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The Australian authorities have lost their case against Novak Djokovic in order to allow him to compete in the Australia Open, which begins Monday morning in Melbourne. The moment he takes the court at Rod Laver Arena, he will be the overwhelming favorite to win his 21st major title, finally, at long last, beating both Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal in their epic, historic major title race. He has won nine Australian Open titles.
The start of the tennis season in Australia and New Zealand is usually full of optimism. The Australian Open is nicknamed the "Happy Slam" because of the festive energy on the grounds. In the arena of his greatest dominance, he now faces heightened distrust and hard feelings, nationally and internationally, in addition to his potential deportation. The heavy cost of current events will include the fact that he appeared at several events in December and tested positive for carbon dioxide days earlier, his continued decision to be indirect about his vaccine status, and the fact that he was held by Australian border authorities. Even if the Australian government removes him from the country, the questions of his behavior during the Pandemic remain. The crowning achievement of the moment is that of winning, which could tarnish the reputation of the man before he hits his first ball of the fortnight.
Since being released from immigration detaining, Novak Djokovic has been practicing at Rod Laver Arena.
There are masters of the universe.
On its face, the story is about Novak. The anti-vax multimillionaire athlete who behaves as if his fame, wealth and enormous platform to spread misinformation place him above the rest of us has solidified his membership within the most notorious group. Green Bay Packers quarterback Rodgers and Brooklyn Nets guard Irving are also members of the club, as are Los Angeles Lakers forward James, who has long been held as politically conscientious. Irving has emerged as the most principled of the group because he can't play home games because of New York City's vaccine mandate. He first responded to the outbreak with disdain, repeating his conspiracy theories as if he had knowledge beyond that of health professionals, and dealing with the consequences that accompanied his decision.
Rodgers lied to the public when he said he was "immunized." Rodgers trolled his critics with a copy of "Atlas Shrugged" as a sign that we live in a time of persecuting society's winners, or as the bible of his invaluable individualism. Rodgers is not as clever or interesting as he thinks.
The return of the political athlete will be remembered, but the COVID-19 era has produced a less heroic professional citizen-athletes. Athletes who used their voices to benefit the conditions of others have been replaced by a player who uses vaunted platforms to spread pseudoscience, and who is unburdened by community or responsibility to others.
The voices of the athletes now say that they owe nothing because they create so much: revenue and legacy for the suits, pleasure for the watchers, and security for their families. The value is them. They are what we watch. They carry themselves as though they are exempt from our struggle. While Australians and citizens around the world sacrifice to resume their lifestyles by suffering through the difficult steps of vaccine mandates ostensibly for the long-term greater good, several high-profile athletes have decided the only name that matters is the one on the back of their jerseys.
The Atlases shrugged. Everyone is on their own.
The easy way to focus on only one person is to scrutiny him. He claims to want beyond having the greatest backhand in the world. He is not a first-time offenders when it comes to poor decision-making. The charity exhibition tournament that was held in the summer of 2020 in defiance of medical opinion was a disaster. He traveled to Spain and entered Australia with false documents, breaking the isolation protocols of his own country. He blames human error, but doesn't believe in a pattern of broken trust during a deadly time.
There will be a lot of support for him now that he is receiving the attention. The entire industry of sports, including the leagues and their teams, governing bodies, the players and their unions, and fans, has been one of the least responsible entities during the Pandemic. The game's leadership has enabled the players' behavior, not the other way around, despite the fact that COVID-19 exposed the selfishness that comes with individualism.
The United States must always carry its negligent and deadly initial response to the Pandemic, denigrating mask use as a tool for the weak, and worse, a symbol of fascism, even as the health care system overload and Central Park served as a portable morgue.
Sports have to carry their burden. Two years ago, the industry saw the end of the games, but more importantly, of life moving on. The NBA/WNBA bubbles and the MLB regular season were back in the spring of 2020 and America was hungry for sports because it gave them hope that normalcy could be achieved. Americans were adjusting quickly to life without the games. It wasn't important to hit a ball with a stick when people couldn't find anything.
There is eloquence.
The games responded by assuming their historical position, ready to assist their nation in times of crisis, and then used that position to do whatever it took to survive. During the first year of the Pandemic, the public was told it needed the games, just as the World Series was not canceled during either World War. Athletes were being called essential workers in the culture. While borders were being locked down and citizens were being asked to take on increased safety measures to reduce the spread of the coronaviruses, the business of sports was given a special exemption. Sports was seen as an ally in getting the world back to normal. Borders opened for sports. Tennis players traveled the world. Athletes were the first to have access to the tests.
What did sports do with the special exemption? It did everything it could to not set an example, but to stay in business. The industry refused to fight the global health crisis. Sports adopted the divisive political rhetoric of vaccine efficacy over health, of the personal over the collective, guided by the possibility of a second mass shutdown. The NBA players refused a second bubble. The suggestion of vaccine mandates was rejected by the players' associations. That was not feasible. Irving was desperate to win. Antonio Brown was put back on the roster by the Buccaneers after he was suspended for three games for using a fake vaccine card. The rules that applied to student bodies were not applied to athletes. Several highly prominent players and their counterparts in the celebrity class questioned the value of vaccines immediately. Sports was the only thing that mattered. Atlas shrugged.
