# Djokovic's Medical Exemption **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Tags:** tennis\ **Created:** [January 5, 2022, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/djokovics-medical-exemption/957283 "2022-01-05T21:05:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2022, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/djokovics-medical-exemption/957283/101 "2022-01-08T12:39:28Z")
> [@RitterSport](#): > > It’s certainly possible that the flight attendants on the far side looked at his documentation and said, sure. Then, the Australian border control took a closer look and said, whoa, wait a minute. It isn’t up to aircrew to officiate border control, they are there to fly the plane and serve the damned peanuts. And he is sitting in a hotel down under? Easy peasy. Needle jab, blood in a tube, titer it out for covid. Good titre, he plays, no titre bounce him home. Not a problem. ---
**Author:** ![GreenWyvern](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/greenwyvern/32/2834_2.png) [@GreenWyvern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenWyvern)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2022, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/djokovics-medical-exemption/957283/102 "2022-01-08T13:14:01Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > And he is sitting in a hotel down under? Easy peasy. Needle jab, blood in a tube, titer it out for covid. Good titre, he plays, no titre bounce him home. Not a problem. The issue is not whether he tests positive for Covid, but whether he has been vaccinated. The Australian Health Ministry wrote twice to Tennis Australia informing them that vaccination was necessary for a visa, and that prior infection would not exempt players from that requirement. Tennis Australia apparently ignored that, and told players that prior infection _would_ exempt them from vaccination. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2022, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/djokovics-medical-exemption/957283/103 "2022-01-08T16:10:42Z")
This AP story has details I hadn’t seen before: > **[Court documents show Djokovic had COVID-19 last month](https://apnews.com/article/immigration-coronavirus-pandemic-novak-djokovic-sports-health-5831d66106adc4fcc8d4fffa727a2261)** > > Lawyers for Novak Djokovic have filed court documents in his challenge against deportation from Australia that showed the tennis star contracted COVID-19 in the middle of last month. > [@](#): > > The Australian Broadcasting Corp. and the Australian Associated Press reported details of the documents late Saturday. It showed Djokovic received a letter from Tennis Australia’s chief medical officer on Dec. 30 last year “recording that he had been provided with a ‘medical exemption from COVID vaccination’ on the grounds that he had recently recovered from COVID.” > > The exemption certification said the date of the 34-year-old Serb’s first positive test was Dec. 16, 2021, “and that he had not had a fever or respiratory symptoms in the past 72 hours.” > > Djokovic attended a Dec. 17 event in Belgrade honoring young tennis players. The event was covered by local media, and parents posted photos on social media showing Djokovic and the children not wearing masks. It’s not clear if Djokovic knew the results of his test at the time. > > On Dec. 14, Djokovic had attended a Euroleague basketball game between Red Star and Barcelona in a packed sports hall in Belgrade. He was photographed hugging several players of both teams, including some who soon later tested positive. > > The court submission Saturday said Djokovic received confirmation from Australia’s Department of Home Affairs saying that his travel declaration had been assessed and that his responses indicated he met the requirements for quarantine-free arrival in Australia. > > So, who is at fault? Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said “rules are rules” and that incoming passengers were responsible for meeting border regulations. > [@](#): > > The federal government disagreed. > > The Victoria state government mandated that all players, staff, fans and officials must be fully vaccinated for COVID-19 to enter the tournament. > > The state, which approved the medical exemptions for Djokovic, said those exemptions for were for access to Melbourne Park, not the border. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2022, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/djokovics-medical-exemption/957283/104 "2022-01-08T16:16:13Z")
That guy is a one-man super-spreader event. ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2022, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/djokovics-medical-exemption/957283/105 "2022-01-08T21:20:44Z")
> [@GreenWyvern](#): > > The Australian Health Ministry wrote twice to Tennis Australia informing them that vaccination was necessary for a visa, and that prior infection would not exempt players from that requirement. Except that according to the excerpt that keeps getting into the newspapers, they didn’t. They said vaccination was necessary for _quarantine-free_ entry. If he’d been met at the border with “Fine, but you do know you have to isolate for seven days then get a negative test, right?” then we wouldn’t be having this dust-up ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2022, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/djokovics-medical-exemption/957283/106 "2022-01-09T00:19:15Z")
