Djokovic, Ukraine and Tennis

Since my last post the world has gone from bad to worse. So here is another post which is a hot potato.

Peng Shuai's situation was overshadowed by the situation Djokovic found himself in when, given the green light by Tennis Australia, he arrived in Australia  to play in its Grand Slam. It really doesn't matter what you think about someone or your opinion on something, you should always treat people with respect maintaining their dignity at all times. He was given a visa to play in the AO. The fact that it was retracted subsequently was not his fault. It was officiousness and bureaucracy gone mad. 

Indeed, attitudes towards people has taken a downward turn. It's fashionable to label people anything you like, truth is irrelevant. Suddenly, freedom and right to bodily autonomy ceases to matter and people and governments take an autocratic stance and silence anyone disagreeing with them even if they have good reason to do so. Furthermore, good medical and scientific reasons to do so.  

Without hesitation, I supported Djokovic. It's his body, his choice! I was shocked by the treatment he received and the conditions in which he was detained. And at the way other tennis players turned on him, including Nadal. That surprised me. There were some supporters, such as, Alize Cornet and Kyrgios. Well done to them! As Mouratoglou points out, Djokovic is being authentic. He could have cheated. He could have pretended he'd had the vaccine and had it signed off by a doctor. But no! He was honest! Makes me idly wonder 🤔 whether players who are vaccinated actually are or just have a very helpful doctor. The same could be true of wealthy people in general.🤔 And maybe not so wealthy! Casting no aspersions on anyone, of course! But I'm sure we're all thinking it, just not saying it, apart from Mouratoglou. Well, as far as I am aware. 

Nadal claimed that Australia always looks after its players. Really? Did he not see Kuznetsova's video of the conditions in quarantine last year? Others were complaining too! I was horrified by the treatment they received. Now this year, Djokovic was forced to stay in a notorious hotel converted into an immigration detention centre, not aptly named Park Hotel, described by some as a form of imprisonment. Worse still, even Australian news outlets admitted that the living conditions there are dire, unhealthy and outright dangerous. Such horrific places should not exist for anyone, whether you are an illegal immigrant or not, since human rights and dignity applies to everyone! But it is even more mind boggling that Australia would want to highlight their shockingly atrocious, unethical immigration system by placing a high profile millionaire in such a facility, alongside asylum seekers and illegal immigrants who are attempting to remain in the country when Djokovic is part of the international tennis circuit and merely turning up for a couple of weeks to play in international sporting events! That kind of system is nothing to boast about!🤦 And if health is such a priority, why are such unhealthy conditions, which could encourage C19 outbreaks in themselves, allowed to exist? 🤷 And what kind of feeble excuse is civil unrest for enforcing such a disgraceful immigration visa system?! 🤷

A pandemic doesn't give governments license to act like dictators keeping people prisoners. And, in the main, that's how they behaved. This has possibly fuelled the crisis in the Ukraine, which is a tragedy of colossal proportions, because it is possible that it gave Putin the heads-up that countries that call themselves democratic can very quickly turn authoritarian and issue draconian rules and laws they don't necessarily follow themselves.

The Ukrainian war has led to economic sanctions and the suspension of Russians from sporting events and contracts with those who have links to Putin. So when Svitolina didn't wish to play a Russian opponent she was in step with other sports. Changing Russian players' status to neutral is not enough. They tried that in the Paralympics and there was an outcry. So, regrettably, Russian tennis players shouldn't be allowed to play in tournaments. Let's face it, things couldn't be worse! Ukraine is being decimated. Cities turned to rubble! Citizens are being killed. How is it fair to detain Djokovic and then expel him from the country on the whim of an official yet allow Russian players to play when their President is destroying and killing a neighbouring country. Tennis Australia caused the hitch themselves by claiming Djokovic could turn up. His mistake was believing them. The Russian players continuing in tournaments sends out the message that there's more tolerance towards violence, invasion, dictatorship and war than a mere medical exemption technicality. Democracy and peace in the world is more important than anything else!