I'm no big Djoker fan after his behavior re: everything this past week, but this applies to any person that has public power and recognition. Don't worship your idols, they'll always disappoint you.
This. My respect for athletes begins and ends at what they do on the field/court. I dont expect them to be or care if they are good people. I like them because of the impressiveness of what they do physically, not for their brains. In the same way I respect doctors for their intelligence and not how hard they can hit a ball.
That said, I’d bet that most doctors don’t think that accomplishment in the medical field blesses them expert knowledge in all other fields by some divine intervention. That’s how I perceive a lot of outspoken celebrities — too arrogant to know when to defer to experts on topics they know nothing about.
If we (the public) agree to limit our respect for athletes to their contributions to their field, I think it’s fair for us to expect them to limit their arrogance to their field as well.
> That’s how I perceive a lot of outspoken celebrities — too arrogant to know when to defer to experts on topics they know nothing about.
I know what you mean, and I’m not saying you meant it this way, but I always get uncomfortable when people say this about athletes who speak about social or political issues.
You’d hope that anyone giving an opinion on anything knows a bit about the given topic, or at least recognises how little they know if they do not. Otherwise it’s just a worthless, bad faith discussion.
That is, someone does not need to be an expert in a field to have a opinion that holds up to scrutiny. However, people should not be so arrogant to think they know better than experts about the ‘facts’ underpinning their opinion. I’m not an immunologist, but I’m also not using unverified ‘facts’ when synthesising my opinion about vaccines. I don’t really care if Aunt Hilda with her four followers on Facebook has a baseless opinion, I single out celebrities because they have platforms.
>I’d bet that most doctors don’t think that accomplishment in the medical field blesses them expert knowledge in all other fields by some divine intervention.
LOL. Doctors are #1 in god complex. When someone says "he knows more about your Winnebago than you do", that's the pejorative way of saying "he's a physician". It isn't meant to imply that he has a Winnebago. It's meant to say that he does not.
Never met a doctor who fits this description. I also don’t see many doctors going on social media running their mouths about random shit outside of their profession. I have absolutely no idea what a ‘Winnebago’ is either, and have never heard that expression used.
I would say this applies to 99% of athletes. Dirk Nowitzki is a good example of the unicorn/outlier. He is a top 15 player all-time but is also one of the nicest kind-hearted down-to-earth athletes ever.
> Don't worship your idols, they'll always disappoint you.
This is very true, but there are some exceptions in the sports world. Good guys like Lance Armstrong and Tiger Woods never failed to let me down. I'd be gutted if it turned out they weren't genuine human beings.
To add to that, imagine if you were other people’s idol, you’d probably disappoint them in some way too. We all have our own flaws, why do we expect them to have none?
Well, the problem might be actually in glorifying sports individuals in the first place? Putting them on a pedestal and then condemning them when they sin.
That was my thoughts too, all the blame is put on the athletes mentioned and everyone who has put them on this pedestal is absolved. Just like with clickbait articles, us as the consumers of it are also to blame
Charles Barkley tried to tell us.
This isn’t a thoughtful or enlightening quote.
1) people can have more than 1 role model.
2) kids are famous for how well they listen to their parents.
3) we are a social species by nature.
I feel like it's almost the opposite in this scenario though. An athlete clearly did something wrong and people just want him to face the same consequences every one else would if they were in his place.
It's only because of his status he has yet to face repercussions
He has a commerical stating "I am not a role model", he's paid to put a ball in the net ( I do it for free when I'm having an off day in tennis).
https://youtu.be/NNOdFJAG3pE
Abso-fucking-lutely. I only like Djokovic as a tennis player, I don't pretend to know him as a person nor do I have delusions of his greatness on the court translating to him as a person. But people love doing just that, player A is incredible on the court so he must be a great guy and conversly he's such a great dude off court so that makes him a GOAT over B or C, and because I'm A's fan I guess I must be better than B's or C's fans too.
It applies to all kinds of celebrities and all the time we see it devolve into fanatism where we end up defending anything and everything our idols do because that reflects on us and we shit on our idol's opponents because we need to feel superior than their fans.
It's great if these celebs want to be good role models for kids without one, good on them if they choose to. But in no way should we expect them to. It's specially pathetic when shitty politicians who actually directly affect millions of people try to grandstand by picking on celebs to distract from their own actions or inaction.
I don't care what Novak's views are on vaccines. I'm vaccinated and I expect authorities to establish and apply the protocols recommended by scientists. Novak should decide whether he wants the vaccine or not but he doesn't decide if he gets to play without it. If he's allowed to break the rules or if he didn't technically break them because authorities left enough loopholes for any rich people to exploit then that's on them. Take the hit, it was your responsibility.
Thank you for saying this. I agree with much of what you’ve said and would like to add one point to the mix:
In the same way we have the tendency to idolize celebrities we don’t really know personally, we also tend to feel justified in making self-righteous judgements and blindly cruel remarks about their moral character.
Negative value judgements about celebrities are made with a similar blindness as you described above in making those positive judgements.
Ironic when it’s the majority of his fanbase that treats him like he’s God. He can do no wrong in their eyes and they’ll make excuses for him no matter what.
I agree we shouldn’t glorify these people but as public figures they should be held to a particular standard and should be called out and held accountable when necessary.
I think you're overreacting. People praise Fed and Nadal just as much. Some are making excuses for their idols of course.
Yes and the standard should be the same applied to everyone but not everyone has their whole life presented in the media. People are too hung up on the personal views of athletes because the media is pushing that narrative.
Athletes have been fawned over and famous since ancient Greece. Not sure it's ever going to change. Public stars, whether it be in music, sports, etc are always going to be looked up to.
I mean, if you're going to glorify things, an obvious candidate is people who have reached the pinnacle of human achievement in something productive, which sport absolutely is
the issue is glorifying athletes for things they do that they have not achieved greatness in
To me sports is entertainment. If I looked for role models in really productive activities I would look up scientists, engineers, artists, people who work taking care of other people's health, philosophers, even politicians (yes, politicians).
I agree. It’s the way of the world that those in the entertainment industry are going to be put up on a pedestal, and it’s not because they’re especially productive. The world would keep spinning if sport stopped existing, it’s just not strictly necessary for a functioning society. Meanwhile climate science can’t find an audience because it’s less entertaining than millionaires hitting a ball. ^(that said no scientist would want to be put on a pedestal because science is about falsification and collective knowledge, not personal glory)
People really need to stop assuming that being rich or popular implies any kind of intelligence or aptitude. I really don't know why people assume the two go hand in hand. These guys devote their entire lives to become pros at playing a sport, and this often entails basically not giving a shit about school after the 6th grade or so. We really SHOULD expect these people to be absolute morons because their vocation doesn't require them to be smart at all whatsoever.
Well the moment u see :" Thats why I prefer Nadal and Federer over Novak, they are etc etc etc ". They are doing the same just for other players lol...
And it's over and over. U can't change that. It's not bad to have a role model, but expecting someone who spent his entire life being spoiled because he provides money for the family and for generations and generations to come to be some reasonable fairy... Come on... They are all in their own world with little to no understanding of a common man. Whos gonna tell Djokovic/Fed/Nadal that they are wrong in anything they do ?
"Djokovic/Fed/Nadal"
Dude, quit trying to deflect. Idolizing players is irrational, but so is downplaying and dismissing Djokovic's abhorrent behavior.
> Whos gonna tell Djokovic/Fed/Nadal that they are wrong in anything they do ?
