Chapter 1401 Drawing the Line
"...I love the fans."
Gao Wen, with a smile on his face, maintained his arc, made a heart gesture towards the front, and then continued to maintain the posture without saying anything else.
One second, two seconds, three seconds...
Reporter: That's it? What kind of irrelevant answer is this? Reporters were still waiting for Gao Wen's follow-up, but in the end, he just said a short sentence. Is this really okay?
But it was obvious that Gao Wen did it on purpose, deliberately making his smile slightly stiff and the atmosphere slowly awkward, but the sparks of tension quietly dissipated without anyone noticing, and a sense of absurdity arose spontaneously, so that the reporters on the scene were somewhat confused and a little irritated. What was next? Seeing that the air in the press conference room was about to freeze, another reporter raised his hand to continue asking questions, showing an attitude of not giving up until he achieved his goal.
Then, Gawain continued to speak, accurately grasping the opportunity, using the interruption skill, and regaining the initiative.
"Believe me, I really do. I really like fans. I have always believed that spectators are an indispensable part of competitive sports. Any sport needs players and spectators. Games without spectators and sports without fans will be eclipsed."
“From football to basketball to rugby and finally to tennis, every great sport has a great audience.”
"So, I am willing to share time and interact with the fans, not only on the court, but also off the court. Those moments are precious."
It's not a courtesy or a compliment, it's all sincere.
"but."
"I think we've lost the focus of this discussion and this whole thing is not about the fans or the players, it's about boundaries."
"Just like a game needs rules and regulations, the playing field also needs boundaries to define and ensure the progress of the game."
"A competition venue is a competition venue. There are certain orders that need to be maintained, certain rules that need to be upheld, and certain boundaries that need to be defined. It's as simple as that."
"Observing these boundaries is to ensure the smooth progress of the game, to maintain order on the field, and to maintain the safety of everyone - the safety of the players, the safety of the referee and the linesman, and the safety of the spectators themselves. The existence of these boundaries is meaningful."
“So, am I willing to sign autographs and take pictures with fans?”
"Of course! No problem! In fact, it's my honor. Even when I lose the game, it's okay. I believe it's my luck."
“But definitely not on the field, we need to abide by those boundaries.”
"And I believe it is the tournament committee's job to maintain those boundaries."
"It's true that this is not the end of the world, it's just a child, God, he's just a child! But in my opinion, the whole thing has never been about the fans or the players, but about how the tournament organizing committee maintains order and rules and how to stick to the boundaries."
"This is my first time at Roland Garros and I like it here, not only because I am in the quarterfinals, but also because the audience was very gentle today."
"I have left wonderful memories here, but I think I am not important, at least not that important, because the glory and reputation of Roland Garros are not written and maintained by me. The ones who should pay the most attention to the whole incident and the security loopholes are the tournament organizing committee."
His speech was eloquent, clear and well-reasoned, and more importantly, he was sarcastic and mocking, but at the same time, he stood firm and was neither humble nor arrogant.
It's really amazing——
People have always known that Gao Wen has a unique charm in dealing with the media. He handles it effortlessly and easily, and can often bring unexpected surprises.
But before this, people always treated Gawain as a "child", not only because of his age, but also because of his resume and status, and never asked him those serious topics; today should be the first time that people tried to dig out Gawain's views and opinions outside of the game and let him speak out as an opinion leader.
The result was far beyond expectations! Reporters expected Gawain to stand on Federer's side and protect the interests of the players, but they did not expect Gawain to be so straightforward and bold, presenting facts and reasoning without giving Ethern any face, and refuted the tournament director's sophistry to the point of being embarrassed.
Awesome, really awesome——
How could they forget that this rising star before their eyes was once a top student in the journalism department and was said to have excellent academic performance.
Everyone's eyes were focused on Gao Wen.
Gawain did not evade or flinch, but faced all the gazes with ease and confidence, and expressed with an unwavering attitude that he was willing to be responsible for his words and his opinions. Even when confronted head-on by the tournament director Isern, he did not waver or show any fear.
There was a very brief moment of silence in the press conference room. The media on the scene seemed to see a calm and dignified leadership temperament in Gao Wen, which emanated from the inside out. No wonder Gao Wen was always able to bring the team together in the NCAA and later in the Davis Cup.
In addition to being shocked and amazed, the reporters became excited one by one:
Gawain's positive response should be able to spark heated discussions, and Isern will probably have to face pursuit and blockade again. There are both explosive points and gimmicks.
But the amazing thing is that the reporters felt that the whole incident was nothing special and there was nothing to be surprised about. Gao Wen's point of view was clear and correct. Moreover, the reporters should be more interested in Gao Wen. It seems that the future of professional tennis should be more lively.
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The satisfied reporters finally stopped making trouble and asked a few polite questions symbolically, and the press conference was declared over.
later?
Things exploded again and escalated.
Gao Wen's remarks became fodder again, appearing in other press conferences in the form of quotations from reporters asking other players for their opinions.
Nadal and Murray both expressed their agreement, affirming Gawain's point of view in different ways; Djokovic considerately eased the attack on Isern. Although he also agreed with Gawain's point of view, he still defended Isern a few words, trying to ease the atmosphere and prevent things from becoming more intense.
Not only the giants, but other players were also asked for their opinions. Even players who have been eliminated expressed their opinions on social networks.
Later, Isern finally accepted another interview to clarify his remarks. He believed that his words were misunderstood and he had no intention of avoiding the question. He repeatedly stated that he would reorganize security work to ensure the smooth holding of the subsequent French Open schedule and put an end to the incident.
Anyone with a discerning eye could see that Isern's attitude seemed a bit perfunctory, because his simple and rough way of handling the matter once again caused controversy -
After banning the little boy fan from entering Roland Garros, he directly fired Federer's security team for that match.
It is obvious at first glance that Isern just pulled a group of scapegoats to take the blame and fired those security personnel to quell the controversy, but he had no intention of reflecting on reform. It was probably just sending a signal, "Okay, okay, I admitted my mistake, you can shut up, and let's forget about it."
So, is it really over?
(End of this chapter)