Pure B***shit: Novak Djokovic granted medical exemption to play at Australian Open

[El Presidente]

 

So some Aussies haven't been able to come home from overseas for 18 months due to vaccine hoops you need to jump through. 

But wait.

 

Novak Djokovic granted medical exemption to play at Australian Open

 

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-01-04/novak-djokovic-says-received-an-exemption-to-enter-australia/100738536

 

I haven't seen people in this country so angry since beer tax was introduced. Talk about not reading the mood of the room. 

Good luck handling this one you spineless boffins. You deserve  it to blow up in your face. 

[Ken Gargett]

did you really ever think that the spineless toerags in charge were not going to find a way to have him play? 

[bassistheplace]

the politics of control, i mean covid

[Araffle]

“All animals are equal,…”

[Nino]

Money talks - what a shame, thought Australia was about rules .... Shame !

Hope you can push back.

[...]

One could make the mistake of thinking the elite would be examples to be followed. Very few get rich by excess of ethics and integrity 😅

[CaptainQuintero]

It's just blatant now, no trying to hide it

[Ken Gargett]

24 minutes ago, CaptainQuintero said:

It's just blatant now, no trying to hide it

oh no. they are trying to hide it. we have had to watch officials with a straight face - no idea whether they slithered out of the victorian government hole or the tennis australia one - tell us that this is all above board. an independent commission was established and cases were reviewed without them even knowing the names of those applying for exemption. and if ND got an exemption then it was all ridgy-didge! it does seem that lesser players were not so lucky but then that is simply because they did not qualify. nothing to see here.

and they honestly expect the public to swallow this. 

[CaptainQuintero]

2 hours ago, Ken Gargett said:

oh no. they are trying to hide it. we have had to watch officials with a straight face - no idea whether they slithered out of the victorian government hole or the tennis australia one - tell us that this is all above board. an independent commission was established and cases were reviewed without them even knowing the names of those applying for exemption. and if ND got an exemption then it was all ridgy-didge! it does seem that lesser players were not so lucky but then that is simply because they did not qualify. nothing to see here.

and they honestly expect the public to swallow this. 

  We should be ashamed for ever doubting them!

  I've a couple of family members who haven't been able to get back into Australia for 2 years now, haven't seen their newborn grandkids yet, I feel sick for them. I don't think I could write what they are feeling right now

  I'm guessing the thought process was something along the lines of the plebs love their circus, they would be upset if they didn't get their favourite clowns so let's make an exception.

  I can't wait to hear the crowd reaction

[Duxnutz]

Yep. Outrageous. I personally couldn’t visit and know at least 1 person who wasn’t permitted to see their dying parent due hotel quarantine (vaccinated too 🤦‍♂️ ). 
 

 

[LLC]

Never a fan of him. This certainly won’t help him getting new ones. 

[Ken Gargett]

36 minutes ago, LLC said:

Never a fan of him. This certainly won’t help him getting new ones. 

i was a fan - great player - but i will be hoping he gets a hiding day one (unless he is playing tomic or kyrgios, and then day two). 

apparently, they are now saying that there was an agreement in place that anyone who applied would be able to do so in confidence and the decision and reasons therefor would be kept private. in other words, we'll decide behind closed doors and then tell you it was all above board. 

corrupt and disgraceful. 

[porkchop]

46 minutes ago, LLC said:

Never a fan of him. This certainly won’t help him getting new ones. 

Understand being mad at the governing body - what did Djokovic do wrong? Guy said he would sit out.

[Ken Gargett]

Just now, porkchop said:

Understand being mad at the governing body - what did Djokovic do wrong? Guy said he would sit out.

understand that and it is a fair point, but he has been handed an advantage denied to others, basically under the "i'm special" rule. that sort of thing gets right up everyone's nose (well, right up Australians' noses, at least). the guy has said he would sit out but that has been seen as little more than an attempt to blackmail the organisers. and those spineless jellyfish caved. if he has nothing to hide, then make it all transparent - both sides have refused to do that. 

it does not, as we say here, pass the pub test. 

[porkchop]

Just now, Ken Gargett said:

understand that and it is a fair point, but he has been handed an advantage denied to others, basically under the "i'm special" rule. that sort of thing gets right up everyone's nose (well, right up Australians' noses, at least). the guy has said he would sit out but that has been seen as little more than an attempt to blackmail the organisers. and those spineless jellyfish caved. if he has nothing to hide, then make it all transparent - both sides have refused to do that. 

it does not, as we say here, pass the pub test. 

What advantage? He stood up to a bunch of bureaucrats and exposed them for what they really are. Should be commended. 

