Paul Lewis: Novak Djokovic will pay price for anti-vaccination stance

OPINION:

Sport, we sometimes reflect, is just a game; there are more important things. Certainly Novak Djokovic seems to think so.

That appears to be the stance Djokovic is taking over his refusal to be vaccinated, a stand which could prevent him from becoming known as that misnomer, "the greatest of all time" (because how can anyone be the greatest of all time when all time has not yet elapsed?).

"The principles of decision making on my body are more important than any title or anything else," he told the BBC in his first interview on his thoughts on vaccination. Yeah, but... really?

Let's not descend into the unwinnable argument. Anti-vaxxers do not entertain opposing views, for all their chants about freedom and freedom of choice; they simply don't see how their "freedom" only endangers those who have exercised freedom of choice to help protect our fellow man.

So let's just keep it to tennis and Djokovic's weird statement that his decisions over what goes in his body are more important than anything else – like climate change, child poverty, pollution of the seas and air and the possible Russian invasion of Ukraine?

Djokovic has always been a fighter; that stubborn streak has been hugely evident in his tennis, as he's called on hidden reserves of mental and physical strength in that whipcord body. He's fashioned superior records against both of his main rivals – Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.

That same stubbornness, displayed in his Australian drama, has allowed Nadal to go ahead of him in the "greatest" debate, winning the tournament previously dominated by Djokovic. Nadal now leads the Serb by 21 major wins to 20 and Djokovic's Australian Open debacle has also given him, in the eyes of many, a slightly unhinged mien.

So it's not difficult to see Djokovic's interview with the BBC – his first after the debacle of Australia – as an attempt to correct that view. During it, he consistently dissociated himself from the anti-vaxxers: "I was never against vaccination. I understand that, globally, everyone is trying to put a big effort into handling this virus."

Everyone? Not him, apparently. He was, remember, prepared to go ahead with a media interview two days after testing positive. His Australian Open circus seemed to cast him as a player who thought he was bigger than the game, who tried to open the doors of officialdom (and common sense) with an unhealthy dose of "Do you know who I am?"

Novak Djokovic seems to be sacrificing a lot to avoid a medicine that over 10 billion people have been willing to receive. Photo / Photosport

Most people, having gone through the humbling experience of being made to look a jerk before being deported from Australia, with much of the world laughing at him, would figure that a little jab is probably worth it to protect his status in the game – and his legacy.

Other players in the top 100 men in the world almost certainly harbour the same reservations and uncertainty about vaccination – but 99 are now vaccinated so they can earn their living, play the game and live up to their obligations to fans, broadcasters and sponsors. Djokovic is the 100th.

His obstinacy in matters of vaccination and viruses is longstanding, in spite of his contention that he has "an open mind". Trawl back through his comments over the past two years and a clear picture emerges of a man whose mind is made up – and who, long before vaccines arrived, was musing publicly about his concern about having to be vaccinated in order to travel.

Back in 2017 he copped one of the worst injuries a tennis player can suffer – his elbow. He refused surgery, preferring to rest the injury for six months. His belief, according to the Guardian, was that the body is made to heal itself naturally.

But he had to give up in the end. There were reports that he had been moved to tears after the surgery, affected by guilt – a reaction which calls to mind religious sects who spurn medical treatment for conditions which could be simply cured but which, left to "God's will", can end in death.

"That's the price I am willing to pay," he said, asked about his reaction to being barred from most tournaments if he remains unvaccinated. "I've always supported the freedom to choose what you put in your body. For me, that is essential.

"It is really the principle of understanding what is right and what is wrong for you, and me as an elite professional athlete, I have always carefully reviewed, assessed everything that comes in, from supplements, food, the water that I drink, sports drinks, anything that comes into my body as fuel. Based on all the information I got, I decided not to take the vaccine as of today."

But the price he'll pay will be much higher than just missing tournaments. He will possibly miss out on the "greatest of all time" thing.

Worse, he may also find that many – most – may come to regard him as a man whose body might be a temple but what's between his temples may temper respect for his many achievements.