Jason Whitlock unloads on US Open star for ‘cross-dressing as a black man’: ‘We call it progress’

Athletes pay tribute to their heroes all the time, but BlazeTV host Jason Whitlock doesn’t believe Naomi Osaka’s Allen Iverson-inspired appearance at the U.S. Open was authentic.

“She walked into Arthur Ashe Stadium on Monday night in cornrows, a headband, a shooting sleeve, and an elbow pad. She beat some foreign player in two tie breaks, and the press sold it as an homage,” Whitlock says.

“The night before, she wore Iverson’s face on a shirt and called him a trailblazer,” he adds. Osaka spoke in a press conference following the match.

“Obviously the inspiration is Allen Iverson. I think, you know, for me, he’s a trailblazer. He’s someone that was able to merge culture and sport. And he’s very famous for that. And also I just really appreciate his style,” Osaka said.

“That’s kind of like what I tried to embody, and obviously, I had a lot of fun with that design process and just coming up with the creative for it. So overall it was cool. I think it fit New York really well, and I’m just excited to continue,” she added.

Iverson wrote in a post on Instagram in response, “Wow, what a[n] honor!! BIG FAN can’t wait to meet you.”

“Iverson had never even spoken to her,” Whitlock comments.

“The costume needed a co-signer.”

Whitlock points out that Osaka was “born in Japan to a Haitian father and a Japanese mother.”

“Alan Iverson is not and has never been her role model. This is a mixed-race superstar using the U.S. Open to buy good credibility she did not grow up in,” he says.

“A 28-year-old woman cosplaying as a black man on the biggest tennis stage in the country. And we pretend the crossdressing is inspiration,” he continues.

“We call it progress and tell young girls and boys this is fashion. This is courage. This is who they should admire,” he adds.

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