As a tennis enthusiast and an ardent supporter of Novak Djokovic, I watched, along with hundreds of millions of others worldwide, as the Australian visa saga unfolded, and naturally, I was deeply disappointed by the decision to deport him and prevent him from trying to win the coveted 21st Grand Slam title.
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The arbitrary, dogmatic, and ridiculous conduct of the Australian government in this matter raises quite a few questions.
First, why was Djokovic's visa revoked only after he arrived in the country when he had presented the required medical exemption based on the opinion of two independent expert panels, having recently recovered from the coronavirus? Moreover, if he indeed did not have the necessary documents, how did Australian border authorities at the airport even allow him to board the flight?
Other tennis players in similar circumstances were not denied a visa. Was there selective enforcement at play?
It stands to reason that the local government decided to take action against Djokovic upon learning of his arrival, in the face of the Australian public's growing resentment over its problematic COVID policy. This cynical, populist act was most likely also aimed at marking political gains ahead of the upcoming general election.
Australian Immigration Minister Alex Hawke's argument that Djokovic was "a threat to public health" does not coincide with the data, which suggests that the chances of an individual who has recovered from the coronavirus getting infected again and infecting others are significantly lower. Presumably, this was the rationale upon which Djokovic was granted a medical exemption to play in the Australian Open in the first place.
It is also hard to understand the specific concern that he posed a threat, especially when considering that the vaccines are inherently less effective against the Omicron variant (Australia has recently recorded 100,000 cases in 24 hours), and even more so when considering that Djokovic was supposed to spend most of his time in quarantine-like conditions.
What is even more interesting is that former Australian Deputy Immigration Minister Abul Rizvi said that during his 10-year tenure, there was only a single case(!) of a visa revoked upon entry over health issues, where the individual involved was infected with tuberculosis.
The pretext of allegedly encouraging the anti-vaccination movement is also baseless, as Djokovic has never publicly called on anyone not to be vaccinated.
It is convenient to make Novak a scapegoat for his part in the affair, due to his controversial conduct with respect to the coronavirus and various incidents in which he was involved on and off the tennis court (because even the greatest tennis player in the world is only human). However, he deserves full credit – not the disrespect shown by most of his peers on the tour – for his principled adherence to natural healing, proper nutrition, mental health, etc., which he has applied only to himself; and which only detracted from his phenomenal achievements on the tennis court over the years.
Djokovic's principled positions will only enhance his tremendous legacy, especially in light of his philanthropic endeavors with respect to his consistent support of young tennis players, improving conditions in the industry, and his generous contributions to charity.
Beyond the irrational conduct of the Australian government, it was disappointing to see the hostile attitude the majority of the local population showed Djokovic. Instead of embracing him and awarding him the Order of Australia medal for his unique contribution over the years to enhancing the country's image worldwide, he was treated as an enemy of the people.
I am confident that Djokovic will still have his chance to cement his status as the greatest tennis player of all time, in order to fulfill the goal for which he was sucked "Down Under" this month.
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