There follows a guest post by tennis fan David Hansard, a contributor to the Daily Sceptic as well as Quillette and the Conservative Woman, about the news that Novak Djokovic, the highest ranked male player in the world, has been granted an exemption to the rule that all competitors in the Australian Open have to be vaccinated. Needless to say, this has annoyed a lot of Covid hysterics.
Contrary to many people’s expectations, world number one Novak Djokovic, has announced he is to compete for a tenth Australian Open title. Following months of doubt and speculation about whether he would be allowed to play, he has been granted a medical exemption from being vaccinated against Covid. The news came only 12 days before the tournament is due to begin.
Djokovic has always refused to reveal his vaccination status. It was assumed by many – correctly, it now turns out – that he has not been vaccinated. Under tournament rules everyone who attends – whether players, spectators, media or staff – must either be vaccinated or have an exemption.
As one of the fittest people on Earth, it was difficult to see how Djokovic would be granted an exemption. For a long time it seemed that his only option was either to get vaccinated or to miss out on what has been the most successful tournament in the champion’s career – he’s the current title-holder. The latter seemed the far likelier outcome. Djokovic’s challenge to Federer and Nadal as the male player with the most grand slam titles looked set to be delayed until later this year.
But after his request for exemption was granted by medical experts in Australia, he is now on his way to Melbourne.
It has delighted many but – as expected – it has also annoyed some in the tennis world, including Andy Murray’s brother Jamie. A lot of the reaction on social media has been particularly splenetic, whether against Djokovic himself, the tennis authorities, or the Victorian authorities, who have waived the need for him to quarantine for 14 days on arrival. The torrent of abuse began minutes after the news broke. Djokovic was immediately cast as evil and selfish, indifferent to others’ well-being. Tournament organisers were attacked for recklessly showing favouritism to a crowd-pulling player, prioritising profit over public health.
It does not seem to matter to most critics whether Djokovic has, in fact, got a valid reason for exemption, or even that exemption is allowed under the rules. For the most part they vaguely assume he is being dishonest, and that despite his application having been anonymously assessed by two independent panels, something nefarious is afoot. Nothing washes with them, including the possibility – as the BBC reports – that the exemption may have been granted because vaccination can be deferred if you have recently been infected with Covid. Tournament Director Craig Tiley has said some other players have already been granted exemption, yet Djokovic is the one in the cross hairs.
We will probably never know the reason for the exemption, and rightly so. It’s a private matter. But whatever the explanation, the response of his critics, though expected, is disappointing. Their intolerant and inflexible behaviour is distinctly authoritarian, something we have grown used to from the start of the pandemic.
Djokovic didn’t become the world number one – and arguably the greatest male player of all time – just because of his supreme tennis skills. It’s also thanks to his commitment, persistence and physical and mental resilience. Many who are unhappy with the tournament’s decision have expressed the hope that Djokovic will be punished by the crowd in Melbourne, and his performance adversely affected. That’s wishful thinking. Although Djokovic is not entirely immune to the feelings of spectators, his critics will be disappointed if they believe a few boos will prevent him from winning another grand slam tournament.
Stop Press: The Prime Minister of Australia Scott Morrison has threatened to put Djokovic “on the next plane home” if he can’t provide evidence of his vaccine exemption status.
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Why should we (not “the Government” which has no money of its own) fund a 30% rebate? Why not just withold the money, with the universities taking the hit as the private sector has done?
Spot on.
The education industry along with our bleeding sainted NHS have been an utter disgrace throughout the Scamdemic and with only a few commendable exceptions proven to be spineless.
Yes, the universities and the NHS cheerleaded the lockdown and the suppression of low-cost safe and effective treatments – they should at least pay their fair share of the cost of those policies.
“A Department for Education spokesperson said: “Universities have a strong track record in delivering excellent blended tuition, and we have been clear from the start of the pandemic that the quality and quantity should not drop.”
What utter bollocks. The detachment from reality is immense.
Even a certified moron knows that the quality of education has been shockingly compromised by the idiocy of the Big Panic. To pretend otherwise is just lying, reminiscent of the worst sort of totalitarian propaganda.
This isn’t an opinion. It’s a fact, gleaned from both staff and students at Russell Group and other universities.
Spot on.
The D of E comment is Pravda esque.
Utter groupthink garbage.
So the LSE is happy with a situation where the debts “would be repaid only by the highest earning graduates.”
Great, let’s “educate” the masses and tell them they can have it for free by not bothering to aim for a well paid job. Yeah. It’s exactly this kind of backwards thinking which leads to these “intelligent” people walking around in the fresh air with surgical masks on their faces.
Yadda, yadda!
It would be 6.2 per cent plus inflation, I believe. It’s going to be a staggering percentage of, effectively, graduate tax on English students only.
On a related point, why would anyone start university this year? We know the experience will be a nannied nightmare, with little proper teaching. Defer entry. Get a job, any job. Read and learn in your own time.
Exactly. I have a 14 year old son and unless things go back to how they were I doubt if I’ll be encouraging to go to university in 4 years’ time!
Unless the lad loves academic study entirely for its own sake, he’ll be infinitely better off with an apprenticeship.
Even if he is truly academic, he won’t get anything worth having from universities if they are anything like they are at the moment. Except possibly the Open University.
Excellent advice!
The country is bankrupt
Why are they preventing people going abroad? To prevent money leaving the country
Remember the 1970’s and Healey going cap in hand to the IMF
Healey introduced a £50 limit on taking money out of the country
This time there will be no IMF bailout as the IMF is also bankrupt
The party is over
Gimme a discount but jack-up the interest rate?
What kind of innumerate nonsense is this?
These buffoons should be given failing grades in whatever course they are on.
Which rather points up the sub-standard quality of the education these youngsters are receiving from the Bliar “educashun, educashun, educashun” legacy system which he imposed on this country.
Majority of students will never repay the fees so it’s not that helpful
Better to offer them a free extra year of proper teaching and full university life
Michael et al, please ask Glen Bishop the second year Maths student at the University of Nottingham to calculate why this is an incredibly short-sighted idea.
As loyal Outer Party members, academic and non-academic higher education staff have been instrumental in driving the Covid orthodoxy, and not just within universities. It is significant that so many of them crop up on the creepy committees currently running the country.