Next week, the Western & Southern Open tennis tournament begins in New York. The W&S Open usually takes place in Mason, Ohio, but with the pandemic, the US Tennis Association worked out a scheme to get players in New York for a three-week period for the W&S Open and then the US Open immediately following that. Most players are already in New York, being tested daily for the coronavirus, and being contained in an NBA-esque “bubble” between the USTA-approved hotel and the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center (where no fans are allowed this year). The USTA also gave a few exemptions to various players who wanted to rent their own private accommodations, although those players have to pay for their own security and they still have to adhere to Bubble Life.
Novak Djokovic is one of the players who rented a separate place, but he tells the New York Times that he’s happy with the Bubble Life accommodations made by the USTA. Djokovic was last in the news several months back, when he organized the ill-fated Adria Tour, a European exhibition tour with zero social distancing and little testing. And full crowds in multiple cities, and shirtless club dancing. Many of those guys ended up testing positive for the virus, including Novak. He spoke about all of that with the Times, as well as his statements this past spring which seemed to indicate that he’s an anti-Vaxxer. And just FYI: he’s still the #1 men’s player in the world, and his words have so much weight in the sport and across the world.
On his rented NYC home: “With the trees and serenity, being in this kind of environment is a blessing. And I’m grateful, because I’ve seen the hotel where the majority of players are staying. I don’t want to sound arrogant or anything like that, and I know the U.S.T.A. did their best in order to provide accommodation and organize everything and organize these bubbles so the players can actually compete and come here, but it’s tough for most of the players, not being able to open their window and being in a hotel in a small room.”
On the Adria Tour: “We tried to do something with the right intentions. Yes, there were some steps that could have been done differently, of course, but am I going to be then forever blamed for doing a mistake? I mean, OK, if this is the way, fine, I’ll accept it, because that’s the only thing I can do. Whether it’s fair or not, you tell me, but I know that the intentions were right and correct, and if I had the chance to do the Adria Tour again, I would do it again.”
What the coronavirus felt like for him: Djokovic said his coronavirus symptoms were mild, lasting four to five days. He said he had no fever but did have fatigue and some loss of smell and taste and sensed some loss of stamina when he initially returned to practice. But with concern mounting about the long-term health effects of the virus, Djokovic, who favors a plant-based diet and natural healing when possible, said he was closely monitoring himself and looking into long-term effects. “I’ve done a CT scan of my chest, and OK, everything is clear. I’ve done several tests since my negative test for the coronavirus as well before coming to New York,” he said. “I’ve done my blood tests, my urine tests, my stool tests, everything that I possibly can. I’m obviously doing that prevention anyway but of course now more than ever because we don’t really know what we’re dealing with.”
On vaccines: “I see that the international media has taken that out of context a little bit, saying that I am completely against vaccines of any kind. My issue here with vaccines is if someone is forcing me to put something in my body. That I don’t want. For me that’s unacceptable. I am not against vaccination of any kind, because who am I to speak about vaccines when there are people that have been in the field of medicine and saving lives around the world? I’m sure that there are vaccines that have little side effects that have helped people and helped stop the spread of some infections around the world.”
A potential coronavirus vaccine. “How are we expecting that to solve our problem when this coronavirus is mutating regularly from what I understand?”
On the shirtless nightclub dancing during the Adria Tour: “I agree things could have been done differently with the nightclub. The sponsors organized. They invited players. We felt comfortable. We had a successful event. Everybody was really happy and joyful…. We’ve done everything they asked us to do, and we followed the rules from the Day 1… [but] when someone from Australia or America looks at what was happening in Serbia, they’re like, ‘Oh my God, I mean are you crazy? What are these people doing?’ So I really understand.”
A witch hunt? “I don’t think I’ve done anything bad to be honest. I do feel sorry for people that were infected. Do I feel guilty for anybody that was infected from that point onward in Serbia, Croatia and the region? Of course not. It’s like a witch hunt, to be honest. How can you blame one individual for everything?”
Whew, this is A LOT. It’s not a witch hunt, and there were people in real time questioning the wisdom of the Adria Tour’s conditions WITHIN EUROPE. Every single person who saw those shirtless nightclub videos were horrified, and he’s acting like it was just a handful of nitpickers who just personally hate HIM. No, Novak. As for what he says about vaccines… it’s still an anti-Vaxx mess, honestly. He’s still talking about vaccines like they’re a personal choice and not a vital, no-brainer public health issue. And he also seemed to indicate that he was looking forward to being outside of the USTA Bubble… ten bucks says the USTA kicks him out of New York before the US Open even starts.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.
