Tom Brady says he has "compassion and empathy" for tennis star Naomi Osaka after she recently withdrew from two grand slam events, citing anxiety induced by having to interact with journalists.
Osaka made headlines in recent weeks when she dropped out of the French Open before her second-round match after tournament officials fined her for refusing to speak to reporters. She later announced she would skip Wimbledon as well, instead opting to spend time with family and friends. She has also said she suffered from bouts of depression.
Brady, appearing on a new episode of HBO's The Shop, was asked about the Osaka situation during a wide-ranging conversation with host Maverick Carter and several guests, including Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors and comedian Chelsea Handler.
Brady said he hopes Osaka can "deal with that."
“Now as someone that’s twice her age, you have compassion and empathy for that," he said. "You hope that she can deal with that because you wouldn’t want that to take away from her true joy of playing tennis."
Asked if he feels like he "has the freedom" to say whatever he wants, Brady said no, explaining that he sees himself as an "employee."
"I think you're in an enterprise, and I'm an employee of that enterprise," Brady said. "You know, I'm not my own entrepreneur where I can make my own individual choices, and I think I'll get there at some point, where I can. .. But you're still in this structured system, so you've got to play by -- I have to play by their rules. So, you know, there's definitely times when you don't want to play by the rules."
Elsewhere, Brady -- liberally and inexplicably peppering his morsels with f-bombs -- reveals how he uses flattery to lull his opponents into complacency, and how a 10-year Super Bowl drought helped him put the difficulty of winning in its proper perspective.
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