Novak Djokovic has confirmed that he is going to Melbourne for a shot at his 21st Grand Slam title, but — much to the chagrin of the lockdown-battered citizens of Melbourne — he is using the backdoor entrance.
The residents of Melbourne are exhausted. They have endured the most stringent, lengthiest series of COVID lockdowns of any city in the entire world. No weddings, no funerals. No in-restaurant dining, or school for children for 6 rounds of “don’t leave your house”.
And now, with cases on the rise, Novak Djokovic has just announced with delight that he is on his way to Melbourne — with a medical exemption to bypass the vaccine requirement necessary to enter Australia.
Yep. The same Novak Djokovic who has repeatedly touted “freedom of choice” in regards to the vaccine for most of the pandemic. The same one who rather famously held a series of charity tennis matches across the Balkan peninsula during the first wave of the pandemic that ultimately became a super-spreader event.
Is it a legitimate claim? I have no idea. Djokovic himself is not forthcoming with the details of his vaccination/health status. And as Australian Open chief Craig Tiley has pointed out, the exemption that Djokovic received can be applied for by anyone wishing to enter the state of Victoria. Clearly whatever doctor-certified condition he has qualifies him for it.
The fact that it was bestowed on the top tennis player in the world ahead of his most successful major, who also happens to have taken a fairly vocal stance against vaccine mandates for ATP players, may just be coincidence. It’s not possible to debate the merit of the exemption, since we know hardly any details about it.
But this much I DO know: the decision is such a blatant act of disrespect to the citizens of Melbourne, it would not surprise me if there were literal demonstrations outside the venue in response. It’s as though the panel is saying “Sorry, Tilda. We know you want to attend your grandmother’s funeral, but you have to think about the greater good. What if you spread COVID while you’re there? How selfish ARE you? What’s that? You want to know why the hell we’re letting a TENNIS PLAYER with no proof of vaccination into the state to play a bloody game? That’s important business, young lady. And none of your concern.”
They’re going to boo him. They’re going to heckle him. They may, in fact, shun him in ways we can only imagine. None of this will be a surprise and every last bit of it will have been earned. Every cheer on a double-fault, every angry sign, every last cat-call. Because he isn’t going to Australia to perform a vital duty; he isn’t twisting himself into a pretzel to get into the country because that’s where he lives and he’s been trying to get home for the past two years. He is a dude who hits a ball for a living.
It doesn’t matter how valid his medical exemption is. It could be the most valid reason in the entire world. What matters is that it is completely unnecessary. He does NOT need to be there. He doesn’t. He doesn’t have to work to pay his rent or put food on the table. He isn’t an essential worker; he isn’t saving lives.
What matters is that the city’s residents have been bludgeoned with restrictions under the Greater Good banner. They were ARRESTED for leaving their homes at one point. All for the greater good.
And now this? Pardon me, but what about the greater good? It’s bullshit. I’m incensed.
Going off topic here, unbelivable how Moutet lost this …Ill never back him again
https://uk.sports.yahoo.com/news/foul-mouthed-corentin-moutet-disqualified-104900930.html
So…spend 12 hours on a plane. Spend 8 in the airport including 3 in a cell. Get told to leave tomorrow…
Tiley should resign.
From what i read the exemption might not be the reason ,its his visa.
His visa?!!!!! How could that be? It’s not his first time participating in this tourney!!! How could he even bungle that?!!
Apparently the visa wasnt correct this time for someone with an exemption. So there was a connection it would be too big a coincidence otherwise.
But to be fair there were others with exemptions who were allowed in and no one questioned their integrity or asked them to disclose the reason for exemption .
Exemptions to play tennis?!
In any event, anyone who is not willing to take the vaccine, save for medical reasons, should not be allowed to participate in the tournament, FULL STOP!! If that’s the rule no one should be allowed to circumvent it!! All these exemptions just only complicate things and human beings r good at creating complications but suck at remedying them!! Novak should not be allowed to participate given his stance and it should have been made very clear from the get go!!! But truth be told, I won’t miss him!!
Any country/tournament that requires vaccine for tournament participation, should not be allowed to continue hosting that tournament, FULL STOP!!
Um, do we know that they didn’t disclose the reasons for their exemptions? There’s speculation that Djokovic’s exemption was based on his having tested positive for covid within the last 6 months – you can’t get vaccinated within 6 months of having covid, apparently. Anyhoo, apparently there was some doubt about his “exemption” (gee, why would that be? could there possibly be doubt about the word of Serbian doctors?). His visa problem was that the team member who did the paperwork requested the wrong visa, since the one Djoker has requires a vaccination, not an exemption. Red tape. Or the bureaucracy screwing around. The Djokovic “exemption” did not sit well with the Aussie public and elected officials aren’t happy about that. Pick your poison.
Anyway, Djoker has hired an Aussie lawyer to appeal his case. In case you’re worried I read that he’ll be allowed to isolate in a hotel, not his holding room pending a decision. And yes, he’ll have his cell phone to entertain himself.
Who are these “others?”
Y on earth did Novak allow himself to get into this pickle? He should have gotten confirmation about entry long before getting on plane!! I mean this really should have NEVER happened . Already he has attracted so much controversy with this Covid/vaccination, him and his team should have ensured the all clear before packing his bags! This is really a sad state of affairs and completely unavoidable. His legacy is really taking a bashing as this is his second slam where he has been banned from playing, all self inflicted causes. Sigh! So what does this decision mean for the rest of the grand slams this year as far Novak is concerned? He is now not eligible to play at the rest of the slams?!
I believe France has said athletes must be vaccinated to compete in French events. No such mandates have been made in the US and the UK, but both countries do officially require vaccination for entrance by foreign nationals. Last year there was an exemption for athletes in the US but that exemption has since been revoked. There are also very limited medical exemptions and it’s possible to fly in unvaccinated on a diplomatic visa, but it seems iffy if he’d be able to attend the US Open without some political jockeying. (Plus it’s nearly impossible to do anything in NYC without vaccination proof although he can just stay in a rental) It would be far easier to take a vaccine that hundreds of millions of people, including top athletes in every sport, have taken without incident.