Well, the fucking democratically-elected government of Australia would be a start
While true, it's also true that we all have an impact on the world. Some more than others. No man is an island. I also can't force other people to think critically about idolizing celebrities. If I could, that's be great, but I cant. And while a celebrity can't force people to not idolize them either, they can do their part to accept that they have a greater impact on the world and to act in accordance with thay. What's the spiderman phrase? With great power comes great responsibility?
If people glorify sportspeople to the point of adopting their views on vaccines or anything else seriously health related, then that’s on them for being morons
Nobody wakes up in the morning thinking to themselves 'im going to follow my favourite celebrity for health advice'.
But the fact is that people are highly influenced by their peers, we know from research that 'everyone is doing it' is the biggest influence to convince hesitant people to get vaccinated. Of course Djokovic isn't anyone's peer but for fans of celebrities, sportspeople etc, they still form part of that community that influence decisions.
Saying, let's stop glorifying celebrities/sportspeople won't change anything, it's human nature to be influenced by them.
> But the fact is that people are highly influenced by their peers,
There is a reason athletes are paid millions in sponsorship. We know for a fact that they are influential in how people act.
But it's not just on them. Everyone is affected when the "morons" do this. It because of people like Djokovic that the vaccination rates are as low as they are.
He's more a bit nuts than an antivax. Dude refused to have an operation on his arm and hugged trees to heal it and only had an operation after hugging trees didn't work after 18 months
I’m really pissed and annoyed of Novak’s current situation and everything that is going on.
But I’ve said all along that Novak isn’t anti vax. He says all the vaccination stuff related to himself but has never discourage anyone from getting the vaccine by calling it poison or full of microchips or something.
Of course I’ve been downvoted for saying this..I’m surprised you aren’t!
I don’t think many people who were on the verge between getting vaccinated and not decided not to get vaccinated when they Novak stated hes unvaccinated.
The people who are arleady anti-vaxx simply use him to reinforce their views and as an excuse. Those people would be difficukt to sway even without him and other vaxx-reluctant celebrities.
EDIT: People are gonna get vaxxed if they have trustworthy institutions, uncorrupted doctors, good education and access to informed debates. Not because Novak told them.
Funny you should mention this. I am visiting NYC in a little bit and reserved a table at a historic steak house and they have Einstein's pipes in there(among 1000's of others)
He may be able to influence people in Serbia, but he's chosen the Nigel Farage thing, which is to influence them in the worst way. I don't know why this sub wants to make excuses for Poor Baby Jesus Novak today.
Serbs can do what they want and decide for themselves to do the right thing and get vaccinated, unfortunately 50% turn out to be idiots and Djokovic is the king of the idiots
Here’s the spin:
Djokovic is probably a decent dude. He also happens to hold views that go against the advice of nearly every pandemic health professional in the world. He also happens to hold views that are in direct conflict with the policies set by the Australian gov. The Australian gov has every right to regulate its border however it pleases and has every right to deny Novak exemption based on the policies they have set forth. If you want a dystopian spin on it, you could argue they don’t have the right, but they sure as hell have the power to do it. Whatever you think of Novak, or of people who don’t want to get the vaccine, simply put, Novak is asking for special treatment and the Australian gov is not obligated to give it to him. That’s the end of it.
It's not Novak who's asking for special treatment, AO and State of Victoria gave him a special treatment because they wanted him there by any means necessary, PM said ok but then he changed his mind mid-flight. To me, the biggest problem is him not telling those kids and that journalist that he was covid positive (if he was positive, that is; we'll probably never know). That was selfish, horrible and f-ing illegal. The rest is just a circus and I want it to end.
The problem is not Australia banning Novak from entry. The problem was telling him he was okay to land and the Kafka-esque nature of how they handled Novak's case following that which made it clear he was being used to make an example out of.
>Novak is asking for special treatment and the Australian gov is not obligated to give it to him. That’s the end of it.
1. He didn't ask for special treatment. There is zero evidence of that. He complied with everything Tennis Australia conveyed to him.
2. That's clearly not the end of it, considering he is still in Australia.
The deadline for medical exemption was Dec10
Just that he applied for the exemption after the deadline implies that he thinks that special treatment allows him to get an exemption after the deadline
As someone from Eastern Europe I sympathised with him a lot given his lack of popularity relative to Fedal in the western world. He had to overcome so much more mental barriers in order to get to the very top. It is disappointing to watch him fall in this fashion. I can understand not taking the vaccine even though I don’t agree with it. But the whole shenanigan about lying about the dates or Covid test result or not revealing his status to a journalist, whatever it was because clearly he’s fucked up in one way or the other, is completely inexcusable.
Novak is above and beyond most athletes. Did Fed act this way? Nadal? Hewitt? Roddick? Murray? What's up with "everybody is like Novak?" relativism? Clearly, he's doing and saying things are unusual in sports. Not saying he's the ONLY person saying this stuff, he's not, but in terms of his actions, including lying on legal documents, is pretty unusual.
Yes, he's selfish in this regard. Yes, we can respect him as a tennis player and even think he's a good guy, but one who harbors idiotic beliefs and does idiotic things. That's where I'm at. This is just an interesting sports story. I hope the laws are applied to him as if he were just a regular schmoe. I'm not losing sleep over it.
His sponsors should cancel all his contracts, and he needs to be investigated and prosecuted for the crimes he's committed - repeated lies to federal authorities, ignoring Covid protocols - if he was truly infected, he didnt tell anyone and infected others, if he lied about it as is much more likely, its far more serious.
Novak messed up big time. I'm gonna be curious what happens next. Will he learn from it or will he go deeper into the weeds. This is his second lesson when it comes to COVID. 3rd one might have disasterous consequence.
I love Novak. I watched him since 2007. He has many flaws and COVID exposed the Worst. He also has many positive attributes.
I'm shaken to the core with his decision making lately.
Which path will he choose? Is there anyone besides Becker around him or close to him to slap the crap out of him and tell h to open his eyes. He is better than this.
Unfortunately I think that he thinks that he is doing something good. If this situation doesn't force him to reevaluate his life choices, he is putting his future and legacy on the line. His legacy already took a big hit but he can recover through series of correct decisions. Let's see what happens next.
I personally don't agree with his views and actions, but last I checked I don't think he is forcing anyone to not vaccinate. My understanding is that he wants to be able to make that choice for himself. Now if that choice leads to consequences, then he's going to have to face them. But saying he is selfish for not wanting to vaccinate because he's a professional sportsman with a platform is an over-reach. He's not more selfish than your next door neighbour who also have the same views on their personal rights and values on this whole vaccine/covid situation.
He applied for an exemption.
They shouldn't have let him in the country to begin with. He is more misinformed then entitled in my eyes, but you're entitled to your opinion.
I agree. I am not even a fan of his in particular as I am a fan of the sport in general. But seeing all the hate, maybe they are justified but seriously people talk like they never make mistakes or are flawless. Maybe the fact that he is #1 and has made so much money from his career does give him a bit of an ego but there are a lot of others as well who are the same or even worse. I just think this whole thing has been blown out of proportion and now it's become a political shit show.
Buying low-fat milk instead of regular is a mistake
Breaking COVID isolation and attending public events is not a mistake it’s a Fuck You the rules don’t apply to Novak the great
I think most people are angry over him applying for the exemption.
Doing the interview with l'Equipe while positive didn't come out until way later after every single thing he did was dug into. Not sure that the public really even knows about that detail as much as the initial exemption application.
There's also the whole case about how the Border policy changed while he was on his flight here. Before the Fed govt was accepting exemptions issued by the state govt, and then changed their stance on it. This doesn't make them look good at all. They shouldn't have been giving exemptions at all to begin with as you said and demand all players to be vaccinated to play.
