On the latest episode of the CBC Sports video series Bring It In, host Morgan Campbell is joined by panellists Dave Zirin and Meghan McPeak to discuss tennis star Novak Djokovic’s court victory, positive COVID-19 result and the protests in Australia surrounding his case.
While the unvaccinated Djokovic won his court battle to have his visa reinstated and remain in Australia on Monday, it still remains to be seen if he will avoid deportation and compete at the Australian Open — with the government still threatening to cancel his visa.
“All of this is just as unclear as it always was. The only thing that’s clear is Novak Djokovic is not vaccinated and does not want to get vaccinated, and that you still technically aren’t allowed into Australia if you haven’t had a vaccine,” Campbell said.
Zirin compares the Serbian tennis player to the National Football League (NFL)’s Aaron Rodgers, who was fined after misleading people about his vaccination status, and Antonio Brown, who was suspended after supplying the NFL with a fake vaccination card.
“Novak Djokovic is like the unholy hybrid of Aaron Rodgers and Antonio Brown. [He has] all of the obnoxious entitlement of Rodgers, while at the same time he may be playing very fishy with his positive and negative tests and his results like Brown,” Zirin said.
“He has all of the arrogance, all of the sleaziness, all of the entitlement that we’ve seen in the NFL.”
WATCH | Bring It In panel discusses Djokovic court battle, protests:
Reactions to Novak Djokovic winning court battle related to COVID vaccine exemption | Bring It In
8 hours ago
Duration 7:29
The ‘Bring It In’ panel give their takes on the latest news regarding Novak Djokovic’s vaccine exemption that had him detained in Australia as he attempted to enter the country to compete in the Australian Open. 7:29
Djokovic tested positive for COVID-19 on Dec. 16, allowing him to acquire a medical exemption, but he was pictured maskless at a public event just a day later. The panel discusses there being a double standard involved because of Djokovic’s status and power, and the resulting backlash and anger from some Australians who feel he is receiving special treatment.
“To what extent is Novak Djokovic benefiting from the fact that he’s Novak Djokovic?” Campbell said.
“They don’t like the fact that you’re rubbing this thing in their faces when Australians have been going through vaccine mandates, mandatory testing, quarantine when they leave the country.”
McPeak builds on the idea that the average person wouldn’t be afforded the same loophole in order get into Australia without proof of vaccination.
“We wouldn’t have gotten into the country [without being vaccinated], we wouldn’t have gotten past border control. It just would’ve been a completely different situation and we would not have gotten out of the immigration detention centre,” McPeak said.
WATCH | Court permits Djokovic to stay in Australia for time being:
Novak Djokovic allowed to stay in Australia for now
5 hours ago
Duration 1:56
A judge has cleared Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic to stay in Australia ahead of the upcoming Australian Open, but the country’s immigration minister could still step in and revoke his visa. 1:56
Djokovic was released from a Melbourne immigration detention centre following the ruling, but the protests in support that led up to it also included many who were sympathetic with the plight of immigrants forced to remain indefinitely in the hotel Djokovic resided in as a result of not meeting the requirements of Australia’s Border Force.
“There’s the Serbian Nationalist one, and then there was the Australian anti-racist campaigners one trying to raise awareness of the plight of migrants through Djokovic,” Zirin said.
The panel also talks about how the protests supporting Djokovic spiralled out of control with the Serbian community in Melbourne who took action.
“What you have outside in Australia are now actually violent battles between Serbian-Australian protestors — people in Australia of Serbian descent — and the police. So this is like the Aaron Rodgers situation on steroids,” Zirin said.
Campbell goes on to add that at the end of the day, Djokovic ultimately only cares about one thing — himself.
“Don’t go to jail over Novak Djokovic, because he would not go to jail for you. Don’t get pepper sprayed over Novak Djokovic; he won’t even take a vaccine for you,” Campbell added.
Despite the ongoing controversy and uncertainty, Djokovic has resumed training with his path cleared to compete for his 21st grand slam title and 10th Australian Open title. He has a chance to break a tie with Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer for the most Grand Slam men’s singles titles of all time.
EDMONTON – The Edmonton Oilers signed defenceman Travis Dermott to a professional tryout on Friday.
Dermott, a 27-year-old from Newmarket, Ont., produced two goals, five assists and 26 penalty minutes in 50 games with the Arizona Coyotes last season.
The six-foot, 202-pound blueliner has also played for the Vancouver Canucks and Toronto Maple Leafs.
