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

[porkchop]

1 hour ago, Ken Gargett said:

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.

There were 26 exemption applications related to the AO and 20-25% were approved. Not to be rude, your responses indicate you do not have a firm grasp on this subject. Djokovic will avoid restrictions because exempt visitors to Aus are treated the same as fully vaccinated visitors. Nothing was changed. A team of medical experts, after a rigorous review of the circumstances, rendered a decision.

Blame the politicians and administrators, not the guy who laid bare their hypocrisy for the world to see. 

[jonnyfromiranny]

Disclaimer: I am a US citizen and admittedly know very little about Aussie COVID requirements. 

…but it sounds like Aussie government is being a bit too strict with their regulations. By the feel of this thread it looks like I’m in the minority, but people being locked out of Australia unable to see family seems ridiculous. Is that not insane?

Serious question: Generally speaking, are Aussie citizens pretty happy with the way the government is handling the pandemic or do they feel they are overly strict?

Pardon my ignorance. 

[Ken Gargett]

4 minutes ago, porkchop said:

There were 26 exemption applications related to the AO and 20-25% were approved. Not to be rude, your responses indicate you do not have a firm grasp on this subject. Djokovic will avoid restrictions because exempt visitors to Aus are treated the same as fully vaccinated visitors. Nothing was changed. A team of medical experts, after a rigorous review of the circumstances, rendered a decision.

Blame the politicians and administrators, not the guy who laid bare their hypocrisy for the world to see. 

apparently you do have inside information because they have stated here that the number of those 26 who applied who were approved will not be revealed. do you have a source for this? 

and those 26 were actually out of 3,500 who wanted to enter - players, staff, family, coaches etc etc. 

"a rigorous review of the circumstances" "He stood up to a bunch of bureaucrats and exposed them for what they really are". so which is it? suddenly these bureaucrats are your good guys? 

here are your exemptions - 

• An acute major medical condition such as undergoing a major surgery
• Any serious adverse event attributed to a previous dose of a COVID-19 vaccine
• Evidence of a PCR-confirmed COVID-19 infection in the previous six months
• If the person is a risk to themselves or others during the vaccination process due to a developmental or mental health disorder.

so unless he lied, which a number of sites are now suggested he might have, his only possible exemption is the third of those. and yet, absolutely no evidence of that. apparently didn't happen. as you say, no to be rude but you have shown from the start that you don't have a clue about this situation. worse, you sap back and forth depending on which way suits you. 

whatever is going on behind the scenes, and lets be honest, neither of us know for certain, the point here is that the way it has been done is disgraceful. behind closed doors, refusing to provide evidence or reasoning. this is a tennis competition, not the nuclear codes. why the secrecy? especially when for almost a year they have insisted that evidence would need to be provided. it was all about transperancy until that became inconvenient. when it became obvious that he would not cave, they did. the old 'the rules don't apply to me because i am special' took over and won. but not for all the players. just, and i am sure we all agree that this is nothing but a coincidence, for the world's best. 

as we are clearly not going to get anywhere going back and forth, you'll forgive me if i leave it at that. 

[porkchop]

3 minutes ago, Ken Gargett said:

apparently you do have inside information because they have stated here that the number of those 26 who applied who were approved will not be revealed. do you have a source for this? 

and those 26 were actually out of 3,500 who wanted to enter - players, staff, family, coaches etc etc. 

AO Tournament Director, Craig Tiley gave the 20-25% approval stat.

If Djokovic wanted to lie, why not simply get forged vaccine documentation?

We agree on most, just not the role of Djokovic.

[Huckleberry]

Follow the money!  ND isn’t without fault here and I honestly don’t have an opinion on him that matters.  What he can’t do is throw up his hands and pretend to be Steve Urkel while saying, “did I do that?”

Those most responsible are the professional sports and political elite that are allowing it to happen.

The professional sports, political, tech and media elites are destroying the world around us while we fight over the bones and scraps they toss us as if their bullshit was wagyu prime.

 

This is similar to the State of Rhode Island for terminating their unvaxxed healthcare workers.  While at the same time asking vaxxed COVID positive healthcare workers to continue working while being sick and having tested positive for the disease.  So their policy is attempting to convince their citizens that being treated by somebody with COVID and vaxed is safer than being treated by someone who doesn’t have COVID.

 

that’s not a riddle….it’s about control and it’s about money, but it’s never about hampering the elites to carry on as they see fit as if they were gifted with a level of wisdom God didn’t grant the masses.

[Ken Gargett]

1 hour ago, porkchop said:

AO Tournament Director, Craig Tiley gave the 20-25% approval stat.