More info on the subject of quarantine/vaccinations. I got this off some informed person in the Guardian comments section: > [@](#): > > Can I travel to Australia if I’m not vaccinated? > > Yes. If you don’t qualify as fully vaccinated, you’ll need to quarantine for 14 days on arrival in a designated facility unless you are > > - unable to be vaccinated due to medical reasons > - under 12 years of age > > Incoming passenger arrival caps still apply to passengers who don’t qualify as fully vaccinated. > > You may face more difficulty finding flights if you are unvaccinated. I don’t know if that’s part of the information anyone knew or relied upon when Djokovic’s paperwork was being sorted out. He doesn’t seem to have left himself two full weeks’ of quarantine time in any case. But that’s an official government website - yes, unvaccinated people can come to Australia if they quarantine. (doesn’t say anything about the specifics of the visa he had - but he claims the visa didn’t actually ask him questions about vaccination) From here: [https://www.smartraveller.gov.au/COVID-19/COVID-19-frequently-asked-questions#q16](https://www.smartraveller.gov.au/COVID-19/COVID-19-frequently-asked-questions#q16) ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2022, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/djokovics-medical-exemption/957283/107 "2022-01-09T00:26:05Z")
> [@Novelty\_Bobble](#): > > Knowing the Aussie people I suspect they aren’t taking kindly to anyone assuming to be above the regulations that everyone else has to adhere to. Yeah, I can imagine that seeing such a high-profile exception must have rubbed public opinion the wrong way. The authorities could have, in the lead-in, said “no, the Open is _not_ so precious, sorry, shots or you’re not coming”. But if they _did_ open the door to exceptions they should have made things clear all around and guarded against loopholes or end-runs. Of course, _ **who** _ is involved is what heats things up – some Joe Whatsisface granted a similar exception, who was _not_ in the world spotlight as a vaccination mandate opponent, would not create as much friction. But this is the star of the event, and his position for the record has been that he believes the shots should not be a requirement for travel and participation. That makes many people suspect that if he does not have them it’s _ **not** _ because of any valid medical issue but because he just doesn’t bloody want to and feels entitled to continue to carry on his business regardless. ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2022, 8:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/djokovics-medical-exemption/957283/108 "2022-01-09T08:15:43Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > It isn’t up to aircrew to officiate border control, they are there to fly the plane and serve the damned peanuts. The airline is generally on the hook for flying someone back to their country of origin if a traveler is denied entry, so it’s in their best interest to check said traveler’s documentation before letting them on the flight. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2022, 8:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/djokovics-medical-exemption/957283/109 "2022-01-09T08:36:00Z")
Wouldn’t it be check-in staff verifying documentation before you even board, not the flight attendants who are serving drinks and showing you where the emergency exits are? ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2022, 10:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/djokovics-medical-exemption/957283/110 "2022-01-09T10:25:14Z")
@iamthewalrus_3 There’s a concept in user interface design called “friction,” where you make less desirable actions more cumbersome to execute. For example, you don’t want people to constantly create and delete accounts, so you make it where there are extra steps for both. Another is requiring a waiting period for something that could be done quickly, or talk to a real person for something that could have been handled automatically. Whether intentional or not, that seems to apply in this situation. No one wants to give out medical exemptions for vaccines. The vast majority of people who want an exemption don’t actually need one. We definitely want it to be much easier to just get the vaccine. As such, it makes sense that there’s more bureaucracy involved. That’s not to say that there isn’t a more general problem that affects other situation. But I’d argue it makes more sense to bring that up in a thread about those problems, rather than the one time the system seems to be working as we would want. Heck, maybe you can even come up with some “dark patterns.” That’s a term in UX design for situations where the tactics are used to try and push the user to do something that is in the best interest of the company or website, but not in the user’s best interest. Examples include making it tedious to remove your personal data, or the perennial “easy to sign up for payments, but more difficult to quit.” But, in this thread, I think it’s fine that an antivaxxer got caught up in red tape when he tried to exploit the exemption system. I actually would argue that there should be more red tape like this—as a form of soft restrictions—when hard restrictions aren’t practical or aren’t working as well as they should. I’d love to see it become quite tedious to opt out of vaccination of all kinds. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2022, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/djokovics-medical-exemption/957283/111 "2022-01-09T16:16:14Z")
> [@Terminus\_Est](#): > > The airline is generally on the hook for flying someone back to their country of origin if a traveler is denied entry, so it’s in their best interest to check said traveler’s documentation before letting them on the flight. Yes it is. Of course best practices are a bit more difficult to figure out when it’s a privately chartered flight for an internationally known sports star who has a habit of publicly lashing out when denied his way. ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2022, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/djokovics-medical-exemption/957283/112 "2022-01-09T16:26:08Z")
