Novak Djokovic can do whatever he wants, but the women better behave

Novak Djokovic’s vaccine visa saga in Australia has dominated headlines ever since he touched down at Melbourne airport in his quest to achieve a 21st grand slam at his most successful major event. And it looks like Nole Djokovic will be repeating the offense come May at the French Open.

Still, with all the information that’s come to light since Djokovic landed in Melbourne, his flagrant disregard for the rules that everyone else has to—and has been—abiding by has moved beyond any reasonability at this point. The vaccine exception—based on a Dec. 16 PCR Positive test within the six months before the Aussie slam—has illustrated the reckless behavior Djokovic engaged in before getting to Australia.

He appeared at two events COVID-positive, including an awards ceremony where he exposed children, and another at a photoshoot, where he wore a mask for some of the time. Plus, he also traveled to his home in Spain, even though he checked that he did not travel two weeks before arriving in Australia.

The visa saga is ongoing with Immigration Minister Alex Hawke has once again canceled his visa, with the Serbian appealing the decision, to be determined over the weekend.

Prior to Friday’s visa cancelation, in another bizarre twist, the French Sports Minister Roxane Maracineanu said that the Serbian player is welcome to play the French Open—where he is also the defending champion—this year when it takes place in May, without having to be vaccinated.

Remember when the French Open said that they would kick out four-time grand slam champion Naomi Osaka if she didn’t fulfill her press conference obligations at Roland Garros? Talk about a double standard. However much I disagreed with Osaka’s stance at the time—which I thought was counterintuitive for promoting the sport—I also think standing up for mental health is a noble cause. The important point here is why insist on the rules being followed strictly for one player but not another?

Here are Djokovic’s own words on the matter at the time.

"“I understand that press conferences sometimes can be very unpleasant,” he said.“And it’s not something that you enjoy, always, you know, especially if you lose a match or something like this.“But it is part of our sport, it is part of what we do, the media is important without a doubt. It is allowing us to have the platform to communicate with the fans, but in a more traditional way. It used to be the only way how we could reach out to our fans.”"

That was his initial reaction on the matter, which he backtracked later on.

“I support her. I think she was very brave to do that. I’m really sorry that she is going through painful times and suffering mentally, is what I have heard. I haven’t spoken to her, but it seems like she has been struggling. I wish her all the best, I hope she recovers. She is an important player, brand, and person for our sport. So we need to have her back. This was, I must say, a very bold decision from her side. If she needs to take time and reflect and just recharge that’s what she needed to do, and I respect it fully. I hope that she’ll come back stronger.”

Again, we see a repeated pattern with French politicians coming down hard on their citizens, but rich, famous athletes can live by their own rules.

Especially if they’re male. Mind you, the draconian response to Naomi Osaka’s situation was underscored by all four Grand Slams, rather. And the French fined her for $15,000 for missing just one press conference. Let’s put this in perspective: Djokovic exposed kids to COVID, but Naomi wanted to skip a presser. I ask you, which is worse?

And remember when the French Open officials forced Serena Williams to wear a skirt instead of the catsuit that was recommended for the blood clot medical issue after giving birth? The reaction to women asking for any accommodation at Roland Garros has consistently been met with a hard-line non every time.

If Australia has shown us a world where selfish athletes like Novak Djokovic think the rules only apply to others, the French Open has taken this inequality one step further and said, well, make that, rich, famous, male athletes, that is.