It did not become an example but a reflection of the divisions, a reflection of the cynicism, and a symptom of the politics. The issue of public health and the trust that public figures have in the health of others is the point that can never be forgotten. Many of its highest-profile players gave the loudest voice to the anti-vax rhetoric that has stifled recovery. The leaders have acted poorly because of fear of bad news from its accountants and resistance from the athletes. During stadium and relocation battles, the games are often rejected because they don't fit with the public's ideals. Some of the healthiest people in the country are using their positions to undermine public health. The tax breaks on stadiums, the public money for their private enterprise, and the idea that sports serve the public are all part of the sports league's existence. The private business has failed the public during a Pandemic. Politicians, media, celebrities, and other entities don't rely on in-person audiences to perform at peak efficiency while selling their product as vital to the health and fitness of the nation, its performers roles models to the youth. Restaurants in New York City have made more difficult choices than the NBA, NFL, and the rest.
Andy Murray is a three-time tennis major winner. Murray told The New York Times in September that he thinks the reason why all of us are getting vaccinations is to look out for the public. We have a responsibility to look out for everyone else as we travel around the world. I'm happy that I'm protected. I'm hoping that more players will choose to have it.
As an industry, sports pulled a bait-and-switch, deciding collective health was now an individual choice, and the reason Rodgers and others like them receive outsized attention when most players are vaccine free isn't because the world prefers to focus on the negative, but because these players are Sports has failed us, and the failure of its leadership has insulted the people who have shouldered the real-life costs of the Pandemic -- more than 61 million cases in the United States and 840,000 deaths.
The personal responsibility of its members has been relied on by league leadership. Whether it's MLB, tennis or the NHL, leagues have promoted the high percentage of vaccine players, but avoided implementing a mandate, which paved the way for specious exemptions to coexist with legitimate ones. Sports have become more about the individual whereabouts of players trying to skirt flimsy policies than protecting the public.
Tennis could have made a decision about collective action. The Australian and US Opens, Wimbledon, and French Open are the most powerful tournaments in the sport. Each could have made their own choice about whether or not to participate. Naomi Osaka withdrew from the French Open after refusing to agree to post match media sessions. If Osaka did not agree to media interviews in Paris, she wouldn't be allowed to participate in New York, London or Melbourne. The four most important tennis tournaments in the world could immediately agree to make Osaka sit for an interview, but chose to consider vaccinations during a swine flu epidemic that has claimed the lives of millions of people.
There is a papal interference.
The symbol of system-fighter and system-fighter for the wrong reasons is what is currently being displayed by Novak. While Americans John Isner and Venus Williams cheered his victory over the Australian government, Novak Djokovic is not trying to make a point beyond wanting to play tennis on his own terms, not an ally to the improvement of public health, or a contributor to the eradication of a virus that has ruined His sport is not his. The organizers of the French Open immediately capitalized on the situation, releasing a statement saying that Novak would be allowed to play in June.
The appeal can be seen as simple. He is the greatest tennis player of all time. In this era of counting major titles, he will likely surpass the likes of Nadal and Federer and possibly shatter their totals. The perfect player for this era is Novak Djokovic, with his balance, backhand, forehand, and champion's will. In the next 10 years, he won 19 majors after improving his serve. He has dominated the game like no other male player. Margaret Court won 11 because many top world players wouldn't travel to Melbourne because of the distance. One of the greatest players of all time is the man named Novak.
He is a human with temper and occasional loss of control. He is to some a sharp contrast to the regal and gentlemanly manner in which the two men are portrayed. He is an unbecoming ambassador. The 2020 US Open being canceled for hitting a lineswoman with a ball, and his tremendous 2021 season where he was a US Open victory away from winning the calendar grand slam, appeared to heal the wound and bring him closer to the unqualified great champion that he is.
He represents his people in a way that is complex. His presence is populist, a symbol of the condescended to Eastern European who won the election and forced a hostile, Western elite to recognize him. The narrative that tennis audiences love him less than a champion of his stature should be loved has never wavered despite the cheers and the championships. For Serbs and millions of other people around the world, the great Djokovic is their avenger.
Black American fans view Serena and Venus Williams in a similar way to Serbian fans, who view them as the interloper to the elite, white, First World game. They have a champion who can avenge all of their slights, who is great enough to beat them in their own house, and by their own rules. Every humiliation can be exacted by the champ. For a century, tennis has been the game of the white West, created and owned by England, Australia, France and the United States, and the exclusive country clubs and prestigious tournaments that come with it. It has been mostly a First World game in culture and geography, and the twin powerhouses of Nadal and Federer added new flags to the mantel. Spain was an original colonist that had already enjoyed a comfortable place in the history of tennis, both men's and women's.
The national figure of the spurned classes has protected him. While his son was in federal custody, his father said his son was a direct insult to the Serbian people, and law enforcement used pepper spray against the crowd that blocked traffic.
As a symbol of Western aggressions against his people, the Serbian golfer used his position as an outsider to become a reformer. He is the public face and co- founder of the Professional Tennis Players Association, the upstart rival to the long-established ATP, and he speaks of being an advocate for lower-ranked players who can barely eke out a living outside of the top 50. He is not universally trusted as a leader despite being the greatest player in the game.
Even as the anti-vax, anti-mandate crowd will support the mandating player, the latest episode will further weaken that trust. Today's Atlas is simply Novak. There will be another tomorrow. While he, Rodgers and many of sports' most prominent performers shrug along, masters of their universe, the behavior may be theirs, but it should not be forgotten that reckless populism is largely responsible for creating the global disaster from which we cannot emerge.
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