Vaccine Denier and His Enabler on Display at Wimbledon

Vaccine-denier Novak Djokovic won his seventh Wimbledon title today, defeating Australian hothead Nick Kyrgios in four sets.  Kyrgios, who swore twice in front of a Royal Box containing eight-year-old Prince George during the final, received another $4,000 fine at the end of the match - his third of the tournament - to take his overall tally to $18,000.

Djokovic, who has refused to get the COVID vaccine, was not allowed into Australia to vie for the Australian Open title and is facing a ban on entering the U.S. to compete in the final grand slam tournament of the year.  After winning at Wimbledon, the stubborn Serb continued to play the victim, when asked about how was able to get through a difficult year.  Djokovic made absolutely no mention that the difficulties he faced were of his own making-- at any time he could choose to take the vaccine and resolve the issue.

But he wasn't the only tennis player exhibiting a degree of ignorance regarding the issue of vaccines. During the broadcast, John McEnroe commented on Djokovic's current prohibition against entering the U.S., saying "Politicians are getting in the way too much-- they did it in Australia.  Let's let the guy come in and play in the U.S.   I mean, come on-- this is ridiculous. I don't make those decisions-- I hope that someone makes the right one and allows him to play."  He later added, "Weird times, obviously-- it's been crazy the last couple of years.  And then he made a stand and you know a lot of people don't agree with that and it got to the point then he was thrown out of a country for that . . . so this has been getting crazy."  

Again-- for the record-- COVID vaccines have been proven to reduce transmission, substantially slash the likelihood of serious illness and decrease the burden on healthcare systems.  These vaccines  have been ethically developed, are fully tested and officially approved as safe by government health authorities.   Djokovic should take the vaccine for the benefit of his family (he has a five-year-old) and allow him to enter the U.S. to compete in the U.S. Open.  His stubborn refusal to do so and play the "victim" is plain ignorance pure and simple-- and McEnroe should be ashamed to make excuses for him or enable his "victimhood."