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The politics of tennis

The good news for everyone involved in the Indian Wells Tennis Tournament in Palm Springs, California, is that the snow seems to be over. Which means the tournament often called the fifth major can begin its opening round today without the inconvenience of salt and snow ploughs. The bad news is that despite the event’s prestige, it will be contested without the presence of the world’s number one and most dominant men’s tennis player Novak Djokavic. That’s not because he doesn’t want to play or because of an injury, which is the case for rival Rafael Nadal. It’s because Djokavic has not been vaccinated for Covid-19, and according to US Law, no one who isn’t a permanent resident of the US can enter the country without getting the shot. That rule might change in May when the President declares the end of the Covid national emergency. But until then, the only way to get in legally is by either getting vaccinated or getting an exemption from the President.

It seems those efforts have failed, as Djokavic officially pulled out of the event on Sunday evening, one day before the draw was set. Which drastically lowers the tournament buzz or any belief that the winner defeated the best players in the world. Which is why you’ll hear the event promoters talking about up-and-coming talent and the next generation of stars, good for the long-term health of the sport if not the immediate focus on ticket sales and TV ratings. Djokavic has been clear that a) he wanted to play at Indian Wells, and b) he will not get the vaccine. Which leaves us in a similar place we found ourselves at last year’s US Open, even as the public and public policy have largely moved forward from the pandemic.

Not surprisingly, this conflict has lined up along political lines in the US, especially looking ahead to the Miami Open a couple of weeks from now. Prominent Florida Republican politicians, and you know who they are, have publicly appealed to the President to let Djokavic in. Florida governor Ron DeSantis has called Novak’s exile unfair, unscientific, and unacceptable. And while it’s not exactly a technique from the art of persuasion, it’s also fairly clear DeSantis cares fairly little about tennis but quite a bit about messaging to future primary voters, many who consider Anthony Fauci an enemy of the state. So I’m guessing DeSantis, and Marco Rubio and Rick Scott would much rather Djokavic stay locked out of the US in exchange for a nice campaign ad.

Leaving politics aside, which is hard to do, there’s a larger question about the notion of fairness and equity, constructs at the core of elite sporting competition. I know most people will consider this story about scientific logic, which I get. At the core, it is hard to justify at this point in American history keeping one human out of the country because he hasn’t been vaccinated, especially given the rate of infection in the US and the fact that it looks like we’re going to change the policy two months from now. So scientifically speaking, it doesn’t seem like a winning argument. But the question of equity, namely is it fair that Novak Djokovic gets to play by different rules than both everyone else in professional tennis and, in this case, everyone else in the world, that’s another issue.

There’s a common perception that professional athletes, and even a smaller subset of top stars in particular sports, get special treatment. Hence the term the Jordan Rules for Michael Jordan. And an exemption for just this one guy, the world’s number one player who has a knack for poking the bear, feels like an exemplar of that normative. So even though I see no good public health reason at this point to keep Novak Djokavic from playing in either Indian Wells or Miami, especially given the public benefit of having him there, it still rubs me the wrong way, and perhaps reinforces the narrative that while sport is supposed to be a meritocracy that teaches us about the importance of rules and consequence and reward, that’s truer for some than others. And especially if you’re really good.

Should Novak Djokavic be allowed to play in the US right now? Probably. Does it bother me that he can’t. Not really. But either way, at least tennis fans in California can leave their snow boots at home.

Keith Strudler is the director of the School of Communication and Media at Montclair State University. You can follow him on twitter at @KeithStrudler

The views expressed by commentators are solely those of the authors. They do not necessarily reflect the views of this station or its management.

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