Novak Djokovic: Athlete, Rebel, Hero

Guest Post by Jordan Schachtel

I wanted to take a moment to recognize Novak Djokovic and his heroic defiance of the COVID regime, lending his enormous platform and status to the millions of people around the world who have been denied their unalienable rights in the name of a virus.

You would never know it by his disposition, but “Djoker” has an amazing rags to richer story, and he’s well aware of how governments can cause great human suffering. Growing up in war-torn Belgrade, Djokovic had to learn to play tennis in between bombing raids. Far from a silver spooned prodigy, he had to defy incredible odds to just achieve a modicum of success, and yet he has become one of the greatest athletes of all time.

What separates Djokovic from other pro athletes on the COVID Mania issue is both his status as the world’s greatest and his consistency in speaking out against the COVID regime. Since day one, this man has been fighting the good fight, but the news hasn’t reached consistent international attention until now.

Djokovic has remained defiant in his public opposition to government force in the form of draconian COVID restrictions and injection mandates. He has done so in the face of incredible scrutiny on all levels.

As early as April 2020, several months before the mass distribution of COVID shots, Djokovic was already speaking out about the future prospect of vaccine mandates.

Now, with the Australian Open just days away, the 9-time grand slam champion (and 9 time Australian Open champion) has turned up the heat. He continues his fight Down Under, squaring off against the forces of a society that has transformed into something akin to a Police State.

On Tuesday, the most Australian Open champ ever made it a point to show that he wasn’t going to bow down to Australia’s COVID regime, which discriminates against the “unvaccinated,” in creating a two-tiered Safety Society.

Djokovic is facing ridicule from the media, from powerful governments, and even from his own pro colleagues.

Though he is not without defenders. The man’s family has raised incredible awareness about the punitive conditions through which he is being exposed to by the Australian government.

He reminds us of one particular legendary sportsman of the past, a man who shares his status as one of the greatest professional athletes of all time. Of course, there are no perfect parallels, but there was one man who not so long ago took a hugely important — but deeply unpopular in his time — public stance in the fight for humanity.

That man is the late Muhammad Ali, “The People’s Champ,” who, in his time exiled from the sport of boxing, faced tremendous hostility from all levels of society. Ali’s refusal to enter the armed services and outright protest of the draft drew immense scrutiny and outright insanity. His outspoken rejection of the war in Vietnam, and his explicit challenging of the American civil rights status quo, further infuriated these forces.

The media turned him into a monster. The U.S. government persecuted him. He was labeled as ethically depraved. He was robbed of his ability to make a living during a large portion of the prime of his athletic career. In the face of endless cruelty and hate, Ali never wavered.

It wasn’t until years, or really, decades later that Ali’s struggle against the system was universally recognized as a noble endeavor.

Props to Novak Djokovic for fighting the good fight and carrying the torch. For using his platform to fight for the rights of every individual against the forces of government tyranny, he’s the new People’s Champ.

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