It wasn’t clear whether people were lumping in the ground crew with “flight attendants”. The time to check for proper documentation is indeed on the ground before you get on the plane, usually at check in. If flying to a place with strict visa requirements (e.g., the US), airlines will often have a dedicated screener to go over your travel papers even before you reach check in. Once you’re in the air then no one’s going to check anything (except your seat number) and the crew’s interaction with border control is limited to handing out customs and immigration forms. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2022, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/djokovics-medical-exemption/957283/113 "2022-01-10T04:18:13Z")
Here’s some news: > **[Judge says Djokovic can stay in Australia but saga not over](https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-novak-djokovic-sports-health-australia-3e4fd65e0ac87c85e6fcc6b968a62869)** > > MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Novak Djokovic returned to the tennis court Monday for training, having won a legal battle to stay in Australia to play in the Australian Open after his exemption from strict coronavirus vaccine rules was questioned. ---
**Author:** ![GreenWyvern](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/greenwyvern/32/2834_2.png) [@GreenWyvern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenWyvern)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2022, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/djokovics-medical-exemption/957283/114 "2022-01-10T05:04:46Z")
Guardian live updates: > Tran argues that Judge Anthony Kelly cannot find that Border Force officials pressured Djokovic during the interview process. > > Kelly responds that he would be “most reluctant on the available evidence” to suggest an actual intention to pressure, but it doesn’t “kill the point” that Djokovic felt pressured. He agrees that they didn’t pressure him, but that doesn’t mean that the poor baby didn’t feel pressured. 🤣 This judge seems to be a major Djokovic fan. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2022, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/djokovics-medical-exemption/957283/115 "2022-01-10T06:26:52Z")
As expected Djokovic wins again. [Court quashes visa decision](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/live/2022/jan/10/novak-djokovic-appeal-federal-circuit-court-cancellation-australian-visa-covid-vaccination-live-updates?) > Judge **Anthony Kelly** reads out a minute agreed to by both the government and Djokovic, where he quashes the decision to cancel **Novak Djokovic** ’s visa, orders government to pay costs, and for Djokovic to be released from detention in 30 minutes with his passport and personal effects released to him. ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2022, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/djokovics-medical-exemption/957283/116 "2022-01-10T06:47:49Z")
While I have no time for anti-vaxxers, I think the judge basically got it right on the evidence and situation presented. Possibly his staff should have done a more thorough job checking with both state and federal bodies (I’m sure that situation does not obtain in Serbia), but the fact remains he had a valid entry visa and was told by responsible bodies that he’d be able to enter. ---
**Author:** ![GreenWyvern](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/greenwyvern/32/2834_2.png) [@GreenWyvern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenWyvern)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2022, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/djokovics-medical-exemption/957283/117 "2022-01-10T06:58:09Z")
It seems that the decision was made only on technical grounds, because Djokovic was not allowed enough time to respond to the visa cancellation. > Djokovic was allowed until 8.30am when he was originally detained to respond to the notification to cancel his visa, but the decision was made at 7.42am. > > [The judge] found if he had had more time he could have consulted more widely and responded further than he was able to. This seems to imply that the visa was not valid. The problem was only in the process of allowing him to respond before cancelling it. ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2022, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/djokovics-medical-exemption/957283/118 "2022-01-10T07:16:56Z")
The immigration minster can just re-cancel him again if he wants to. Yes, this would make the government look like a bunch of whiny little bullies … but they can do it. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2022, 8:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/djokovics-medical-exemption/957283/119 "2022-01-10T08:13:26Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > Here’s some news: > [Judge says Djokovic can stay in Australia but saga not over | AP News](https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-novak-djokovic-sports-health-australia-3e4fd65e0ac87c85e6fcc6b968a62869) Um… he could get vaccinated? I’m no longer patient with the anti-vaxxers. Want to enter Australia? Get vaccinated. No one has an unfettered right to travel the world. ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2022, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/djokovics-medical-exemption/957283/120 "2022-01-10T08:26:18Z")
Honestly, I don’t know who I want to kick more in this whole sorry saga. I mean, what did the guy do to get his infection - go lick a bunch of ICU beds? Or does he have a tame doctor somewhere who can fake a PCR test for him? It’s all just too depressing [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/djokovics-medical-exemption/957283.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/djokovics-medical-exemption/957283.md?page=7)