Novak Djokovic is reported this afternoon to have been transferred to Melbourne’s Park Hotel, which is a long way short of the luxury he is used to, as he awaits a ruling on his appeal against being refused entry to Australia.

In 2021 he was forced to quarantine, like all players, in advance of winning the first Grand Slam of the year. At that time there was no Covid Vaccine but in the intervening twelve months has become something of a poster boy for those who question whether the vaccine should be administered at all.

Back in 2020 when vaccination was still in development Djokovic said “Personally I am opposed to vaccination and I wouldn’t want to be forced by someone to take a vaccine in order to be able to travel.”

“But if it becomes compulsory, what will happen? I will have to make a decision.”

“I have my own thoughts about the matter and whether those thoughts will change at some point, I don’t know.”

He subsequently went on to be one of four players among a number of others who tested positive for Covid after a series of tournaments he was behind in the summer.

He has never said whether he subsequently was vaccinated but travelled to Australia claiming he had a medical exemption that would allow him to enter the country and play in the tournament.

It is not apparent whether this was cleared by anyone involved in the tournament but the State of Victoria has kicked it back to the Federal level and shortly after he was prevented from entering the country he mounted a legal challenge that will not be resolved until Monday.

Public sentiment is running high in the country and Djokovic’s stance has left most observers on one side or the other with very few sitting in any sort of middle ground.

Sporting role models have an inordinate level of influence and Djokovic’s stance has attracted support from strong libertarian and anti-vaccination groups.

Public health debates should be based on more than the contrarian views of one individual with no scientific training or background but that’s the world we live in.

For now, he sits in a hotel that has been the subject of lurid headlines over conditions and food in the past year. As a man who grew up in a country at the time of civil war he will doubtless have been close to much worse, but not for quite a while.

Sport for Business Perspective

The democratic will of the western worls at present is that vaccination is a good thing, that it saves lives and allows for a quicker return to a more open society. It is a view that is backed by scientific evidence and political will.
Going up against that requires either a strong nerve or a complete lack of empathy with the general public. Maybe he has both.

 

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