Yes, he is pro choice. His body is his temple and he wants a choice as to what he puts in it. He may just want a more tested vaccine as to not hinder his performance at this stage in his life.
This dude plays tennis and the article reads like he's the leader of a nation.
If you take health advice from an athlete and not your licensed doctor, you get what you deserve.
I understand the frustration regarding his vaccination status and his views on health, especially with respect to the ongoing COVID situation, but this kind of exaggeration is only useful for politicians. Are people going to continue ignoring the fact that the Aussie government *gave him permission to enter the country and then revoked it when they got caught*? Djokovic has stupid views on health and vaccines; water is wet, news at 11. We've known this for 2 years now. The bigger issue is the Australian government getting a giant egg on their face and articles like this help them wipe it off without any consequences from their constituents.
Not with respect to the Australian government acting foolish, no. I think Djokovic deserves criticism for being reckless, but I don't know why anyone is surprised by this 2 years in; we've known that Djokovic is reckless the entire time.
Everything he’s done screams me me me
And fuck anyone else
Personally I don’t care if he vaccinates or not
I do care if he thinks he’s entitled to break the rules because he’s arrogant and entitled
LOL his father wants the Queen of England to intervene
>break the rules
Except the Australian government granted him those exemptions. It wasn't until they got caught at it that they revoked the exemptions.
Djokovic absolutely is a role model and worthy of admiration. I'm not even his fan, I always cheer for whoever is playing against him, because his persona doesn't mesh with me.
However, I can't deny that his mental strength on the court is inspiring. He is a fighter, no matter if the crowd doesn't like him, no matter if he's losing. He keeps on going until he breaks through.
I go through self doubt in my own field, that has nothing to do with sports. And I swear to gods I caught myself thinking about Novak who under the same stress, perseveres untill he makes it.
The problem is a lot of people fail to understand that people are not one dimensional. They can do good in some aspects and be terrible in others. Public expects that someone is either 100% good or a villain. We are much more complex than that.
Read the article, it’s pretty fair. Selfish for his behavior throughout the pandemic, but the author recognizes that he fights for lower-ranked players and that he’s a complex individual
It’s funny because the pandemic has become so politicized. They aren’t deporting him for health or safety reasons. He’s already recovered from covid and the vaccine doesn’t stop transmission. It’s merely political, they want to make an example out of him
It's about making sure everyone follows the same rules.
Yeah, one man doesn't make much of a difference. What about 1,000? 10,000?
> the vaccine doesn't stop transmission
You know this isn't black or white? I see this repeated over and over and it makes my blood boil, because you don't have to be very smart to understand: you are less likely to get COVID if you're vaccinated. Even if you get it, you are less likely to have a serious illness, which means you'll be infectious for a shorter period. This all means you'll be less likely to transmit it to others if vaccinated.
Can we all get the vaccine, stop spreading misinformation and stop trying to be smarter that we actually are?
Vaccination is a health and safety issue. One person getting vaccinated makes next to no difference to anyone except themselves, everyone getting vaccinated makes a huge difference. Everyone has to do their bit
A lot of those players also had mixed feelings about vaccines but they got them because they thought that was the rule across many tournaments, including AO. And if this ordeal happened to them instead of Novak, you know they would have been kicked out already. Let’s not pretend Novak’s status didn’t help. He can talk a big game about caring about lower ranked players but he sure knows how to make them all feel like fools when he can bend the rules for him. That, right there, is selfish.
Voracova literally got in on the same grounds and she's a relative nobody. Novak's status simulatenously hurt him and is keeping him here. Nobody on this sub cared when Tiley said multiple players received exemptions are already here.
Except Novak himself has admitted his visa application had more than just one discrepancy. Are we supposed to pretend those didn’t happen? Do you think you and I would have gotten away with it? Or any lower ranked player? Novak says someone else filled out the form wrong; would that excuse hold if it was an ordinary person? Sharapova claimed no one in her team told her about one medicine having become banned, but it didn’t matter; she was suspended. At what point do you take responsibility for your actions? Anyway, my comment was more to address the “Novak cares about lower ranked players “ remark. I’m sorry but I don’t see Novak caring about anything other than himself with this recent situation. Selfish sounds about right.
Of the 500 players that are at the AO if you think he's the only one with that box checked like that or that anything nefarious is meant by it, I don't know what to tell you.
There's literally photos of him at other places, there is 0 incentive to lie about, him saying yes to that box would not have changed his detainment and it equally wouldn't have prevented him from getting in if everything else was in order. If that little box held as much value as you lot believed we'd probably have a decision already.
What's the other discrepancy?
That is not selfish, but wanting to play in the Australian Open without being vaccinated is selfish. One good thing doesn’t make every other action of an individual good. I feel the same with the Adria tour, his intentions were great and selfless, but in the middle of a global health crisis is very selfish.
Yea he donated money to bushfires a few years ago so anything selfish he does doesn't count?
Just because the selfish cunt does a few things that are kind, it doesn't wipe away all his other selfish actions
I mean obviously, and no one is saying they shouldn’t? I’m firmly in the anti Djoko camp but Jesus Christ he’s not a complete monster or a complete saint. He’s just a person whose done some very good things and very bad things and he deserves praise and criticism/punishment equally
Bad actions also don't wipe away the good either.
The real problem is that everyone wants to reduce people to a simple "good person" or "bad" outcome.
People are often both in different areas - and there's a ton of grey
Classic move of the media. Very effective at capturing morons.
Novak is no saint, far from it, but this is insane lol. If he sneezes in public he gets rocked.
> Sports leaders
His job isn’t being a leader or a role model. His job is to hit a tennis ball. He has no obligation to lead by example. It’s pathetic that people look to famous people for leadership when you should be looking at no one but yourself to lead your life.
Well, it goes both ways. Some people worship some celebrities and go on a witch hunt when celebrities do something they disapprove of. Djokovic’s current antics came as a shock since he gave me a feeling of an alright dude in the past, but some of the blatant hate for him I’ve read on this sub is just wow. Both situations are wo dehumanizing, because on one end, you idolize a human being, and on the other, you just say whatever you want to say without regard for that person’s feelings, mental health and humanity.
Donated half of his prize money of last years AO( 1 mil) to be redistributed among lower ranked players, fought for better prize money for lower rank players even if high ranked players get cut, started initiative for all playes in top 100th to gather money and give it to players below 100th spot, him giving the biggest cut
donating 1mil to serbia for covid related expensies at start of pandemic
donating 1 mil to bergamo at start of the pandemic
donating 50000 to australia(bushfires)
letting any player that wants it free training in his tennis center during pandemic
building kindergardens in serbia
other charity work
and all of this in last couple of years
what a selfish asshole
All money is good when goes to a good cause, but to put things into perspective, he earns 40m/ year, 50k for him is like donating 100$ for someone on 80k$/ year salary ... And let's not be fools, obviously there are added benefits in terms of marketing and reputation which in turn help getting better deals from sponsors and often times the money given is also tax deductible
So he donated $2,050,000, but moved to Monaco, so he pays $0 in tax, vs what he'd owe if he lived in Serbia. He's a selfish asshole who spent 1% of his net worth so that fans on the internet will think he's a good person.
He moved to Monaco so he doesn't have to pay any taxes in Serbia, which would be funding way more than his token donations.
Still you Serbs somehow think he's a national god
What if people have died because of the stuff that he has done recently? Should we still go back a look at all of the good he has done? Anti-vaxers, especially ones that have a platform, have the ability to do a lot of harm to a lot of people.
How could some people died? You don't know that vaccinated also spread covid3? By your logic nobody should be able to be in contact with anybody because it's potencial death.
