U.S. tennis legend John McEnroe has led calls for President Joe Biden to ease the “ridiculous” Covid ban on unvaccinated people entering the country to allow Novak Djokovic to compete at the U.S. open and aim for a record-equalling 22nd Grand Slam title. The Telegraph has the story.
A four-set victory over Nick Kyrgios sealed Djokovic’s seventh Wimbledon title to again move just one behind Rafael Nadal’s overall record of 22 Grand Slams but, after his infamous exile from Australia earlier this year, his fate again now rests on a country’s Covid laws.
Djokovic’s coach, Goran Ivanisevic, hailed Djokovic’s “heroic” ability to transform a “shit year” following the extraordinary low of being deported from Australia and McEnroe is now urging the American government to let him play the hard-court season and then next month’s U.S. Open.
“I’m not vaccinated and I’m not planning to get vaccinated so the only good news I can have is them removing the mandated green vaccine card to enter the United States,” said Djokovic.
“I’ll wait hopefully for some good news from the U.S. because I would really love to go there. That would be the next big tournament.
“If that doesn’t happen, then I have to see what the schedule looks like. I will not burden myself to have to go and play tournaments and get points. I don’t feel I’m in a rush really anywhere to end my career in a year’s time or two years’ time or whatever. I want to keep my body healthy… keep myself mentally sane and motivated to compete with the young guns.
“Everything that has followed Australia, particularly in the tournaments, has been a huge challenge and obstacle for me to overcome emotionally. I just needed time to weather the storm.”
McEnroe hit out at laws which currently bar unvaccinated people from entering the U.S. “These politicians are getting in the way too much – they did it in Australia,” said the three-times Wimbledon champion. “Let the guy come in and play in the U.S. I mean come on. This is ridiculous. You can agree to be tested. There’s got to be a way around this.”
Ivansivic said that Djokovic’s experience in Australia would have sent some players into retirement. “It’s very emotional,” said Ivanisevic. “It was a shit year, a tough year. Being there in Australia… for some people, they don’t recover. They will never play tennis. This was a big shock. It was a shock for me, and I was free. Imagine for him.
“It’s really heroic. He’s a great champion. This is the result. This trophy, this joy on Centre Court. It’s so beautiful. Maybe Biden will change his mind. A lot of crazy things are happening in the world. Every day something is changing.”
It’s a reminder that the U.S. remains one of the few countries which still bans unvaccinated visitors from entering. The ban remains in place despite the CDC seeming to accept that the Covid vaccines do little or nothing to prevent transmission, meaning the only benefit is to the vaccinated themselves. On the other hand, there are considerable costs in maintaining discriminatory practices against the unvaccinated, including hits to tourism and business and undermining of freedoms. To this we can add not having one of the world’s best tennis players at your tournaments.
The CDC recently published a consultation, due to close on September 6th, asking whether it should extend for an unspecified period of time the ban on unvaccinated visitors entering the U.S. This suggests the ban is not going anywhere anytime soon, then. But perhaps a form of exemption for Djokovic can be found.
Worth reading in full.
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Very pleased that McEnroe has chosen to speak out – yet another sometimes abrasive person who has courage to say things that are potentially unpopular. The world needs awkward sods who don’t worry about their image or about upsetting people.
This shows how hugely important it is to have a major sports star unvaxxed, openly saying he’s not going to get vaxxed no matter what, not only for the example it sets but because it provides a talking point that enables McEnroe and others to voice their views on the subject, and the idiot media is playing into our hands by asking the questions and reporting on it – though of course they would struggle to explain his absence from the US Open.
Speaking of which, where is “Awkward Git” these days (and RickH)?
” “Maybe Biden will change his mind [,” Ivanisevic said.]”
Haha. Biden doesn’t have a mind to change – he lost it at least two years ago.
Unless someone puts it on his autocue, he won’t have an opinion.
Even then he doesn’t have an opinion, he can’t even understand what’s on the autocue. He thinks ‘end of quote. repeat the line’ is a political opinion.
Funnily enough, that’s in Dad’s Army as well: “I had no boy/girl with me”…
You don’t opinions if using an autocue. A few years ago, there was a Party conference at which it failed when someone well known was making a speech; hilarious, given the outcome.
Damn, you beat me to it, exactly the same thing that crossed my mind – Biden and mind do not belong in the same sentence unless one is willing to be honest enough to admit that FJB lost it some years ago, a fact most apparent even before he was elected.
Re why the CDC et al. are still following clearly nonsensical and pointless rules, there’s a good article on ZeroHedge about how pfaxlovid and other failed drugs got passed by the FDA – or rather, a former pfisser executive now in a top job at the FDA. Follow the money.
