Not content to rest on his 2020 PR nightmare laurels, Novak Djokovic waded back into controversy in London with public support of embattled German Alexander Zverev.
I want to stop writing blogs about Novak Djokovic. Honestly. Or to be more precise, I would like to be compelled to write something complimentary for a change. Hell, I’d even take neutral at this point. Yet here I am, composing an entry that will probably work its way to scathing by the time I’m through venting my spleen. I’m just that disgusted.
As you are no doubt aware, Alexander Zverev finds himself embroiled in a horrifying scandal involving accusations of severe domestic abuse by his one-time partner Olga Sharypova. The details she revealed in the last few weeks are the sort that both break your heart and take your breath away–often simultaneously.
For the record, I am not claiming to know or declare Zverev’s unequivocal guilt. I am supportive of a careful, hopefully legal investigation of these allegations. But what I DO know for certain is that Ms. Sharypova’s claims are credible. There is nothing vague in her account, which is detailed here in Raquet Magazine by Ben Rothenberg. The timeline makes sense and the details (while appalling) are cohesive and with corroborating evidence in the form of photos, text screenshots, and witness accounts of people close to Sharypova.
Further giving credence to her claims is that she seems to have little to gain by revealing these details. She wasn’t married to Zverev and hoping to get a handsome divorce settlement. She is not, apparently, even a jilted lover looking to get revenge, as it was she who ended their relationship. She’s is simply a woman with an ugly, frightening story to tell. And she’s telling it.
Daniil Medvedev was mostly circumspect when asked about his position on the allegations against Zverev.
The Russian said in a recent presser, “What I can say for sure is I’m against abuse in any means. Of course especially how it’s called domestic abuse. After it’s more question to, yeah, as you say, ATP. Sascha, of course, because, well, that’s story about him and his ex-girlfriend. I can only say, yeah, that I’m against abuse, but I don’t know the details.”
It’s the kind of anemic answer I would expect most ATP players to give. And really, it’s hard to expect anything else. “I’ll wait to hear the results of the investigation” is about as committed as colleagues are going to get, especially in light of the the ghost of Amber Heard haunting domestic abuse claims.
But Djokovic went all in, his answer to the same question ANYTHING but non-committal.
“I have known Sascha for a very long time since he was very young. I always had a great relationship with him. Very nice guy. I have a lot of respect for him, his family. I’m same age and generation as his older brother Mischa, so I was sad to hear and to know he’s going through something like this.”
And if it were not enough to call Sascha a “very nice guy” and offer his commiserations for everything Zverev is going through, he tweeted the following:
Stay strong, Sascha. Right. Sure. A young woman makes credible allegations of serious domestic abuse against a top 10 ATP player, and our world No. 1 and former ATP player council president thinks the encouragement to “stay strong” to the accused is the appropriate response on his public social media account. Did I mention that I’m disgusted?
Look. I realize that Djokovic and Zverev are friends. I am not foolish enough to expect Nole to abandon a life-long relationship by going the full-on #believeOlga route and nor should anyone else. But I have a few basic expectations when it comes to the public treatment of a possible victim (I use the word possible, not because I doubt Ms. Sharypova, but because no formal investigative findings have been released), and they do not involve expressing literal sympathy to an alleged abuser for everything he’s “going through.”
Djokovic himself said, “We don’t know what happened truly. I mean, we are going to find out obviously” in his most recent London finals presser.
“We don’t know” means more than just ‘maybe Olga is making it all up.’ It means she might be making NONE of it up. Her account might be completely accurate. And that potential makes Djokovic’s statements not just contemptible, but downright cruel. Shame on him.
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