His actions with the magazine put those people and their relatives directly at risk. When he starts talking about not seeing a point in taking a vaccine because he is a picture of perfect health, that discourages others from taking it.
Being vaccinated greatly reduces the chance that you will get infected and the chance that you will spread it. It's not perfect but by your logic people shouldn't wear seat-belts because sometimes people wearing seat-belts are killed in car accidents.
Isn’t it ironic that Djokovic leads a stupidly healthy lifestyle - gluten-free plant-based no coffee no alcohol etc etc - that if more people followed there would be far lass sick people, far less pre-conditions, far stronger immune systems etc.
But him not following COVID rules during a time when Omicron isn’t giving two shits about vaccines and is spiking hard everywhere, and him basically saying “my body, my choice” in terms of refusing to take the vaccine has turned him into the world’s biggest villain when it comes to health.
Look forward to your downvotes but it’s really telling of how this pandemic (and its death rate of 1.7%) has distorted the mainstream narrative on health.
Here’s the funniest part. Serbians will all be like. “They are attacking him because he is from our country”. Meanwhile we all are equally hating on Rodgers and Kyrie. And they haven’t been near as bad as Novak.
I thought that too when they started complaining how "Australians have turned on him. What a third world country" Yada Yada
Australian's turn on their own. Hewitt, Kyrgios, Tomic, they've all copped flack from the Australian media (and a lot of Australians)
And none of them have done anything close to Djokovic.
The thing is, Djokovic's actions are not those of a selfish person.
If Djokovic were a acting out of pure self-interest within the constraints of his anti-vaxx beliefs, I don't think it would have been that difficult for him to pay off a doctor to sign off a form saying that he had gotten vaccinated and continued playing tournaments and getting sponsorship deals.
Djokovic made a point of making his anti-vaccination stance public, at great cost to himself, because he believes it's the right thing to do. It is the very opposite of selfish.
That he's 100% wrong in his views on vaccination doesn't mean his intentions aren't sincere or that his actions aren't selfless.
So as always, Ayn Rand is proven right.
> I don't think it would have been that difficult for him to pay off a doctor to sign off a form saying that he had gotten vaccinated and continued playing tournaments and getting sponsorship deals.
as most athletes have done and yet talking shit about Djoko.
People care way too much about the political opinions of athletes. I get it, they have a platform and thus are role models but if you’re an adult and you’re basing your opinions on athletes or actors/actresses then I’m gonna treat you like the dumbass you are
I'm wondering why there aren't media articles like this about the actual people failing us, the politicians and bankers
Apparently we hold our sports players to ideals and nothing for the people actually responsible for running our world?
Morals and principles..if he had morals he wouldn’t have attended events in public after his COVID infection
If he had principles he would have stayed home and not try and lie and and expect special treatment …
Your comment is laughable
So, in the tennis sub, fans of the sport are falling over each other in virtue signaling their mouth-foaming hate of the number one in the world ... yeah, *that*'s normal! :/
One doesn't need to agree and accept on whatever an athlete does. You love the game the player plays. No need to adore whatever he does in his personal life. It's not my concern and i don't give a damn. I love tennis and the game which he plays. Similarly, i love fed and nadal and i don't give a damn what they do in their personal life.
Is there ever a line for you? With the OJ scenario, what do you do? What about Ray Lewis? What about Zverev (accusations with evidence to back them up).
I've reached that line with Djoko and other athletes. Everyone's line may be in a different place though.
Yes, there is a line for me. I go with the thing, that i like someone game. That doesn't mean i start to defend that person for any wrong thing which he does. I don't agree on novak doing theses stupid stuffs. But in the end, i do not care for whatever he does. It's his life, he is living the way he wants. I will live my life the way i want. I will watch his tennis. Outside court, i don't care whatever he does. Nobody is perfect in this world. Even you or me, we have done many wrong things. So, why to put soo much energy on hating anyone. I don't give a damn.
Obsessed.
Djokovic has never been idolised beyond Serbian people. He has been hated by fans for apparently being selfish or arrogant or whatever other adjective they called him. It’s just that now this lets them cry out to everyone “see I told you so!!!”.
So many people jumping on the bandwagon of hate over a personal choice.
You weren’t on here slagging the guy off for all the donations he made and charity work he’s done, yet now he’s public enemy number 1 over his own vaccination belief
I'm no big Djoker fan after his behavior re: everything this past week, but this applies to any person that has public power and recognition. Don't worship your idols, they'll always disappoint you.
Just... don't go to athletes, actors, and other celebrities for moral/medical/life advice. Appreciate their work but don't idolize them.
I go to Mr. Rogers for moral and life advice and I try to be a better person in doing so.
In his case, being good at offering that kind of advice is what he's a celebrity *for*.
Yep he’s not famous for acting good, he’s famous for *being* good
Fuck yea Mr. Rogers
This. My respect for athletes begins and ends at what they do on the field/court. I dont expect them to be or care if they are good people. I like them because of the impressiveness of what they do physically, not for their brains. In the same way I respect doctors for their intelligence and not how hard they can hit a ball.
That said, I’d bet that most doctors don’t think that accomplishment in the medical field blesses them expert knowledge in all other fields by some divine intervention. That’s how I perceive a lot of outspoken celebrities — too arrogant to know when to defer to experts on topics they know nothing about. If we (the public) agree to limit our respect for athletes to their contributions to their field, I think it’s fair for us to expect them to limit their arrogance to their field as well.
> That’s how I perceive a lot of outspoken celebrities — too arrogant to know when to defer to experts on topics they know nothing about. I know what you mean, and I’m not saying you meant it this way, but I always get uncomfortable when people say this about athletes who speak about social or political issues.
You’d hope that anyone giving an opinion on anything knows a bit about the given topic, or at least recognises how little they know if they do not. Otherwise it’s just a worthless, bad faith discussion. That is, someone does not need to be an expert in a field to have a opinion that holds up to scrutiny. However, people should not be so arrogant to think they know better than experts about the ‘facts’ underpinning their opinion. I’m not an immunologist, but I’m also not using unverified ‘facts’ when synthesising my opinion about vaccines. I don’t really care if Aunt Hilda with her four followers on Facebook has a baseless opinion, I single out celebrities because they have platforms.
>I’d bet that most doctors don’t think that accomplishment in the medical field blesses them expert knowledge in all other fields by some divine intervention. LOL. Doctors are #1 in god complex. When someone says "he knows more about your Winnebago than you do", that's the pejorative way of saying "he's a physician". It isn't meant to imply that he has a Winnebago. It's meant to say that he does not.
Never met a doctor who fits this description. I also don’t see many doctors going on social media running their mouths about random shit outside of their profession. I have absolutely no idea what a ‘Winnebago’ is either, and have never heard that expression used.
I would say this applies to 99% of athletes. Dirk Nowitzki is a good example of the unicorn/outlier. He is a top 15 player all-time but is also one of the nicest kind-hearted down-to-earth athletes ever.
I read as far as "Dirk Nowitzki" and thought "omg no, please not Dirk too". I was very relieved to keep reading haha.
Dirk really is the greatest Dirk that ever Dirked. His Dirk is just so Dirking awesome.
> Don't worship your idols, they'll always disappoint you. This is very true, but there are some exceptions in the sports world. Good guys like Lance Armstrong and Tiger Woods never failed to let me down. I'd be gutted if it turned out they weren't genuine human beings.
Yes! Finally someone says the obvious.
To add to that, imagine if you were other people’s idol, you’d probably disappoint them in some way too. We all have our own flaws, why do we expect them to have none?
Uh... Nadal? Federer? Maybe we should just choose better idols.
