Mr. Djokovic faced negative press after he refused to be vaccinated to play in the Australian Open.
World number one tennis player Novak Djokovic has said that he is not against vaccination but only wants the right to opt out.
In early 2022, Mr. Djokovic became embroiled in controversy over the COVID-19 vaccine. At the time, he had received a vaccine exemption to play in the Australian Open. However, following a public outcry, the tennis player was deported and couldn’t take part in the competition.
“People tried to, you know, declare me as an anti-vax. I’m not anti-vax. Nor I am pro-vax. I’m pro-freedom to choose,” Mr. Djokovic said in a Dec. 10 interview with “60 Minutes.”
When asked how the controversy in Australia affected him, he replied that he was “basically declared as a villain of the world.”
“Most of the world [was] against me. I had that kind of experience on the tennis court with crowds that were not maybe cheering me on. But I never had this particular experience before in my life.”
Mr. Djokovic dismissed the suggestion that he misread the Australian culture which felt strongly about vaccination at the time. “The point is that it was not up to me to read anybody. I got the exemption. I got permission to come into the country. And so, of course, it escalated to the highest of the highest levels globally.”
Mr. Djokovic’s stance on vaccination has earned him considerable praise online. “One of the few athletes with a backbone,” Collin Rugg, co-owner of Trending Politics outlet, said in a Dec. 10 X post.
“The left is UP IN ARMS over tennis champion Novak Djokovic position on the vaccine. ‘I’m not anti-vax. Nor I am pro-vax. I’m pro-freedom to choose.’ What’s wrong with this?!?!” comedian Chad Prather said in an X post.
“Important reminder that Djokovic has NEVER said he was against vaccines. He even confirmed that he had all the vaccines as a child but when it came to the brand new Covid vaccine he was an advocate of freedom of choice and that everyone should be free to make their own decisions,” Pavvy G, a tennis blogger, said in a Dec. 9 post on X.
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