react because the way they reacted with the fine was not good.
Hamilton continued by suggesting that in the furore of her withdrawal, many people have forgotten that she is a human being.
"With Naomi's scenario, she didn't feel comfortable because of her own personal mental health, the backlash against her was ridiculous," he said.
"People were not taking into account that she is a human being. She was saying: 'I am not well enough to do this right now.'"
Osaka announced on Monday that she was withdrawing from Roland-Garros, saying she "never wanted to be a distraction" from the tournament.
She had announced last week that she would not take part in press conferences during the tournament, citing her mental health. The tournament then fined her $15,000 for not speaking to the media after she won her first round match, and threatened to expel her from the tournament.
In her announcement dropping out of the event, she said she has experienced bouts of depression since winning the 2018 US Open and said she gets "huge waves of anxiety" before she speaks to the media.
Speaking ahead of the Grand Prix, Hamilton was also critical of the fine Osaka received.
"Someone talking about their personal mental health and then being fined for it was not cool," he said.
"They could definitely have handled it better. I hope they take a deep dive into that and find a better way to navigate it in future.
"As athletes, we are pushing ourselves to the limit, we are on the edge and we are only human beings."