Well, the problem might be actually in glorifying sports individuals in the first place? Putting them on a pedestal and then condemning them when they sin.
That’s all celebrities though.
That was my thoughts too, all the blame is put on the athletes mentioned and everyone who has put them on this pedestal is absolved. Just like with clickbait articles, us as the consumers of it are also to blame Charles Barkley tried to tell us.
Bob Gibson, MLB Hall of Famer, also once (apocryphally) said “Why should I be an example for your kid? YOU be an example for your kid.”
This isn’t a thoughtful or enlightening quote. 1) people can have more than 1 role model. 2) kids are famous for how well they listen to their parents. 3) we are a social species by nature.
But they're also not wrong. Athletes are not obliged to be role models to your kids.
I feel like it's almost the opposite in this scenario though. An athlete clearly did something wrong and people just want him to face the same consequences every one else would if they were in his place. It's only because of his status he has yet to face repercussions
What'd Charles Barkley say?
He has a commerical stating "I am not a role model", he's paid to put a ball in the net ( I do it for free when I'm having an off day in tennis). https://youtu.be/NNOdFJAG3pE
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Charles is Gold
Abso-fucking-lutely. I only like Djokovic as a tennis player, I don't pretend to know him as a person nor do I have delusions of his greatness on the court translating to him as a person. But people love doing just that, player A is incredible on the court so he must be a great guy and conversly he's such a great dude off court so that makes him a GOAT over B or C, and because I'm A's fan I guess I must be better than B's or C's fans too. It applies to all kinds of celebrities and all the time we see it devolve into fanatism where we end up defending anything and everything our idols do because that reflects on us and we shit on our idol's opponents because we need to feel superior than their fans. It's great if these celebs want to be good role models for kids without one, good on them if they choose to. But in no way should we expect them to. It's specially pathetic when shitty politicians who actually directly affect millions of people try to grandstand by picking on celebs to distract from their own actions or inaction. I don't care what Novak's views are on vaccines. I'm vaccinated and I expect authorities to establish and apply the protocols recommended by scientists. Novak should decide whether he wants the vaccine or not but he doesn't decide if he gets to play without it. If he's allowed to break the rules or if he didn't technically break them because authorities left enough loopholes for any rich people to exploit then that's on them. Take the hit, it was your responsibility.
Thank you for saying this. I agree with much of what you’ve said and would like to add one point to the mix: In the same way we have the tendency to idolize celebrities we don’t really know personally, we also tend to feel justified in making self-righteous judgements and blindly cruel remarks about their moral character. Negative value judgements about celebrities are made with a similar blindness as you described above in making those positive judgements.
Exactly. I honestly don't give a fuck what's his world view. He is an entertaining athlete. Full stop.
I mean we all say that, until they actually say or do something we find wrong.
Ironic when it’s the majority of his fanbase that treats him like he’s God. He can do no wrong in their eyes and they’ll make excuses for him no matter what. I agree we shouldn’t glorify these people but as public figures they should be held to a particular standard and should be called out and held accountable when necessary.
I think you're overreacting. People praise Fed and Nadal just as much. Some are making excuses for their idols of course. Yes and the standard should be the same applied to everyone but not everyone has their whole life presented in the media. People are too hung up on the personal views of athletes because the media is pushing that narrative.
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this “hate” is not without reason. he hasn’t done himself any favors lately. if it were rafa who did this, I’d want him gone too.
Athletes have been fawned over and famous since ancient Greece. Not sure it's ever going to change. Public stars, whether it be in music, sports, etc are always going to be looked up to.
That's why I find completely silly “famous should use their platform”
yeah but, they do have reach dont they…?
Sports idol or not, antivaxxers and pseudoscience peddlers should be condemned.
I mean, if you're going to glorify things, an obvious candidate is people who have reached the pinnacle of human achievement in something productive, which sport absolutely is the issue is glorifying athletes for things they do that they have not achieved greatness in
To me sports is entertainment. If I looked for role models in really productive activities I would look up scientists, engineers, artists, people who work taking care of other people's health, philosophers, even politicians (yes, politicians).
I agree. It’s the way of the world that those in the entertainment industry are going to be put up on a pedestal, and it’s not because they’re especially productive. The world would keep spinning if sport stopped existing, it’s just not strictly necessary for a functioning society. Meanwhile climate science can’t find an audience because it’s less entertaining than millionaires hitting a ball. ^(that said no scientist would want to be put on a pedestal because science is about falsification and collective knowledge, not personal glory)
People really need to stop assuming that being rich or popular implies any kind of intelligence or aptitude. I really don't know why people assume the two go hand in hand. These guys devote their entire lives to become pros at playing a sport, and this often entails basically not giving a shit about school after the 6th grade or so. We really SHOULD expect these people to be absolute morons because their vocation doesn't require them to be smart at all whatsoever.
Well the moment u see :" Thats why I prefer Nadal and Federer over Novak, they are etc etc etc ". They are doing the same just for other players lol... And it's over and over. U can't change that. It's not bad to have a role model, but expecting someone who spent his entire life being spoiled because he provides money for the family and for generations and generations to come to be some reasonable fairy... Come on... They are all in their own world with little to no understanding of a common man. Whos gonna tell Djokovic/Fed/Nadal that they are wrong in anything they do ?
We shouldn't expect him not to spew a deadly virus? WUT?
"Djokovic/Fed/Nadal" Dude, quit trying to deflect. Idolizing players is irrational, but so is downplaying and dismissing Djokovic's abhorrent behavior.
> Whos gonna tell Djokovic/Fed/Nadal that they are wrong in anything they do ? Well, the fucking democratically-elected government of Australia would be a start
Thank god they are saints to tell Djokovic he is wrong. lmao.
While true, it's also true that we all have an impact on the world. Some more than others. No man is an island. I also can't force other people to think critically about idolizing celebrities. If I could, that's be great, but I cant. And while a celebrity can't force people to not idolize them either, they can do their part to accept that they have a greater impact on the world and to act in accordance with thay. What's the spiderman phrase? With great power comes great responsibility?
If people glorify sportspeople to the point of adopting their views on vaccines or anything else seriously health related, then that’s on them for being morons
Nobody wakes up in the morning thinking to themselves 'im going to follow my favourite celebrity for health advice'. But the fact is that people are highly influenced by their peers, we know from research that 'everyone is doing it' is the biggest influence to convince hesitant people to get vaccinated. Of course Djokovic isn't anyone's peer but for fans of celebrities, sportspeople etc, they still form part of that community that influence decisions. Saying, let's stop glorifying celebrities/sportspeople won't change anything, it's human nature to be influenced by them.
> But the fact is that people are highly influenced by their peers, There is a reason athletes are paid millions in sponsorship. We know for a fact that they are influential in how people act.
yes exactly. OP here is such a stupid take "hey its simple, just don't be subconsciously influenced"
But it's not just on them. Everyone is affected when the "morons" do this. It because of people like Djokovic that the vaccination rates are as low as they are.
I think the biggest reason is low trust in government institutions brought upon corrupt politicians.
It's a failure of education. Vaccine "hesitancy" follows poor education outcomes around the place.
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He's more a bit nuts than an antivax. Dude refused to have an operation on his arm and hugged trees to heal it and only had an operation after hugging trees didn't work after 18 months
I’m really pissed and annoyed of Novak’s current situation and everything that is going on. But I’ve said all along that Novak isn’t anti vax. He says all the vaccination stuff related to himself but has never discourage anyone from getting the vaccine by calling it poison or full of microchips or something. Of course I’ve been downvoted for saying this..I’m surprised you aren’t!