[Ken Gargett]

Just now, porkchop said:

What advantage? He stood up to a bunch of bureaucrats and exposed them for what they really are. Should be commended. 

what advantage? have you been following what has been happening? there are other players are not even getting here to play. i would have thought that is one big-arse advantage.

should be commended? we have a very different idea of what is admirable. did he expose them? we wouldn't know, and with respect, neither would you. it is all closed doors stuff. unless you are privy to inside information? 

others needing to isolate. others forced to get here weeks early. he spends his time at his own facility in marbella i believe, training as he wishes and can then swan over here when he wants. yeah, no advantage at all. 

[porkchop]

1 minute ago, Ken Gargett said:

what advantage? have you been following what has been happening? there are other players are not even getting here to play. i would have thought that is one big-arse advantage.

should be commended? we have a very different idea of what is admirable. did he expose them? we wouldn't know, and with respect, neither would you. it is all closed doors stuff. unless you are privy to inside information? 

others needing to isolate. others forced to get here weeks early. he spends his time at his own facility in marbella i believe, training as he wishes and can then swan over here when he wants. yeah, no advantage at all. 

Then change the rules. He is operating within the regulations. What do you want him to do? 

[Corylax18]

1 minute ago, porkchop said:

Then change the rules. He is operating within the regulations. What do you want him to do? 

Right. Just like Max Verstappen was "operating within the regulations" when the stewards waived him to the front of the pack and handed him a win, to the determent of the entire sport of F1.

When the people making and enforcing "the rules" do so at their own whim and pleasure, "the rules" aren't worth the hard drive they're stored on. 

[Cigar Surgeon]

31 minutes ago, Corylax18 said:

Right. Just like Max Verstappen was "operating within the regulations" when the stewards waived him to the front of the pack and handed him a win, to the determent of the entire sport of F1.

Edit: Btw I've become a big F1 fan and I just about threw my remote across the room when that nonsense happened at the end of the race.

[LLC]

36 minutes ago, porkchop said:

Understand being mad at the governing body - what did Djokovic do wrong? Guy said he would sit out.

I’m not really mad at anyone, including him. I was just commenting that I am not a fan of his and the perceived bad look of this may not help his image. Or it may not matter at all time will tell. 

[porkchop]

4 minutes ago, Corylax18 said:

Right. Just like Max Verstappen was "operating within the regulations" when the stewards waived him to the front of the pack and handed him a win, to the determent of the entire sport of F1.

When the people making and enforcing "the rules" do so at their own whim and pleasure, "the rules" aren't worth the hard drive they're stored on. 

This exemption has nothing to do with the actual competition. He isn't allowed to run around with a racket in both hands...

[Ken Gargett]

23 minutes ago, porkchop said:

This exemption has nothing to do with the actual competition. He isn't allowed to run around with a racket in both hands...

sorry, but that is rubbish. it has absolutely everything to do with the competition. 

as for changing the rules, there were rules in place. i realise that you have not followed this at all so i am running out of attempts to explain it.

he decided that he did not want to comply with the rules. both sides played line in the sand until the government and organisers realised he had no intention of complying. so if they wanted their biggest drawcard, they needed to do something. and he saw no reason why he should be held to the same standards and rules as others. they all rush off to head behind closed doors, come up with some so-called independent review panel and a load of crap about how he suddenly miraculously complies. despite other players in the same situation as far as we are aware, not complying. and despite him not complying until this nonsense. 

understandable why he would do anything he could to get into the comp but that does not make it right, and it devalues the entire thing. and shows politicians and others for what they are. as i said earlier, i have been a fan of his for a long time. this competition, i hope he is bundled out asap. and i have no doubt the crowd is going to be very very anti him. a shame as he has won more aust opens than anyone, i believe. and he'll leave here with a very sour taste in his mouth as a very unpopular player. 

[BrightonCorgi]

Elitists work under different pretense.  Rule for thee, not for me.  The slaps in the face during Covid are too many to count.  

[Fuzz]

I say boycott the AO. People should ask for their tickets to be refunded.

[Ken Gargett]

59 minutes ago, BrightonCorgi said:

Elitists work under different pretense.  Rule for thee, not for me.  The slaps in the face during Covid are too many to count.  

agreed. when you know of people locked out of australia for months/years, people who had to sit at home and isolate by themselves missing family/friends over christmas and so on. and then see the same people who'd fine the christ out of you if they caught you transgressing, completely ignore all of the crap they have shoved down our throats for months and months and allow a squillionaire tennis player to come here and skip everything that the rest of us are required to do. a lot of very pissed off people. 

50 minutes ago, Fuzz said:

I say boycott the AO. People should ask for their tickets to be refunded.

nice thought, fuzz. sadly, won't happen. they won't give up tickets. and it might be hard to claim a refund because a player is playing, rather than not. personally, won't be wasting any time watching it.