Playing by the rules: COVID-19 vaccine exemptions in sport and the Djokovic saga
Global News
Experts say there is a lack of consistency when it comes to how different leagues and sporting bodies enforce COVID-19 vaccination requirements.
A legal battle between tennis star Novak Djokovic and the Australian government over his COVID-19 vaccination status came to an end Sunday with the Serbian player being deported a day before he was set to begin his title defense at the year’s first Grand Slam.
The men’s world number one player had his visa revoked twice in a span of 10 days after receiving a medical exemption from the COVID-19 vaccine requirement to compete at the Australian Open in Melbourne.
That exemption – organized through Tennis Australia – was granted on the grounds that the unvaccinated Serb tested positive for COVID-19 last month. But the government said a recent infection alone did not meet its standards for an exemption.
On Sunday, Australia’s federal court dismissed Djokovic’s appeal, upholding the government’s decision to cancel his visa for a second time.
The Djokovic saga has sparked widespread anger in Australia – which has imposed some of the world’s strictest COVID-19 measures – polarized tennis fans and raised questions about how officials handled the case.
Kerry Bowman, a professor of bioethics and global health at the University of Toronto, said while high-profile athletes should not be getting a pass when it comes to COVID-19 measures, enforcing rules that are “ambiguous or subject to interpretation” can be “very problematic” in the context of a global pandemic.
“The fact that we get it right with athletics, I think really matters because athletes are absolutely, without question … role models for many, many people, and they have profound influence on people.”
The stakes are much higher the bigger the name involved, he said.