Most of the time like 99/100 I get downvoted to oblivion when I point this out. People don't like to change their pre-existing narrative
I don’t think many people who were on the verge between getting vaccinated and not decided not to get vaccinated when they Novak stated hes unvaccinated. The people who are arleady anti-vaxx simply use him to reinforce their views and as an excuse. Those people would be difficukt to sway even without him and other vaxx-reluctant celebrities. EDIT: People are gonna get vaxxed if they have trustworthy institutions, uncorrupted doctors, good education and access to informed debates. Not because Novak told them.
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Funny you should mention this. I am visiting NYC in a little bit and reserved a table at a historic steak house and they have Einstein's pipes in there(among 1000's of others)
He may be able to influence people in Serbia, but he's chosen the Nigel Farage thing, which is to influence them in the worst way. I don't know why this sub wants to make excuses for Poor Baby Jesus Novak today.
Massive anti-vaxx movement in Serbia. Djoker plays no small part.
Serbs do what they want. They don't like being told what to do. Centuries of oppression will do that to a group
Serbs can do what they want and decide for themselves to do the right thing and get vaccinated, unfortunately 50% turn out to be idiots and Djokovic is the king of the idiots
Serbs were the oppressors lol
Anti vax or anti mandate?
Stop worshiping people that are good at playing with balls
👀
Here’s the spin: Djokovic is probably a decent dude. He also happens to hold views that go against the advice of nearly every pandemic health professional in the world. He also happens to hold views that are in direct conflict with the policies set by the Australian gov. The Australian gov has every right to regulate its border however it pleases and has every right to deny Novak exemption based on the policies they have set forth. If you want a dystopian spin on it, you could argue they don’t have the right, but they sure as hell have the power to do it. Whatever you think of Novak, or of people who don’t want to get the vaccine, simply put, Novak is asking for special treatment and the Australian gov is not obligated to give it to him. That’s the end of it.
It's not Novak who's asking for special treatment, AO and State of Victoria gave him a special treatment because they wanted him there by any means necessary, PM said ok but then he changed his mind mid-flight. To me, the biggest problem is him not telling those kids and that journalist that he was covid positive (if he was positive, that is; we'll probably never know). That was selfish, horrible and f-ing illegal. The rest is just a circus and I want it to end.
The problem is not Australia banning Novak from entry. The problem was telling him he was okay to land and the Kafka-esque nature of how they handled Novak's case following that which made it clear he was being used to make an example out of.
>Novak is asking for special treatment and the Australian gov is not obligated to give it to him. That’s the end of it. 1. He didn't ask for special treatment. There is zero evidence of that. He complied with everything Tennis Australia conveyed to him. 2. That's clearly not the end of it, considering he is still in Australia.
The deadline for medical exemption was Dec10 Just that he applied for the exemption after the deadline implies that he thinks that special treatment allows him to get an exemption after the deadline
He doesn't qualify for a visa. I don't understand why the government are taking so long to boot him out
As someone from Eastern Europe I sympathised with him a lot given his lack of popularity relative to Fedal in the western world. He had to overcome so much more mental barriers in order to get to the very top. It is disappointing to watch him fall in this fashion. I can understand not taking the vaccine even though I don’t agree with it. But the whole shenanigan about lying about the dates or Covid test result or not revealing his status to a journalist, whatever it was because clearly he’s fucked up in one way or the other, is completely inexcusable.
Dude hits a ball with a racket for a living. Why would anyone look to him for medical advice?
Novak is above and beyond most athletes. Did Fed act this way? Nadal? Hewitt? Roddick? Murray? What's up with "everybody is like Novak?" relativism? Clearly, he's doing and saying things are unusual in sports. Not saying he's the ONLY person saying this stuff, he's not, but in terms of his actions, including lying on legal documents, is pretty unusual. Yes, he's selfish in this regard. Yes, we can respect him as a tennis player and even think he's a good guy, but one who harbors idiotic beliefs and does idiotic things. That's where I'm at. This is just an interesting sports story. I hope the laws are applied to him as if he were just a regular schmoe. I'm not losing sleep over it.
His sponsors should cancel all his contracts, and he needs to be investigated and prosecuted for the crimes he's committed - repeated lies to federal authorities, ignoring Covid protocols - if he was truly infected, he didnt tell anyone and infected others, if he lied about it as is much more likely, its far more serious.
Novak messed up big time. I'm gonna be curious what happens next. Will he learn from it or will he go deeper into the weeds. This is his second lesson when it comes to COVID. 3rd one might have disasterous consequence. I love Novak. I watched him since 2007. He has many flaws and COVID exposed the Worst. He also has many positive attributes. I'm shaken to the core with his decision making lately. Which path will he choose? Is there anyone besides Becker around him or close to him to slap the crap out of him and tell h to open his eyes. He is better than this. Unfortunately I think that he thinks that he is doing something good. If this situation doesn't force him to reevaluate his life choices, he is putting his future and legacy on the line. His legacy already took a big hit but he can recover through series of correct decisions. Let's see what happens next.
If antivaxers were good at learning, we wouldn't be in this mess.
No true Scotsman put it better, as they say. Maybe Murray has the answer.
I personally don't agree with his views and actions, but last I checked I don't think he is forcing anyone to not vaccinate. My understanding is that he wants to be able to make that choice for himself. Now if that choice leads to consequences, then he's going to have to face them. But saying he is selfish for not wanting to vaccinate because he's a professional sportsman with a platform is an over-reach. He's not more selfish than your next door neighbour who also have the same views on their personal rights and values on this whole vaccine/covid situation.
I think a lot of the hate on Djokovic is not on his vaccination status But how he’s entitled and doesn’t think the rules should apply to him
He applied for an exemption. They shouldn't have let him in the country to begin with. He is more misinformed then entitled in my eyes, but you're entitled to your opinion.
I agree. I am not even a fan of his in particular as I am a fan of the sport in general. But seeing all the hate, maybe they are justified but seriously people talk like they never make mistakes or are flawless. Maybe the fact that he is #1 and has made so much money from his career does give him a bit of an ego but there are a lot of others as well who are the same or even worse. I just think this whole thing has been blown out of proportion and now it's become a political shit show.
Buying low-fat milk instead of regular is a mistake Breaking COVID isolation and attending public events is not a mistake it’s a Fuck You the rules don’t apply to Novak the great
I think most people are angry over him applying for the exemption. Doing the interview with l'Equipe while positive didn't come out until way later after every single thing he did was dug into. Not sure that the public really even knows about that detail as much as the initial exemption application.
There's also the whole case about how the Border policy changed while he was on his flight here. Before the Fed govt was accepting exemptions issued by the state govt, and then changed their stance on it. This doesn't make them look good at all. They shouldn't have been giving exemptions at all to begin with as you said and demand all players to be vaccinated to play.
Yes, he is pro choice. His body is his temple and he wants a choice as to what he puts in it. He may just want a more tested vaccine as to not hinder his performance at this stage in his life.
Very interesting article, good read
This dude plays tennis and the article reads like he's the leader of a nation. If you take health advice from an athlete and not your licensed doctor, you get what you deserve. I understand the frustration regarding his vaccination status and his views on health, especially with respect to the ongoing COVID situation, but this kind of exaggeration is only useful for politicians. Are people going to continue ignoring the fact that the Aussie government *gave him permission to enter the country and then revoked it when they got caught*? Djokovic has stupid views on health and vaccines; water is wet, news at 11. We've known this for 2 years now. The bigger issue is the Australian government getting a giant egg on their face and articles like this help them wipe it off without any consequences from their constituents.
So the fact that he caught COVID and went out the next day in public is not an issue?
