Nicklaus On Osaka

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Sports fans and media are watching the complicated situation involving tennis star Naomi Osaka and her withdrawal from the French Open, citing anxiety issues with press conferences and huge fines for skipping them.

In kicking off the Memorial Tournament, huge tennis fan and host Jack Nicklaus was asked about the situation, his career attitude toward press and if he sees a similar situation coming to golf.

Q. I think what made me think of it was your reputation of dealing with the media has been outstanding since before some of us were born. Do you think you would be -- what was your approach back then, what was it like back then and do you think it would be any different now given five or six different broadcast outlets that are now part of the mix?

JACK NICKLAUS: I honestly don't know. But my outlook -- my -- my view towards the press has always been you guys have got a job to do. And I tried to be honest with you, straightforward with you, I tried to answer your questions the best of my ability. If I thought there was something that I probably shouldn't answer, I probably answered it anyway, you know that. But I probably sometimes should have kept my mouth shut.

So I have always dealt with you guys that I treated you fairly, you treated me fairly. 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. That's always been our way.

Maybe there's always some, there's always a snake in the crowd somewhere who decides they want to do something, but you can't blame everybody for one bad apple. And I don't know what she felt, went into, I have not read anything about it, I just heard she withdrew because she didn't want to go to a press conference and that she felt like she had some issue that --

Q. Anxiety.

JACK NICKLAUS: Anxiety? Well, if she has that and that's, and that bothers her, I mean, then you guys should be able to, you know, accommodate her and allow her to do what she needs to do without running her through the ringer. I mean, 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, so I don't really -- one of the times I probably should keep my mouth shut a little bit because I just don't know. I mean, open mouth insert foot? I mean, is that a fair answer to you?

Q. It is, yeah. I was actually we were talking last week when just what it was like for you when you finished a round. I was just curious how much different you think the media was back then?

JACK NICKLAUS: I don't think -- I think people are people. I think you have a people, a few people in the media today who are trying to make a name and they want to get sensational. We have had that for 20 years or so. Didn't have it much right when I was growing up. But for the -- you pretty well identify those people pretty quickly. And then you're just careful with what you do. But I'm still, but still you got a job to do. And I think that -- I mean our guys have been pretty good with the press, I don't think you have anybody that's bad with the press, are you?

DOUG MILNE: None at all. (Laughing.)

JACK NICKLAUS: Surprise answer. (Laughing.) But I don't think you -- I don't think that's a big issue with golf. I feel badly for her and I hope that she, I hope that she, whatever she need or if she needs help or whatever she needs, I hope she gets it. But it's a, you know, I just don't know enough about it to really comment honestly on it.

Tim Dahlberg filed this AP column on why the situation goes well beyond being a media issue and one that Osaka will continue to face.

Bubba Watson offered this on Twitter: