Would you be neutral for once ?

[OhYes]

Novak did wrong if he didn't get vaccine imo, but that doesn't have much to do with current situation. Idk if he is vaccinated or not, he wouldn't tell. Big possibility that he isn't. He saw gap in regulations, instead of not participating or get vaccine he has chosen to play games with Australian government. It backfired. He is also guilty for knowing this could have huge and bad media impact.

Australia... their political and covid games are nauseating, transparent, they made mistake for giving an option for playerS exemptions. Not just Novak, several of them. Then playin visa games...

All people who called for booing Novak at his matches, ppl adding fuel bcs they like drama and confrontations, Nadal fans hoping for their fav to win Slam if Novak is banned, all other fans who run campaign against Novak and talk trash like he is worst criminal.

Djokovic father... oh boy.

Nadal (if he made comment about Novak's case, Novak would never speak lousy about Nadal in press), Toni for commenting also and sending message to Novak, it isn't his business.

Seems to me only Fed was silent and clean here ?

Should there be sides in this ? Every possible side did wrong and it is just getting ridiculous by polarisation.

 

[yokied]

Take a look at your sig.

 

[OhYes]

Take a look at your sig.

I have no sig
Edit: that one so ?

 

[Aussie Darcy]

The Australian public who followed the rules throughout the pandemic only to have an anti vaxxer spit in our face and rub it in that he got into the country unvaccinated while Aussies are stranded did no wrong. Djokovic has been nothing but insulting with his vaccine stance, comments, superspreader events and now this.,

 

[Krish872007]

Is there a middle ground as such? Maybe from an overall standpoint there is, but not on each individual issue that is laid out

1. You either agree or disagree with Novaks decision to disclose his vaccination status, and more broadly his stance on vaccination

2. You either agree or disagree with the decision to grant him a vaccine exemption

3. You either agree or disagree with the way he was treated at the Melbourne border

4. You either agree or disagree with others' reactions to all of the above

Pretty much everyone will fall into one camp or the other. The seeds of division run deep in our society today

Maybe it really is better to be silent

 

[MurraysMetalHip]

There’s no middle ground. Djokovic should be banned for life, or roll up his sleeve and get vaccinated.

 

[reaper]

Only the Swiss practice true neutrality, which is why Federer so far has stayed out of it.

 

[OhYes]

Is there a middle ground as such? Maybe from an overall standpoint there is, but not on each individual issue that is laid out

1. You either agree or disagree with Novaks decision to disclose his vaccination status, and more broadly his stance on vaccination

2. You either agree or disagree with the decision to grant him a vaccine exemption

3. You either agree or disagree with the way he was treated at the Melbourne border

4. You either agree or disagree with others' reactions to all of the above

Pretty much everyone will fall into one camp or the other. The seeds of division run deep in our society today

Yes, I am saying all parties are wrong here. So you can't be on Djokovic side or entirely against him.

 

[Backspin1183]

I'll be Switzerland on this. I find Tennis Australia and Djokovic responsible for the mess they're in right now. The Government is very clear about who can and cannot enter Australia under current conditions.

Djokovic had a lot of time to get vaccinated but chose not to. That's his personal decision. But when he tries to enter a foreign country, his 'personal choice' is not above the laws of the land he's visiting.

 

[Backspin1183]

The Australian public who followed the rules throughout the pandemic only to have an anti vaxxer spit in our face and rub it in that he got into the country unvaccinated while Aussies are stranded did no wrong. Djokovic has been nothing but insulting with his vaccine stance, comments, superspreader events and now this.,

While I completely disagree with Novak's stance on vaccination, if Tennis Australia hadn't given him a medical exemption and invited him over, he wouldn't have had to go through all this. From that point of view, I blame the tournament organizers more than Djokovic himself.

 

[Sport]

I don't know what is wrong with "Nadal fans hoping their favorite to win the AO". Nadal fans always route for Nadal regardless of Djokovic's status. We wanted/hoped/wished Nadal to win the AO every year he has participated even with Novak in the draw. Only because Novak does not participate, Nadal fans do not need to think "Nadal should not win the AO 2022".

Anyway, Zverev/Medvedev are the huge favorites, not Nadal.

 

[OhYes]

I don't know what is wrong with "Nadal fans hoping their favorite to win the AO". Nadal fans always route for Nadal regardless of Djokovic's status. We wanted/hoped/wished Nadal to win the AO every year he has participated even with Novak in the draw. Only because Novak does not participate, Nadal fans do not need to think "Nadal should not win the AO 2022".

Anyway, Zverev/Medvedev are the huge favorites, not Nadal.

Not ordinary Nadal fans who root for Nadal ofc... Nadal fans who publicly wish Novak to be banned from AO or for life so their fav could snatch some Slams that way.

 

[pj80]

The Australian public who followed the rules throughout the pandemic only to have an anti vaxxer spit in our face and rub it in that he got into the country unvaccinated while Aussies are stranded did no wrong. Djokovic has been nothing but insulting with his vaccine stance, comments, superspreader events and now this.,

‘Australians are already enslaved, so it’s offensive for Djokovic to attempt to live free’.

 

[Hitman]

Not ordinary Nadal fans who root for Nadal ofc... Nadal fans who publicly wish Novak to be banned from AO or for life so their fav could snatch some Slams that way.

There are a few of them who are wishing for exactly that. Not all, but its obvious there are some.

 

[Fedforever]

Perhaps surprisingly I agree with pretty much all of this.

I was surprised Nadal went as far as he did - was expecting him to say something a lot blander.

 

[Candide]

‘Australians are already enslaved, so it’s offensive for Djokovic to attempt to live free’.

 

[maratha_warrior]

Not ordinary Nadal fans who root for Nadal ofc... Nadal fans who publicly wish Novak to be banned from AO or for life so their fav could snatch some Slams that way.

When the Health minister or sport minister herself openly admits on camera that she wants Nadal to win Australian Open , you can clearly understand that there are people in Government itself who want to stop Novak winning Australian Open .
You can't expect fair result in such a case .

Also , Djokovic and his camp have been c0wards when it comes to Nadal camp .
Nadal has spoken lot of **** against Novak in last two years but Novak hasn't answered back or asked him to shut up .

Toni Nadal had no reason to join the lynch mobs and speak against Novak till the matter was clear to all . But he did .

And look at the lynch mobs .
Their Prime minister had basically Back-flipped on his statement in 24 hours and lied in front of whole world . Such a shame .
And they are vilifying Djokovic and celebrating being loyal Servants of liar authoritarian Government ..lol

Djokovic should have taken the vaccine and things would be easy . He brought it upon himself .

But any sane person will not support what Australian Government and Lynch mobs did with a foreign International player in last 48 hours !

 

[zagor]

There are a few of them who are wishing for exactly that. Not all, but its obvious there are some.

C'mon, most Rafa fans are giddy Novak isn't playing. They know that for all the talk about Nadal's 1001 injuries it's Novak who's a much bigger obstacle than his injured foot (or whatever it is this time). The dude even beat him in FO last time.

Not that I blame them mind you.

 

[Hitman]

C'mon, most Rafa fans are giddy Novak isn't playing. They know that for all the talk about Nadal's 1001 injuries it's Novak who's a much bigger obstacle than his injured foot (or whatever it is this time). The dude even beat him in FO last time.

Not that I blame them mind you.

I was being kind. ))

 

[Picmun]

There’s no middle ground. Djokovic should be banned for life, or roll up his sleeve and get vaccinated.

Can I vote for a total Finnish ban ? > ROTFLMAO !

Djoke loves the drama, does he not ??

 

[Hitman]

Can I vote for a total Finnish ban ? > ROTFLMAO !

Djoke loves the drama, does he not ??

Have to say, WTA handshakes are more often more entertaining than the matches themselves.

 

[pj80]

is it a good movie at least?

 

[Fedforever]

When the Health minister or sport minister herself openly admits on camera that she wants Nadal to win Australian Open , you can clearly understand that there are people in Government itself who want to stop Novak winning Australian Open .
You can't expect fair result in such a case .

Also , Djokovic and his camp have been c0wards when it comes to Nadal camp .
Nadal has spoken lot of **** against Novak in last two years but Novak hasn't answered back or asked him to shut up .

Toni Nadal had no reason to join the lynch mobs and speak against Novak till the matter was clear to all . But he did .