If Djokovic wanted to lie, why not simply get forged vaccine documentation?

We agree on most, just not the role of Djokovic.

agree we won't agree on that.

but i am genuinely interested in where you get tilley giving that figure. there is nothing down here giving any figure. 'a handful' was the closest i could find. 

[MossybackR]

Whaaa?? I’d like to see his competition refuse to compete with him.

[porkchop]

55 minutes ago, Ken Gargett said:

agree we won't agree on that.

but i am genuinely interested in where you get tilley giving that figure. there is nothing down here giving any figure. 'a handful' was the closest i could find. 

https://www.espn.com/tennis/story/_/id/32990613/novak-djokovic-defend-australian-open-title-exemption-vaccination
 

About ten paragraphs in. 

[JohnS]

17 minutes ago, MossybackR said:

Whaaa?? I’d like to see his competition refuse to compete with him.

This precedent wasn't quite like that but I remember what a statement it made afterwards...

[Ken Gargett]

1 hour ago, porkchop said:

https://www.espn.com/tennis/story/_/id/32990613/novak-djokovic-defend-australian-open-title-exemption-vaccination
 

About ten paragraphs in. 

fair enough. the spineless toad goes from that to a handful. it is ridiculous that if they acan say 75-8- that they can say the number. makes no sense and all it does is fire up suspicions. 

my old man was the honorary solicitor (lawyer for americans) for the queensland section of tennis australia for decades. (we got to meet emfram zimbalist jnr when he was a guest a million years ago and i went within a centimetre or two or running down ille nastase when i had to deliver contracts to the tennis centre but that is another story for another time). i wish he was around. he would have had these idiots out there apologising and stopping all this crap. 

i am yet to hear from a single aussie who believes that it was 'legitimate'. 

for what it is worth, was just told that the federal government, with their eyes on an election in a few months, have announced that he may not be given a visa. that will supercede the victorian govt and tennis australia. and make them very popular. and djokovic can claim what he wants but he has no chance if they do that. 

[Meklown]

5 hours ago, Corylax18 said:

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. 

Premier league fans read: VAR

[westg]

It's the world we  live in . If by some chance our decision makers get something right, it is usually a mistake. Very weak and Novak will love this and probably go on and win it. I don't think Nick will be playing if he is I hope he can pull of something special and wipe the floor with him. 

[JohnS]

1 hour ago, Ken Gargett said:

for what it is worth, was just told that the federal government, with their eyes on an election in a few months, have announced that he may not be given a visa. that will supercede the victorian govt and tennis australia. and make them very popular. and djokovic can claim what he wants but he has no chance if they do that. 

True...

https://www.news.com.au/sport/tennis/plot-thickens-after-ominous-border-force-warning-to-novak-djokovic/news-story/c8ad25e22c30931a27347adfefb176a2

[ltte]

Do not (want to) over comment this issue.

Djokovic never confirmed his vax status. He do not want to disclose it. He never said that he's not vaccinated.

You have to ask yourself why he is invited to play there while yours governement enforce such ridicule medical agenda.

Latin proverbe summ it perfectly

Panem et circenses.

I do not care on Nole and on this game and I asking myself why this is a headline on every news here today. Who cares? We have so many financial and medical problems for non "covid" patients worldwide and instead taking care of them we discuss a man with a bat chassing a ball on the field.

Regards from Belgrade

Ltte

[99call]

Can't stand Djokovic, his "why am I not loved" schtick, whilst simultaneously and constantly being a bellend,  is tiresome. 

Yet tennis has made a rod for its own back.  In one respect it could be seen to be a very well mannered, gentlemanly sport,  but the reality is, is that it has very much allowed and encouraged this spoilt brattish little shit behaviour.    The obvious go to is McEnroe,  "the bad boy of tennis"  hhhmmm!? bad boy,  yeah I guess, if you consider some petulant idiot spitting his dummy out every five seconds because the rules are being mean to him. 

When you boil tennis down, especially Wimbledon,  with all its trappings of class, you also see what you might find in an English private school, i.e.  a total disregard for authority based on who you are,  and that rules are for plebs.   It's not surprising Djokovic has made a mockery of the rules,  tennis likes and encourages this pantomime of arrogance. 

[Ken Gargett]

2 hours ago, ltte said:

Do not (want to) over comment this issue.

Djokovic never confirmed his vax status. He do not want to disclose it. He never said that he's not vaccinated.

You have to ask yourself why he is invited to play there while yours governement enforce such ridicule medical agenda.

