Forget the fact that Europe is on the brink of war and inflation is spiralling out of control: here is Novak Djokovic carrying on about how he is not, I repeat not, an anti-vaxxer.
The 20-time grand slam winner – who was deported from Australia in January after Scott Morrison revoked his visa in a dispute over his Covid-19 medical exemption – has spoken to the BBC, confirming that he has not been vaccinated and that he supports an individual’s right to choose. This morning’s Amol Rajan show… sorry, the Today Programme… was dominated by the story.
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“I was never against vaccination,” Djokovic said, adding he is “keeping [his] mind open” about the possibility of being jabbed in the future.
Clearly, Djokovic – like everyone else – has thought long and hard about his choice that, as an elite sportsman, his body is his business. After all, this is a man who helped clear his celiac allergies, such as his asthma, by voluntarily going on a strict plant-based diet, with no gluten.
Sure, the interview was a good journalistic get, if used proportion rather than all to wall. Why this story is receiving so much prominence in the news bulletins is baffling. It’s almost as if it were more about the Beeb getting the exclusive interview and one-upping its competitors than what its audience is actually interested in.