And look at the lynch mobs .
Their Prime minister had basically Back-flipped on his statement in 24 hours and lied in front of whole world . Such a shame .
And they are vilifying Djokovic and celebrating being loyal Servants of liar authoritarian Government ..lol

Djokovic should have taken the vaccine and things would be easy . He brought it upon himself .

But any sane person will not support what Australian Government and Lynch mobs did with a foreign International player in last 48 hours !

There was a thread on Mumsnet (big UK based social media site) which was useful for getting a perspective on thoughts of "the general public" about this, away from the tennis bubble.

Fair to say there was not much sympathy for Novak personally - mainly because of his perceived anti-vax stance - but quite a few did say the Australian authorities had messed up as well.

 

[Candide]

is it a good movie at least?

It's awesome. Highly recommended.

 

[OhYes]

is it a good movie at least?

Not that much. Has boring parts.

 

[NonP]

There's no such thing as "neutral" in matters of dispute like this. If one side is pushing unhinged anti-science/reactionary crackpottery and you stay silent you're still tacitly approving their position and behavior.

But that doesn't mean the Djokovic camp has no leg to stand on. Here's the fact of the matter:

A responsible government has every right as well as the duty to demand that nobody but the immunocompromised enter its borders without proof of vaccination in the middle of a pandemic, and Novak deserves every bit of flack he's been catching since announcing his unearned exemption. That part shouldn't be controversial to any clear-thinking adult.

B-U-T receive the exemption he did, and none other than PM Morrison announced just the day before that he'd be abiding by the Victorian government's decision. Once you give your word you need to honor it, and certainly you don't try to take it back after the fact when the honoree has already hopped on his plane to your country expecting to get in without trouble.

Of course the easy retort is to say Djokovic has himself to blame for failing to file all the proper paperwork, but the ABF as has been reported has much leeway to apply discretion as it sees fit and, unless I'm mistaken, could've cleared Novak's visa on its own... barring significant pressure from the feds, especially Morrison.

So yes, this was a mostly political decision. I still blame Novak for getting himself into this mess and wish he'll come to see the error of his ways, but the big Aussies should issue a mea culpa both to Novak and to the public, offer to fly him back, and get on with the Open. Enough is enough.

 

[helterskelter]

There's no such thing as "neutral" in matters of dispute like this. If one side is pushing unhinged anti-science/reactionary crackpottery and you stay silent you're still tacitly approving their position and behavior.

But that doesn't mean the Djokovic camp has no leg to stand on. Here's the fact of the matter:

Certainly, they should pay his costs for the flight(s - including his team) and add some more for loss of time and perhaps for injury. They should have been firm from the beginning that he wasn't allowed in without the vaccine. (For one thing, had they been absolutely unbending about this from the beginning, there's at least some chance he'd have got the vaccine. Most anti-vaxxers give up their nonsense when faced with deleterious personal consequences for it). All that said, better that they not let him in than that they let him in unvaccinated.

 

[TearTheRoofOff]

No, he sucks lololololol.

 

[jeroenn]

Is there a middle ground as such? Maybe from an overall standpoint there is, but not on each individual issue that is laid out

1. You either agree or disagree with Novaks decision to disclose his vaccination status, and more broadly his stance on vaccination

2. You either agree or disagree with the decision to grant him a vaccine exemption

3. You either agree or disagree with the way he was treated at the Melbourne border

4. You either agree or disagree with others' reactions to all of the above

Pretty much everyone will fall into one camp or the other. The seeds of division run deep in our society today

Maybe it really is better to be silent

As to point:
1 I don't care about his status, I personally can't stand the AntiVaxx idiots (which to me is somehting differerent than people who are not vaxinated for legit reasons). Secondly, I don't subscribe to his alternate 'healing & emotional responsive water' type BS, but as long as he doesn't force it upon me, I can't give a single flip.
2 He should get an exemption, if he qualifies for one. He should get booted if he doesn't. But I also believe he may do wel not to try. Being right and doing right don't necessarily align here, but he indeed is pretty much 'tone deaf' to all those things
3 I agree, because there's no indication he's been treated any differently than anyone else at the border. If anything, I believe they have taken their sweet time to make sure all possible avenues were looked at, whereas joe bloe may have been kicked to the retour line much quicker with a hard 'no'.
4. Too complex.

