There’s love in tennis, but not for the game’s number one player, Novak Djokovic — at least not in Australia right now. The 34-year-old 20-time major tournament winner had been granted a “vaccine” exemption to play in the Australian Open this month and had already arrived in Victoria to prepare. But his exemption was pulled after a public outcry and, the official explanation holds, because an issue was found with his visa. So instead of practicing, the Serbian-born star found himself in isolation, guarded by police.
As CBS News reports:
Novak Djokovic’s Australian visa was canceled Wednesday after he “failed to provide appropriate evidence to meet the entry requirements to Australia,” the country’s border force announced. The tennis star had been stuck in an Australian airport as officials tried to work through issues related to his COVID-19 vaccine exemption for the upcoming Australian Open, Reuters reported.
“Non-citizens who do not hold a valid visa on entry or who have had their visa cancelled will be detained and removed from Australia,” the border force said.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison also spoke about the decision, tweeting that “Rules are rules, especially when it comes to our borders.”
“No one is above these rules,” he wrote. “Our strong border policies have been critical to Australia having one of the lowest death rates in the world from COVID, we are continuing to be vigilant.”
On Tuesday, Djokovic announced that he had been granted a medical exemption for the Open — a decision that quickly sparked backlash in Australia. Djokovic has not publicly disclosed whether he has been vaccinated.
Tournament officials said in a statement that he was granted the medical exemption after a “rigorous review process” that included two separate independent panels of experts, which are made up of doctors from immunology, infectious disease and general practice.
It has been theorized that Djokovic’s exemption was based on his having had COVID-19 within the last six months.
“Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison initially said the medical exemption decision was a matter for the government of Victoria, where Melbourne is the state capital,” reports Newsweek.
“‘They have provided [Djokovic] with an exemption to come to Australia, and so we then act in accordance with that,’ Morrison said,” the site continued. “States provide exemptions for people to enter on those basis, and that’s been happening for the last two years.”
But the government’s tune changed, it appeared, after an outcry by Branch COVIDians great and small. For example, Stephen Parnis, an ex-vice president of the Australian Medical Association, tweeted:
The deputy Victorian Liberal leader, legislator David Southwick, joined the phalanx:
Of course, some may ask regarding this six-lockdown lament, whose fault is it? Leaders such as Southwick, who perhaps don’t know (or don’t care) that lockdowns apparently lead to a net loss of life, are responsible.
So then that “problem” with Djokovic’s visa was found, and he was isolated. “‘Novak is currently in a room which no one can enter,’ Djokovic’s father, Srdjan Djokovic, told the B92 internet portal,” Newsweek also related yesterday. “‘In front of the room are two policemen.’” As for now, the tennis player is under quarantine in a hotel while his lawyers plead his case with the Australian authorities.
It logically follows that Djokovic would reveal his mRNA-therapy-agent (MTA, a.k.a. vaccines) status if he’d taken the experimental inoculation. It’s also true that he shouldn’t be treated differently than anyone else. But that’s the issue:
Would the powerful and connected — upper-echelon politicians, for example — really have to take the MTAs if they didn’t want to? We’ve seen figures such as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Governor Gavin Newsom (D-Calif.) flout the very SARS-CoV-2 regulations they espouse, after all. Would obtaining fake MTA documents be all that difficult for them?
Of course, the notion that Djokovic is a danger to anyone — save those standing too close to the other side of the net — is laughable. For if the MTAs actually work, why should the “vaccinated” worry about the “unvaccinated”?
And if they don’t work, why should anyone worry about the “unvaccinated” more than the “vaccinated”?
As for Djokovic, any skepticism he may have about the MTAs is well warranted, as a “British study reports that myocarditis in men under 40 years old after a China Virus jab is worse than previously thought,” The New American related just yesterday. “The risk for serious complications increases after each inoculation.”
“The findings comport with viral videos of young athletes clutching their chests and dropping to the ground,” TNA later wrote.
“Some 183 young athletes, including teenagers in seemingly perfect health, have died or collapsed after receiving one or more jabs.”
Djokovic surely doesn’t want to join this list merely for a chance to continue his Australian Open winning streak; he has won the tournament nine times, including the last three years running.
As for Australia, it’s on a common-sense and liberty losing streak, becoming infamous in recent times for tyrannical China virus restrictions. And it’s ironic that a nation founded as a penal colony now treats healthy young people as if they belong in a leper colony.
If there is any good news for Djokovic, it’s that the Australian Open has always been sort of a “minor” major, the least prestigious of tennis’ four Grand Slam championships. And this year it may be just a bit more minor if it chooses COVID Ritual over the world’s best player.