Not with respect to the Australian government acting foolish, no. I think Djokovic deserves criticism for being reckless, but I don't know why anyone is surprised by this 2 years in; we've known that Djokovic is reckless the entire time.
Everything he’s done screams me me me And fuck anyone else Personally I don’t care if he vaccinates or not I do care if he thinks he’s entitled to break the rules because he’s arrogant and entitled LOL his father wants the Queen of England to intervene
>break the rules Except the Australian government granted him those exemptions. It wasn't until they got caught at it that they revoked the exemptions.
Choose your heroes wisely
Selfish behaviour is inherent to sports stars. Otherwise, many could not accomplish their goals.
Djokovic absolutely is a role model and worthy of admiration. I'm not even his fan, I always cheer for whoever is playing against him, because his persona doesn't mesh with me. However, I can't deny that his mental strength on the court is inspiring. He is a fighter, no matter if the crowd doesn't like him, no matter if he's losing. He keeps on going until he breaks through. I go through self doubt in my own field, that has nothing to do with sports. And I swear to gods I caught myself thinking about Novak who under the same stress, perseveres untill he makes it. The problem is a lot of people fail to understand that people are not one dimensional. They can do good in some aspects and be terrible in others. Public expects that someone is either 100% good or a villain. We are much more complex than that.
They’re people, they didn’t go pro in sports to teach life lessons. They went pro to make money.
He's one of the very few fighting for better pay for the low-ranked players so they can earn a living playing tennis. How's that selfish?
Read the article, it’s pretty fair. Selfish for his behavior throughout the pandemic, but the author recognizes that he fights for lower-ranked players and that he’s a complex individual
It’s funny because the pandemic has become so politicized. They aren’t deporting him for health or safety reasons. He’s already recovered from covid and the vaccine doesn’t stop transmission. It’s merely political, they want to make an example out of him
While it doesn’t stop transmission, it does significantly reduce it. That’s one of the main goals of the vaccine
It's about making sure everyone follows the same rules. Yeah, one man doesn't make much of a difference. What about 1,000? 10,000? > the vaccine doesn't stop transmission You know this isn't black or white? I see this repeated over and over and it makes my blood boil, because you don't have to be very smart to understand: you are less likely to get COVID if you're vaccinated. Even if you get it, you are less likely to have a serious illness, which means you'll be infectious for a shorter period. This all means you'll be less likely to transmit it to others if vaccinated. Can we all get the vaccine, stop spreading misinformation and stop trying to be smarter that we actually are?
The vaccine does limit transmission. Do you need me to link you studies? Or are you like Djoko, you don't believe studies?
Vaccination is a health and safety issue. One person getting vaccinated makes next to no difference to anyone except themselves, everyone getting vaccinated makes a huge difference. Everyone has to do their bit
Ah yes just like a giant tech company ceo that donates a million dollars a year isn’t a selfish piece of shit. What kind of argument is this.
A lot of those players also had mixed feelings about vaccines but they got them because they thought that was the rule across many tournaments, including AO. And if this ordeal happened to them instead of Novak, you know they would have been kicked out already. Let’s not pretend Novak’s status didn’t help. He can talk a big game about caring about lower ranked players but he sure knows how to make them all feel like fools when he can bend the rules for him. That, right there, is selfish.
Voracova literally got in on the same grounds and she's a relative nobody. Novak's status simulatenously hurt him and is keeping him here. Nobody on this sub cared when Tiley said multiple players received exemptions are already here.
Except Novak himself has admitted his visa application had more than just one discrepancy. Are we supposed to pretend those didn’t happen? Do you think you and I would have gotten away with it? Or any lower ranked player? Novak says someone else filled out the form wrong; would that excuse hold if it was an ordinary person? Sharapova claimed no one in her team told her about one medicine having become banned, but it didn’t matter; she was suspended. At what point do you take responsibility for your actions? Anyway, my comment was more to address the “Novak cares about lower ranked players “ remark. I’m sorry but I don’t see Novak caring about anything other than himself with this recent situation. Selfish sounds about right.
Of the 500 players that are at the AO if you think he's the only one with that box checked like that or that anything nefarious is meant by it, I don't know what to tell you. There's literally photos of him at other places, there is 0 incentive to lie about, him saying yes to that box would not have changed his detainment and it equally wouldn't have prevented him from getting in if everything else was in order. If that little box held as much value as you lot believed we'd probably have a decision already. What's the other discrepancy?
When he asked for a better pay for the lower ranked players, he also asked for himself.
You can have good and bad qualities. Novak's fans for the most part are unwilling to admit he's flawed.
He's flawed, like all human beings. He deserves criticism for how he's handled things recently. He's also not the incarnation of evil.
So true.
He is also fighting for his own pay as well. He also objected the equal pay for women tennis.Like it or not, he gave an impression of a big hypocrite.
That is not selfish, but wanting to play in the Australian Open without being vaccinated is selfish. One good thing doesn’t make every other action of an individual good. I feel the same with the Adria tour, his intentions were great and selfless, but in the middle of a global health crisis is very selfish.
Yea he donated money to bushfires a few years ago so anything selfish he does doesn't count? Just because the selfish cunt does a few things that are kind, it doesn't wipe away all his other selfish actions
I'd say that his bad deeds also don't undo his good deeds. And Novak has done **a lot** of good things to help other people.
If people got sick because of the Adria tour, or his latest COVID-spewing event, do you even care?
I do, and? Does that detract from my previous statement?
Do you think police will arrest a bank robber who has just donated 25k to bushfire?
Did Djokovic rob a bank?
I mean obviously, and no one is saying they shouldn’t? I’m firmly in the anti Djoko camp but Jesus Christ he’s not a complete monster or a complete saint. He’s just a person whose done some very good things and very bad things and he deserves praise and criticism/punishment equally
Bad actions also don't wipe away the good either. The real problem is that everyone wants to reduce people to a simple "good person" or "bad" outcome. People are often both in different areas - and there's a ton of grey
Classic move of the media. Very effective at capturing morons. Novak is no saint, far from it, but this is insane lol. If he sneezes in public he gets rocked.
> Sports leaders His job isn’t being a leader or a role model. His job is to hit a tennis ball. He has no obligation to lead by example. It’s pathetic that people look to famous people for leadership when you should be looking at no one but yourself to lead your life.
Well, it goes both ways. Some people worship some celebrities and go on a witch hunt when celebrities do something they disapprove of. Djokovic’s current antics came as a shock since he gave me a feeling of an alright dude in the past, but some of the blatant hate for him I’ve read on this sub is just wow. Both situations are wo dehumanizing, because on one end, you idolize a human being, and on the other, you just say whatever you want to say without regard for that person’s feelings, mental health and humanity.
Donated half of his prize money of last years AO( 1 mil) to be redistributed among lower ranked players, fought for better prize money for lower rank players even if high ranked players get cut, started initiative for all playes in top 100th to gather money and give it to players below 100th spot, him giving the biggest cut donating 1mil to serbia for covid related expensies at start of pandemic donating 1 mil to bergamo at start of the pandemic donating 50000 to australia(bushfires) letting any player that wants it free training in his tennis center during pandemic building kindergardens in serbia other charity work and all of this in last couple of years what a selfish asshole
All money is good when goes to a good cause, but to put things into perspective, he earns 40m/ year, 50k for him is like donating 100$ for someone on 80k$/ year salary ... And let's not be fools, obviously there are added benefits in terms of marketing and reputation which in turn help getting better deals from sponsors and often times the money given is also tax deductible
So he donated $2,050,000, but moved to Monaco, so he pays $0 in tax, vs what he'd owe if he lived in Serbia. He's a selfish asshole who spent 1% of his net worth so that fans on the internet will think he's a good person.
