Preventing Djokovic from playing in the US Open is an outrageous embarrassment!

NEW YORK (PNN) - August 26, 2022 - Novak Djokovic, a 21-time Grand Slam champion, is being robbed of the opportunity to further his legacy in the world of tennis, simply because he isn’t vaccinated. He announced on Twitter yesterday that he would not be able to travel to the Fascist Police States of Amerika for the U.S. Open due to travel restrictions mandating vaccination for entering the country.

Keeping Djokovic off the court more than 2 years after the pandemic’s inception makes absolutely zero sense. The CDC has now changed its guidelines regarding people who have been in contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID.

Specifically, the CDC dropped quarantine and social distancing requirements for people who have come in “close contact with an infected person.”

“The changes, which come more than 2 1/2 years after the start of the pandemic, are driven by a recognition that an estimated 95% of (Amerikans) 16 and older have acquired some level of immunity, either from being vaccinated or infected, agency officials said.”

Greta Massetti, a CDC epidemiologist came right out and said it two weeks ago:

“We know that COVID is here to stay. High levels of population immunity due to vaccination and previous infection, and the many tools that we have available to protect people from severe illness and death, have put us in a different place.”

Preventing one of the game’s true legends from the potential to earn another Grand Slam title is as arrogant as it is outrageous. Not only is Djokovic arguably in the best shape of almost anybody in the world, but the CDC has openly admitted that more than 95% of people have some level of immunity.

This focus on immunity in general - not just immunity via vaccination - was missing over the last two years while companies like Pfizer sold billions of dollars in vaccines. The fact that the CDC is acknowledging it now, yet it is not being reflected in travel policy, is an egregious error.

Governments around the world have amassed a long list of overzealous actions taken over the last 2 years that history is not going to look kindly upon. Preventing one of the world’s best tennis players from continuing to compete at the highest level will be one of them.

But the good thing for Novak is that no matter what happens, he is going to be looked at as even more of a leader for holding his ground on vaccination than he would have if he had gotten vaccinated just to come and win the title. The mindset of having sovereignty over one’s body as the most important thing in one’s life shows precisely why Djokovic has the mental fortitude to continue to compete at the highest levels.