EIn recent weeks we have experienced images that are almost a new tradition. Hospitals, sports centers and medical centers fill up with long lines in which people begin to believe. Vaccination against Covid-19 is given and Pfizer, Modern on Sputnik they are part of our vocabulary. In the sports field something similar happens, in the face of Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games and the different high-level events appear athletes who pose proudly with their complete pattern.
An ideal panorama truncated with the passage of time. Several world stars have decided to launch a campaign against vaccines. With different opinions and theories, but with the common pattern of rejecting the ‘prick’. Some like el boxer and superstar Floyd Mayweather appeal to individual freedom: “USA It is the land of the free: freedom of expression, freedom of religion and, supposedly, freedom to choose. I respect having some integrity and being your own person. “ Others, like the tennis player Stfanos Tsitsipas, they simply prefer not to say whether they have been vaccinated or not. For this reason, the list begins to be long and there are many who, directly, do not have the slightest intention of changing …
Novak Djokovic (Tennis No. 1)
It is difficult to make a list of ‘not vaccinated’ ordered by merits, but Djokovic maybe it’s number 1. In 2021 three Grand Slams and skimming the ‘Golden Slam‘, in addition to achieving the historic milestone of having the ‘big four’ on more than one occasion. In the field of vaccines he has been blunt: he will not say whether he has been vaccinated or not. “You can’t discriminate against someone if they want to decide for themselves. I’m very disappointed in world society right now for putting pressure on people,” he said.
At the moment its presence is in danger in the next Open de Australia, place where he is king. The first major of the course is debated whether to allow unvaccinated players can be part of the draw. Play or not, the doubt is present. It should also be remembered that it is not the first ‘scuffle’ of ‘Nole‘ with the Covid, because during the confinement he organized the Adria Tour, tournaments in which there were infections -including his own-.
Dominic Thiem and Stfanos Tsitsipas (top-10 of the ATP)
As it happens with Djokovic, other aces of the racket sport have also decided not to confirm whether they get vaccinated or not. And, specifically, data was handled that said that only 50% of tennis players were vaccinated. It is the case of Stfanos Tsitsipas (n 3) and Dominic Thiem (n9). The example of One It is peculiar, because it says that it is not waiting for a new type of vaccine. From your country they urge you to do so now. “We can only say that it is vaccinated,” said the minister of Health of Austria, Wolfgang Mckstein.
Secondly, Tsitsipas has changed his mind. During the US Open it was direct. “Nobody can force me. And I don’t know if I recommend it. I’m a tennis player, not a doctor,” he went on to affirm. With the passage of time, his speech has changed and he already believes that he has no choice. “Before the end of the year I get vaccinated. There is no other option,” he explains.
Joshua Kimmich (FC Bayern, futbolista)
At ‘King sport‘also happens. And it happens in one of the best-oiled machines in football, the Bavaria de Mnich. In the German team the midfield works thanks to Joshua Kimmich. A player who refuses to get vaccinated, for the moment. He prefers to wait for possible problems and side effects, and he is one of those who in the future believes that he will be able to do so. “It would be an even better model,” he continued. Karl-Heniz Rummenigge, legend of the institution. His companions, like Thomas Mller, they want me to. But, at the moment, it does not seem because of the work.
Other points of the ‘planet football’ follow an opinion similar to Kimmich, although the pressure to accept is high. For example in Italy there was panic for 10% of unvaccinated footballers. Or in England, that there are cases like that of the forward of the West Brom, Callum Robinson, who has been infected twice and does not want to know anything about the vaccine.
Kyrie Irving (Base de los Brooklyn Nets)
One of the main stories of sport and vaccines stars it Kyrie Irving. The champion of the NBA con los Cleveland Cavaliers and current base of Brooklyn Nets He has not been able to debut on the 75th anniversary of the best basketball league in the world due to his no to the vaccine.
It should be said that Irving He is peculiar in terms of behavior and the vaccine is one of a collection. Since then, I’m sorry for being a flat-earther or arriving at court rituals to eliminate bad spirits. The no to vaccination has reached a next dimension, and, outright, it is forbidden to play. The Brooklyn They can’t count on 11 in home games and in states like San Francisco. Therefore, they stop counting on the Australian.
His answer is not the kind of Djokovic or Kimmich, but Irving alludes to conspiracy theories. On one occasion he even said that he did not want to because there was a satanic plan that made black people connect to a computer … whatever it is, Irving has complicated his short-term future in the NBA.
In addition, in the best basketball league in the world they are adamant against the deniers. They will lose part of their salary and in many cases they will be prevented from playing games. What Irving there are other examples such as Andrew Wiggins or Bradley Beal of players who have been reluctant, although in many cases they have not said whether they have been vaccinated or not.
Opposites: golf and NFL
Golf is a similar case to tennis. While some leagues like NBA or NHL reached 90% of vaccinated, in the American circuit it was not close to 75%. And with stars, like Bryson DeChambeau, who prefer not to. The case of the number 6 in the world of golf is complex, since he lost the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games for a positive by Covid, and, even so, does not want to. “I am still young. There are people who need it more,” he related when asked while disputing the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational.
Far from the stars, there are other leagues like the NFL who have seen how their harsh measures have sparked acceptance. Without half measures, in the American football of the highest level they affirmed that if the teams are not vaccinated they risk losing games and … The players have responded. In June it was estimated 93% of vaccinated.
Yes, not without controversy, because one of the stars, DeAndre Hopkins had to delete a tweet in which he was critical of the vaccine. In his case, he had suffered from heart problems that could be linked. “I never thought I would say this, but being in a position to harm my team because I don’t want to get vaccinated makes me question my future,” he explained.