Latin proverbe summ it perfectly

Panem et circenses.

I do not care on Nole and on this game and I asking myself why this is a headline on every news here today. Who cares? We have so many financial and medical problems for non "covid" patients worldwide and instead taking care of them we discuss a man with a bat chassing a ball on the field.

Regards from Belgrade

Ltte

ND has made it very clear he is anti-vax, for some time.

would you care to elaborate on the supposed ridiculous medical agenda?  

a circus it might be but the aust open is not a govt circus. one of the few things which can't be blamed on them. 

leave aside the issue of the importance or otherwise of the various sports - a good topic for another day - this is not about him chasing a ball or playing the sport. this is about taking care of patients and potential patients here. it is about covid. about rules applying to all or just some. 

[99call]

3 hours ago, JohnS said:

This precedent wasn't quite like that but I remember what a statement it made afterwards...

I never thought anyone could out Ivan Drago...Ivan Drago......but Sun Yang managed it

 

[El Presidente]

Just now, Ken Gargett said:

taking care of patients and potential patients here. it is about covid. about rules applying to all or just some. 

I honestly don't believe it is about his health threat to the Australian Public. That horse has bolted. 

What it is about is the messaging to the majority of the Australian populace who bought into and worked with the restrictions and hardships. Specifically those Oz citizens who were barred from entry or moving freely internally to see family and loved ones. 

This decision is a middle finger to them/us.  It doesn't pass the pub test and will have ramifications the next time the public is  asked to make sacrifices for the greater good.

Deny his visa. Move on and focus on larger issues.  This has little to do with Djokovic. It is all to do with the principal of fairness and egalitarianism which we have always taken pride in (sandpapergate and underarm bowling excluded )

 

 

[99call]

4 minutes ago, El Presidente said:

This decision is a middle finger to them/us.  It doesn't pass the pub test and will have ramifications the next time the public is  asked to make sacrifices for the greater good.

I hope this is a one off for Aussie, but if it is anything like the UK then buckle up!.   The current level of George Orwells "reject the evidence of your eyes and ears"  has reached such a degree that you could be forgiven for thinking the morning paper was pre-soaked in LSD. 

[Nino]

Love the Twitter comments and memes :-)

[MrBirdman]

3 hours ago, El Presidente said:

It is all to do with the principal of fairness and egalitarianism which we have always taken pride in

This. It’s a slap in the face to the principles of any democratic society. Unfortunately many Americans have long forgotten that.  

Word is that ND is being grilled by Border Patrol right now - he submitted the wrong type of visa request.

https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/sports/more-questions-than-answers-melbourne-seethes-over-djokovic-exemption-2022-01-05/

 

[mcicvara]

8 hours ago, porkchop said:

https://www.espn.com/tennis/story/_/id/32990613/novak-djokovic-defend-australian-open-title-exemption-vaccination
 

About ten paragraphs in. 

 

 

So, did they let 20-25% of 26 other players in?

[MrBirdman]

8 minutes ago, mcicvara said:

 

 

So, did they let 20-25% of 26 other players in?

Apparently - local reporting indicates that the vast majority were for positive PCR tests within the past six months.

[Fuzz]

https://www.theshovel.com.au/2022/01/05/independent-panels-novak-djokovic-incredibly-rich/?fbclid=IwAR19lO8-O-BSYdqun0mUzX0ENzaEmxOlF1I01sPF2Isz757uYScJrTgp-xE

Independent panels conclude that Novak Djokovic is incredibly fucking rich

A rigorous process involving two separate independent panels has determined that tennis player Novak Djokovic has shit-tonnes more money and influence than the average Australian.  

A spokesperson for one of the panels – the Independent Medical Exemption Review Panel – said they had methodically reviewed the Serbian star’s application and found that he was a globally recognised sportsperson who attracted millions of dollars in television rights and sponsorship for the Australian Open.

“He may not be vaccinated, but we are confident that he has a very high immunity to the rules that apply to ordinary people,” the spokesperson said.

Critics have accused the government of double standards, pointing to examples of Australian citizens being unable to enter their own country to visit dying family members. But a government official defended the decision, saying Australian citizens had had plenty of time to become world-class tennis players with a net worth of over US $200 million.

“We’re almost two years into this pandemic now. So if you haven’t won 20 Grand Slams and amassed the sort of wealth required to organise private jets and a dedicated team to lobby on your behalf, then you only have yourself to blame. That’s what we mean when we say personal responsibility”.

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[rckymtn22]

Reports that ND is not going to be allowed in by Aus Border Control.