 

[NonP]

Not ordinary Nadal fans who root for Nadal ofc... Nadal fans who publicly wish Novak to be banned from AO or for life so their fav could snatch some Slams that way.

Fanboy/girl wars are really irrelevant here. Djokovic needs to get his shots pronto to avoid further public embarrassments like this, and the Aussies need to own up to this PR fiasco of their own making by honoring their original word and making this one exception for Novak.

Certainly, they should pay his costs for the flight(s - including his team) and add some more for loss of time and perhaps for injury. They should have been firm from the beginning that he wasn't allowed in without the vaccine. (For one thing, had they been absolutely unbending about this from the beginning, there's at least some chance he'd have got the vaccine. Most anti-vaxxers give up their nonsense when faced with deleterious personal consequences for it). All that said, better that they not let him in than that they let him in unvaccinated.

Agreed 100%. If you refuse to do your part in the middle of a pandemic you will and must suffer the consequences.

 

[helterskelter]

Fanboy/girl wars are really irrelevant here. Djokovic needs to get his shots pronto to avoid further public embarrassments like this, and the Aussies need to own up to this PR fiasco of their own making by honoring their original word and making this one exception for Novak.



Agreed 100%. If you refuse to do your part in the middle of a pandemic you will and must suffer the consequences.

You had me at "Djokovic needs to get his shots pronto." But avoiding further public embarrassments like this is only a minor reason why. The main one is that it is his moral duty to get as many vaccines as necessary so as to avoid exposing others to risks that they don't wish to be exposed to, just as it is everyone else's moral duty to do that.

 

[octobrina10]

Novak did wrong if he didn't get vaccine imo, but that doesn't have much to do with current situation. Idk if he is vaccinated or not, he wouldn't tell. Big possibility that he isn't. He saw gap in regulations, instead of not participating or get vaccine he has chosen to play games with Australian government. It backfired. He is also guilty for knowing this could have huge and bad media impact.

Australia... their political and covid games are nauseating, transparent, they made mistake for giving an option for playerS exemptions. Not just Novak, several of them. Then playin visa games...

All people who called for booing Novak at his matches, ppl adding fuel bcs they like drama and confrontations, Nadal fans hoping for their fav to win Slam if Novak is banned, all other fans who run campaign against Novak and talk trash like he is worst criminal.

Djokovic father... oh boy.

Nadal (if he made comment about Novak's case, Novak would never speak lousy about Nadal in press), Toni for commenting also and sending message to Novak, it isn't his business.

Seems to me only Fed was silent and clean here ?

Should there be sides in this ? Every possible side did wrong and it is just getting ridiculous by polarisation.

1) Sports journalists asked Rafa questions at his post-R2-match press conference in Melbourne on Thursday and he replied.

2) Toni Nadal, among other things, is a tennis writer. He writes regularly for the Spanish daily newspaper EL Pais. He has his own column in the newspaper. Toni has a contract with the newspaper and he did his job.

Artículos escritos por Toni Nadal | EL PAÍS

Todos los artículos y noticias escritas por Toni Nadal y publicadas en EL PAÍS. Últimos artículos, noticias y columnas de opinión con EL PAÍS.

elpais.com

 

[intrepidish]

Only the Swiss practice true neutrality, which is why Federer so far has stayed out of it.

Roger's not at a tournament in Australia. If he were, he'd be asked too and would most likely say something like what Nadal did.

So far virtually every player I've seen interviewed in Australia has something to say about this when asked and those who haven't said much, you could see in the videos that they were hiding smiles or laughter and made little sarcastic comments.

 

[Hitman]

No, he sucks lololololol.

Just straight to the point. Lol

 

[Picmun]

Have to say, WTA handshakes are more often more entertaining than the matches themselves.

Have to say "The Earths Mightiest Warrioir" will be in Pantomime in Brighton GB next year, playing "King Rat" in DICK Whittington....... He'll get lots of BOOooos and the only work he'll be able to get.

For this is just that - a classic PANTOMIME ! With Djoke as chief villain ( again! )
- He loves it !

He looks for it !

HE CAUSES IT !

A fitting end for "The Earths Mightiest Drama Queen !"