That’s not how vaccines work.
Unfortunately, that’s what many believe.
I don’t have an issue with him not wanting to get the vaccine, I strongly object to him being allowed to roam freely putting others at risk. Just because he chose ignorance and is anti- science does not give him the right to potentially murder even for the “ right intentions”
Unfortunately, that’s how vaccines work for a lot of the wealthy and privileged. I live in a community with a large share of very wealthy people. When you look at the statistics of the schools and who gets vaccinated vs who doesn’t, it’s the children of the very wealthy who were not being vaccinated. They rely on herd immunity and enough poor/middle class children being vaccinated so they don’t have to be. This dude is rich and privileged enough to be able to decide “what to put in his body”, yet doesn’t see that privilege as it smacks him in the face. From a science perspective it’s completely bogus, but in reality, just enough people in his (and my) community vaccinate so we avoid measles, polio, etc.
Entitled idiot.
Every word he says makes him sound like the entitled pr!ck that he probably is, based on many people’s encounters with him. It’s crazy how men like this, no matter where they’re from or what their background may be all end up sounding like they speak from the same script:
Defensive, whiny, false sense of martyrdom (I guess if everyone blames me I’ll just have to take the blame even though I’m not to blame but fine, as long as you know I’m not to blame for the thing I did because it was totally fine and I’d do it again).
It’s 2020, I’m 43, and I’m so tired of men like this.
This. Why does every single man with any kind of platform, even just a Twitter account, have to be showing us who he is when he is garbage? They get defensive over even the smallest amount of criticism. My husband was the same, but he’s gotten a lot better after nearly a year of counseling. Honestly, the amount of privilege the average man carries with him is repulsive.
I don’t understand why the media keeps asking this ham to give his humble opinion about health during pandemics. It’s clear that this man only cares about Him, himself and he and that’s about it. He’s the Justin Timberlake of tennis 😆
He always makes me feel like the word wanker was made for him.
And this is why people don’t like him: entitled, arrogant, self-involved, ungrateful jackass.
This is absolute BS. Entitled BS. The anti-science movement is alive and kicking and gets to the super rich and powerful who then start dis-educating people.
This is actually really serious because it undermines real issues in capitalism that do need to be fought against such as over-consumption, waste and unsustainability.
These morons are wasting our time. And spreading disease.
*I’m sure that there are vaccines that have little side effects that have helped people and helped stop the spread of some infections around the world.”*
Ya think????
Try all of them you idiot!
Also don’t think it’s fair he should be allowed to opt out of the bubble.
Why should there be different rules for him?
Look at hockey- they all ‘bubbled up’ in the same hotels. Some players opted out for personal reasons and they’re not taking part in the playoffs- end of.
People need to stop taking medical advice from idiots like this.
Looking forward to polio’s big return to the US. You can bet your azz they’ll line up for that vaccine. They should go LAST.
He is so arrogant and entitled. I can’t even …
He is not only the #1 Men’s player in the world, but the President of the Player’s Council. His words have so much weight and he is just spouting pseudo-science nonsense and acting selfishly.
It will be a true test of the USTA’s guidelines – will they actually drop Novak if he breaks the rules? I hope so.
Once an ignorant asshole, always an ignorant asshole. I hope Federer keeps wiping the floor with his dream of becoming the best ever.
I understand the answer to this question is ‘no one tells a man who’s rich, famous, and one of the very best players in the world “no”‘ but in the interests of safety for all players and tournament employees how the hell did this guy get an exemption from the hotel bubble? He proved he doesn’t take this virus seriously and is willing to endanger the lives of others for his own convenience. He’s one they should be keeping the closest eye on. What a prick.
It’s uncharitable of me but I’m hoping he steps on a rusty nail….
That was a lot of nonsense. It does seem like he’s trying to backpedal a bit after all the bad publicity, but we all know who he really is. And that is a very ill-informed, selfish idiot, who truly should not speak publicly about stuff he doesn’t understand, and who should actually listen to experts and not put people at risk.
Also, someone should attempt to explain to him how vaccines and public health actual work.
“Whether it’s fair or not, you tell me, but I know that the intentions were right and correct, and if I had the chance to do the Adria Tour again, I would do it again.”
