Novak Djokovic’s battle in Australia to be allowed into the country to play in next week’s Australia Open is a landmark moment in terms of how the world will look going forward.
Like it or not, Covid-19 has changed the world - possibly forever.
And as all of us - including those who control matters here on planet earth - dip our feet into the unknown, there will be some differences of opinion.
And because of that, we have to remain calm and look at things objectively in order to find a middle ground.
Luckily if someone calls you a draadsitter in this particular job, then that’s a compliment. And I must admit that I’m sitting on the fence with this one.
I’ve spoken to pro-vaxxers and anti-vaxxers alike and both feel equally strong about their respective cases. So this column is not about who’s right and or about Djokovic and his views.
Heck, it’s not even about the court case itself, it’s about the fallout from it.
It’s about human rights and the way going forward in the world of sport.
Listen, the T20 World Cup is staged in Australia later this year.
Does it mean unvaccinated players will not be allowed to play in the tournament because they can’t provide medical reasons as to why they don’t want to take the jab?
Taking it one step further, does this mean unvaccinated sportsmen have no future in international sport?
Yes, it’s generally accepted that guys entering these tournaments are all fully vaccinated.
But this Djokovic case might have given others the balls to challenge the status quo and I reckon we might see more of these cases going forward.
Regardless of which side of the fence you are on, I believe people have the right to choose what they can put in their bodies or not. Whether you and me think that’s idiotic or not, if getting really sick is a risk they are willing to take then that’s the risk they are willing to take.
It’s not like the vaccine prevents you from getting and spreading the virus. If it did, I’m sure we wouldn’t have been having these conversations now - it would have been a non-negotiable.
Anyway, let’s be clear; I’m not an anti-vaxxer. I just think you can’t force someone to take a vaccine and then take their food off the table if they refuse it because they don’t trust it fully.
Djokovic’s well-publicised fight was not about him.
It was about opening the eyes of the world to the new problems we are facing and finding reasonable solutions to all of them in order to keep everyone satisfied.
This is just in sport, I can foresee these types of issues popping up all over in the next year or so.
God bless us all and may we have the calm to deal with it and find reasonable solutions that will benefit all of us.