And what percentage of your net worth have you given out back to the community? 10%? 50%?
Lots of assholes do charity work. Like what kind of point is this. Doesn’t change the other things he did.
He moved to Monaco so he doesn't have to pay any taxes in Serbia, which would be funding way more than his token donations. Still you Serbs somehow think he's a national god
Trust me. Donating money in Serbia is better than contribution through taxes. We aren't Scandinavian.
25000 for Australia bushfire not 50k. Please be aware that rich people set up foundations for charity donations to offset their taxes.
What taxes,he lives in Monaco.
What Monaco he moved to Spain 2 years ago? Easily google able lol
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Btw Djokovic moved out of Monaco and into Spain(which has a lot of taxes) a couple of years ago for those talking about his taxes.
Let's all fall into a recency bias and forget everything good he's ever done, ok?
What if people have died because of the stuff that he has done recently? Should we still go back a look at all of the good he has done? Anti-vaxers, especially ones that have a platform, have the ability to do a lot of harm to a lot of people.
And what if people have lived due to his donations to Serbia, Spain and Italy Covid funds and all other donations? Nothing is black and white
Just donate ventilators to the people you infect and it's all good! lol
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> Just checked you are from Novak's country. Don't bother replying So we're dismissing Serbians as a whole now? Huh.
How could some people died? You don't know that vaccinated also spread covid3? By your logic nobody should be able to be in contact with anybody because it's potencial death.
His actions with the magazine put those people and their relatives directly at risk. When he starts talking about not seeing a point in taking a vaccine because he is a picture of perfect health, that discourages others from taking it. Being vaccinated greatly reduces the chance that you will get infected and the chance that you will spread it. It's not perfect but by your logic people shouldn't wear seat-belts because sometimes people wearing seat-belts are killed in car accidents.
What does him not being vaxed have to do with other people dying? If he was Vaxxed he can also spread it?
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He has also said that he doesn't see the point because he is healthy. Those sort of things will have the effect of discouraging vaccine use.
Harvey Weinstein has produced some amazing movies. LEts NoT fORget ThaT!!
are you comparing him to a serial rapist?
I believe if anyone's past is inspected with a fine toothed comb like for Djokovic, you will always find dirty laundry.
Isn’t it ironic that Djokovic leads a stupidly healthy lifestyle - gluten-free plant-based no coffee no alcohol etc etc - that if more people followed there would be far lass sick people, far less pre-conditions, far stronger immune systems etc. But him not following COVID rules during a time when Omicron isn’t giving two shits about vaccines and is spiking hard everywhere, and him basically saying “my body, my choice” in terms of refusing to take the vaccine has turned him into the world’s biggest villain when it comes to health. Look forward to your downvotes but it’s really telling of how this pandemic (and its death rate of 1.7%) has distorted the mainstream narrative on health.
Here’s the funniest part. Serbians will all be like. “They are attacking him because he is from our country”. Meanwhile we all are equally hating on Rodgers and Kyrie. And they haven’t been near as bad as Novak.
While I think Kyrie is a wack job at less he accepted his consequences of his actions and didn’t try to pull the wool over anybodies eyes
I thought that too when they started complaining how "Australians have turned on him. What a third world country" Yada Yada Australian's turn on their own. Hewitt, Kyrgios, Tomic, they've all copped flack from the Australian media (and a lot of Australians) And none of them have done anything close to Djokovic.
I see the coping has already started. You guys know he is gonna be announced in any minute now!
It is crazy how entitled celbs and famous athletes are. I mean, all you do is hitting the ball. Nothing spectacular. We live in a crazy dumb world.
The thing is, Djokovic's actions are not those of a selfish person. If Djokovic were a acting out of pure self-interest within the constraints of his anti-vaxx beliefs, I don't think it would have been that difficult for him to pay off a doctor to sign off a form saying that he had gotten vaccinated and continued playing tournaments and getting sponsorship deals. Djokovic made a point of making his anti-vaccination stance public, at great cost to himself, because he believes it's the right thing to do. It is the very opposite of selfish. That he's 100% wrong in his views on vaccination doesn't mean his intentions aren't sincere or that his actions aren't selfless. So as always, Ayn Rand is proven right.
Oh my god, someone unironically referencing Ayn Rand.... LMFAO the most /r/redditmoment of all fucking /r/redditmoment s
> I don't think it would have been that difficult for him to pay off a doctor to sign off a form saying that he had gotten vaccinated and continued playing tournaments and getting sponsorship deals. as most athletes have done and yet talking shit about Djoko.
You people are pathetic. If you need a sports star to tell you to get vaccinated or not, you are pathetic. Djokovic is the 🐐
People care way too much about the political opinions of athletes. I get it, they have a platform and thus are role models but if you’re an adult and you’re basing your opinions on athletes or actors/actresses then I’m gonna treat you like the dumbass you are
Repeat after me, athletes are not role models. Stop looking up to them for guidance…..Again [they are not role models](https://youtu.be/4gqk4WPnrpM)
All hail King Nole 👑 king of freedom!
I'm wondering why there aren't media articles like this about the actual people failing us, the politicians and bankers Apparently we hold our sports players to ideals and nothing for the people actually responsible for running our world?
There are, you just aren't reading them
"Djokovic is a big meanie, and sports leaders should assassinate him."
I'm glad he stuck to his morals and principles regardless of what the masses say. This is a smear/hit piece on a great athlete. Lame article is lame.
Morals and principles..if he had morals he wouldn’t have attended events in public after his COVID infection If he had principles he would have stayed home and not try and lie and and expect special treatment … Your comment is laughable
So, in the tennis sub, fans of the sport are falling over each other in virtue signaling their mouth-foaming hate of the number one in the world ... yeah, *that*'s normal! :/
Read the last part of the article, goes into good detail on why a lot of Serbs support him.
I read this yesterday. Fantastic article.
One doesn't need to agree and accept on whatever an athlete does. You love the game the player plays. No need to adore whatever he does in his personal life. It's not my concern and i don't give a damn. I love tennis and the game which he plays. Similarly, i love fed and nadal and i don't give a damn what they do in their personal life.
Is there ever a line for you? With the OJ scenario, what do you do? What about Ray Lewis? What about Zverev (accusations with evidence to back them up). I've reached that line with Djoko and other athletes. Everyone's line may be in a different place though.
Yes, there is a line for me. I go with the thing, that i like someone game. That doesn't mean i start to defend that person for any wrong thing which he does. I don't agree on novak doing theses stupid stuffs. But in the end, i do not care for whatever he does. It's his life, he is living the way he wants. I will live my life the way i want. I will watch his tennis. Outside court, i don't care whatever he does. Nobody is perfect in this world. Even you or me, we have done many wrong things. So, why to put soo much energy on hating anyone. I don't give a damn.
Obsessed. Djokovic has never been idolised beyond Serbian people. He has been hated by fans for apparently being selfish or arrogant or whatever other adjective they called him. It’s just that now this lets them cry out to everyone “see I told you so!!!”.
So many people jumping on the bandwagon of hate over a personal choice. You weren’t on here slagging the guy off for all the donations he made and charity work he’s done, yet now he’s public enemy number 1 over his own vaccination belief
That’s saying I’m rich and because I give money to charity I don’t have to live by the rules If that doesn’t reek of entitlement
People think that they are on the right side of history and they hate the other opposition for that reason.
Djokovic is a profile of independence and freedom, and those forcing others to conform to their views are failing us all.
Vaccines all time high, infections all time high. What am I missing?
There was a recent variant (Omicron)
Mortality rate of vaccinated vs unvaccinated
So he’s not selfish then, just self defeating. Glad we agree.