What. I don’t care how good his tennis is. He risked the health of a lot of people, and has clearly learned nothing. He should be temporarily suspended from competitive events.
As mentioned above being anti vaccine equals being privileged to live somewhere that doesn’t have a huge risk of breakouts (such as a first world country) and having mostly everyone around you get vaccinated so you don’t have to. I’m pretty crunchy myself, I will try alternatives remedies, had a home birth, I’m suspicious of big pharma for many things and while I’m know people do have negative reactions to vaccines and we should continue to improve and study them I just can’t wrap my head around anti vaxxers. We have made so much progress in this area as humans and have prevented so much needless death and suffering. I understand vaccines are not appropriate for every single human but if you’re healthy and have a healthy child there is no logical reason to avoid vaccines.
Oh poor babies, they are staying in small rooms? As opposed to other tournaments where they are given entire floors to themselves and their teams. Really Novak, this is not a time to complain about anything, be grateful that you are even allowed to play.
From what I’ve seen on Instagram, most players seem to be having fun.
Shut up, Novak.
I need more Andy Murray.
A friend of mine recently told me she’s not going to get vaccinated, nor her children, as she doesn’t trust Oxford’s (the one we’re getting) vaccine as vaccines normally take 5 years of tests and results before being marketed, and IT’S HER BODY. I ironically pointed out that 1) the vaccine will be mandatory (good luck leaving the country, entering another country, enrolling kids at school, etc) without it, and 2) it’s funny how suddenly she’s all for people’s personal agency over their bodies when she’s anti-abortion even in cases of rape and doesn’t believe a woman has the right to choose what is done to her body. I suppose public health is not as important as her feeling on vaccines and her (lack of) knowledge of them.
I’m probably going to get attacked for this viewpoint, but why can’t there be a nuanced conversation on vaccines? I 100% agree that it’s a public health issue and I agree that as many people as possible should get vaccinated for many things. At the same time, there is no medical intervention that is safe and right for everyone. The constant shutting down of the dialogue around vaccines and their pros and cons whenever anyone wants to discuss the complexity of them creates such a hostile environment and certainly doesn’t help persuade the vaccine hesitant or anti-vax from learning more.
I spoke with my doctor about COVID-19 and vaccines recently. As she put it, there are many good reasons to be first in line to get it if your circumstances require it, and there are also many good reasons to wait if you have different circumstances. I understand that there should be consequences (re: freedom or restriction of movement, etc.) for either choice. What I don’t understand is what the harm is in discussing this with nuance? Not all vaccines are the same, not all people’s circumstances are the same, not all personal health and public health situations are the same.
Some people have legitimate medical reasons for not taking a vaccine. In my experience people who support vaccines are respectful of that. If anything they support vaccines even more because they know it will protect those who genuinely can’t be vaccinated (babies, immuno-suppressed people etc). Unfortunately, the most strident anti-vaxxers tend to have ‘philosophical’ objections that have no basis in fact. Giving these people credence isn’t ‘nuance’ it’s just pandering to anti-science nonsense and must be challenged. They’re parasites, essentially; relying on other people to do the right thing and happy to benefit from the majority. I really have no time for this selfishness.
As an aside, it’s worth noting that the majority of people who haven’t been vaccinated aren’t anti-vaxxers. They aren’t into woo-woo or autism/5G/Bill Gates/Big Pharma conspiracy theories. That’s a small, if loud, percentage. Most are socially disadvantaged with limited medical access or people who simply haven’t got around to it or people who don’t know they need a booster. If it’s free and easy they’ll happily get vaccinated. The onus is on governments to make it as easy as possible.
Also, I’m strongly pro-vaccine (someone in my family had polio way back so I appreciate how truly amazing vaccines are ) but I wouldn’t be caught dead taking that Russian vaccine right now. It’s been rushed for political reasons. But as soon as a proper Covid 19 vaccine passes Stage 3 trials and has been tested on 30k+ people I’ll be first in line to get it.
In serbia, there are a lot of YouTubers who spread conspiracy theories. They think This virus a western propaganda and especially against russia. A lot of people over there believe this. They were shocked when Putin presented a vaccine. He is Their hero.
Well if everyone who wants to get vaccinated does, then they don’t have to worry about those that don’t want to, as they’ll be immune, right? There, problem solved.
I can’t tell if you’re being disingenuous but … no, that’s obviously not how immunisations work.