Djokovic says wife warned him against publicising vaccine exemption

Summarised by Centrist

Novak Djokovic says his wife warned him not to publicise his COVID vaccination exemption shortly before his detention and deportation from Australia in 2022.

Speaking in the documentary Novak Djokovic: The Wolf in Winter, Djokovic said he had received an exemption to enter Australia because he had contracted Covid-19 within the previous six months.

Before travelling, he prepared an Instagram post announcing that he was heading to Australia with “exemption permission”. His wife, Jelena, advised him to omit that detail and simply say he was travelling to compete.

Djokovic published it anyway.

“He really insisted on saying out loud that he wasn’t vaccinated, which I just didn’t agree with,” Jelena said. “From the moment he posted on Instagram, the hell opened.”

Djokovic was detained at Melbourne Airport and spent five days at the Park Hotel while challenging the cancellation of his visa. He was briefly released before then-immigration minister Alex Hawke cancelled the visa again on health and public-order grounds. The decision was upheld and Djokovic left Australia without competing in the Australian Open.

Djokovic maintains he met the entry requirements and was not deported simply because he was unvaccinated. He said other competitors had entered Australia using the same type of exemption and described the decision as political rather than medical.

He acknowledged that Australian authorities faced public pressure after lengthy lockdowns and border restrictions, but said that was not his fault. Djokovic, who describes his position as supporting personal choice rather than opposing vaccination, said the experience showed why he should have trusted his wife’s instincts.

Read more at Daily Mail

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