Good on McEnroe for standing up for Djokovic, about time someone did. Quite petty of me but I was pleased to see Nadal have to bail out of Wimbledon after he was happy to see Djokovic kicked out of Australia simply because he refused to “follow the orders”. I was raised in a time when not following immoral, illegal orders was considered the right and brave thing to do, never thought I would see a 180 on this in my lifetime.
You’re not the only one to feel that way! I’ve lost respect for many sportsmen & women this last few years & can no longer enjoy their sporting achievements. But I do get a little positive glow when the fall comes after their puffing up in pride for being the goody two shoes.
Nadal’s health seems to be falling apart.
As does that footballer’s, Aguero. He was blasting everyone refusing to get the jab and then, oh dear, heart attack (or something).
God moves in mysterious ways.
Beijing Bidden.
Who stole (or had stolen for him) an election.
And over 60,000 reservists/National Guard have been cut off from all their benefits because they are unvaccinated.
Meanwhile U.S. troops are being redeployed to Europe. Complete stark raving lunacy!
We have got rid of Bunter. Come on United States. Time to get rid of your bozo.
They can’t get rid of Biden so easily. He’s not the plaything of his party or the legislature. He would need to be impeached.
After Bozo it looks like we will get another globalist covidtard non-conservative as PM. I’m not celebrating.
I agree; more of the same could very well see the Conservatives lose the next election.
And “lock “em down harder” Starmer then take the reins. That will work, of course it will.
We’ll get someone who will see through all the orders which they’re given. Hence why it was Javid & Sunak who pulled the pin. Both WEF stooges.
Abe was most likely got rid of because he stood up against following orders. Too dangerous to be left to talk.
Let’s see if Bolsonaro is still around after six months. My guess is that he’ll be mysteriously disappeared at some point for calling out the BS.
Did anyone see this guy:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=i1QgjDenQ_s
Bolsonaro is also close to doing a deal with Russia for cheap fuel..so double-jeopardy, and all that…..
May you live in interesting times indeed…..
Ooh, like that Tanzania president. Is there a list of those that they think they can get away with “disappearing”, I wonder?
You’re falling into the mistake of thinking the Big Guy is actually running the US.
That corrupt conniving crook is just the puppet for the cabal currently running things over there.
He will not be running in 2024, the cabal have made their next move in that regard when their NYT over the weekend published its first Biden hit piece talking about his mental and physical health failing which we all saw during the campaign while they and the rest of the MSM censored it all.
He’s right, as the manufacturers tell us, the jab neither stops you getting or spreading what they have named covid. It’s the politicians who are making a political ****fest out of it, for political gain. No one can ever know who has died OF ‘covid’ unless a post mortem is carried out, “it looks like covid”, doesn’t do it.
And don’t forget the ONS glossary: “COVID-19 deaths are those deaths registered in England and Wales in the stated week where COVID-19 was mentioned on the death certificate. A doctor can certify the involvement of COVID-19 based on symptoms and clinical findings; a positive test result is not required. Definitions of COVID-19 for deaths in Scotland and Northern Ireland are similar to England and Wales.”
The late Harold Shipman would have loved it.
Agreed, during the pandemic, the GP was certifying remotely, on the info from the care assistant ie, it looks like covid.
Yes, death certificates were indeed produced by doctors who had never seen the the deceased when alive or thereafter.
They got extra money for “covid” deaths didn’t they? (Actually, I know they did, a nurse told me so).
Our caring government would likely have loved to have Dr Shipman aboard during the pandemic; he was clearly ahead of his time.
He could have been a SAGE adviser, like that abuser in Rochdale (or was it Oldham?) who advise the police.
Rochdale and Oldham are more or less interchangeable when it comes to child abusers.
Like the mass murderers pushing this scam.
First, congratulations to Novak, proving once again that us “unclean” are in fact perfectly healthy.
As for the “vaccine”:
” more than 750,000 vaccine deaths have already taken place in the US alone; scoffers are more than welcome to take up his repeated challenges to prove him wrong.” (Rob Slane).
Plus a 23.2% drop in births in Taiwan in May 2022 compared to 2021. 100% safe and effective, Mr. Devi Sridhar (and Beijing Bidden, for that matter)?
I love John McEnroe. If only everyone could learn from their mistakes like he has.
Djokovic is to be admired for his principled stance, as is McEnroe for speaking out. We could do with more of these high profile people speaking up against the Authoritarians.
The USA bought and paid for by big pharma and WEF with a man, who can hardly be referred to as a “ leader” at the helm. The us is in real trouble financially. Sadly most citizens, of the once great country, have no idea they are being taken to the cleaners. My condolences.
Joe Biden intends to win the US Open tennis. He has taken a significant first step by eliminating a major contender. However, there is no evidence that he would need to cheat to win.
For me, the greatest sportsmen and sportswomen in the world are more than the athletes they have proved to be in competition. Look at Mohammed Ali, Jesse Owens and Babe Didrickson Zaharias as examples. So Djokovic will always go down as one of the true greats.