Toronto drafted him in the second round, 34th overall, of the 2015 NHL draft.
Over seven NHL seasons, Dermott has 16 goals and 46 assists in 329 games while averaging 16:03 in ice time.
Before the NHL, Dermott played two seasons with Oilers captain Connor McDavid for the Ontario Hockey League’s Erie Otters. The team was coached by current Edmonton head coach Kris Knoblauch.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
NEWPORT, R.I. (AP) — Maria Sharapova, a five-time Grand Slam singles champion, led the International Tennis Hall of Fame’s fan vote her first year on the ballot — an important part to possible selection to the hall’s next class.
The organization released the voting results on Friday. American doubles team Bob and Mike Bryan finished second with Canada’s Daniel Nestor third.
The Hall of Fame said tens of thousands of fans from 120 countries cast ballots. Fan voting is one of two steps in the hall’s selection process. The second is an official group of journalists, historians, and Hall of Famers from the sport who vote on the ballot for the hall’s class of 2025.
“I am incredibly grateful to the fans all around the world who supported me during the International Tennis Hall of Fame’s fan votes,” Sharapova said in a statement. “It is a tremendous honor to be considered for the Hall of Fame, and having the fans’ support makes it all the more special.”
Sharapova became the first Russian woman to reach No. 1 in the world. She won Wimbledon in 2004, the U.S. Open in 2006 and the Australian Open in 2008. She also won the French Open twice, in 2012 and 2014.
Sharapova was also part of Russia’s championship Fed Cup team in 2008 and won a silver medal at the London Olympics in 2012.
To make the hall, candidates must receive 75% or higher on combined results of the official voting group and additional percentage from the fan vote. Sharapova will have an additional three percentage points from winning the fan vote.
The Bryans, who won 16 Grand Slam doubles titles, will have two additional percentage points and Nestor, who won eight Grand Slam doubles titles, will get one extra percentage point.
The hall’s next class will be announced late next month.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The driver charged with killing NHL hockey player Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew as they bicycled on a rural road had a blood-alcohol level of .087, above the .08 legal limit in New Jersey, a prosecutor said Friday.
Gaudreau, 31, and brother Matthew, 29, were killed in Carneys Point, New Jersey, on Aug. 29, the evening before they were set to serve as groomsmen at their sister Katie’s wedding.
The driver, 43-year-old Sean M. Higgins of nearby Woodstown, New Jersey, is charged with two counts of death by auto, along with reckless driving, possession of an open container and consuming alcohol in a motor vehicle. At a virtual court hearing Friday, a judge ordered that he be held for trial after prosecutors described a history of alleged road rage and aggressive driving.
“’You were probably driving like a nut like I always tell you you do. And you don’t listen to me, instead you just yell at me,’” his wife told Higgins when he called her from jail after his arrest, according to First Assistant Prosecutor Jonathan Flynn of Salem County.
The defense described Higgins as a married father and law-abiding citizen before the crash.
“He’s an empathetic individual and he’s a loving father of two daughters,” said defense lawyer Matthew Portella. “He’s a good person and he made a horrible decision that night.”
Higgins told police he had five or six beers that day and admitted to consuming alcohol while driving, according to the criminal complaint. He also failed a field sobriety test, the complaint said. A prosecutor on Friday said he had been drinking at home after finishing a work call at about 3 p.m., and having an upsetting conversation with his mother about a family matter.
He then had a two-hour phone call with a friend while he drove around in his Jeep with an open container, Flynn said. He had been driving aggressively behind a sedan going just above the 50 mph speed limit, sometimes tailgating, the female driver told police.
When she and the vehicle ahead of her slowed down and veered left to go around the cyclists, Higgins sped up and veered right, striking the Gaudreas, the two other drivers told police.
“He indicated he didn’t even see them,” said Superior Court Judge Michael J. Silvanio, who said Higgins’ admitted “impatience” caused two deaths.
Higgins faces up to 20 years, a sentence that the judge said made him a flight risk.
Higgins has a master’s degree, works in finance for an addiction treatment company, and served in combat in Iraq, his lawyers said. However, his wife said he had been drinking regularly since working from home, Flynn said.
Johnny Gaudreau, known as “Johnny Hockey,” played 10 full seasons in the league and was set to enter his third with the Columbus Blue Jackets after signing a seven-year, $68 million deal in 2022. He played his first eight seasons with the Calgary Flames, a tenure that included becoming one of the sport’s top players and a fan favorite across North America.
Widows Meredith and Madeline Gaudreau described their husbands as attached at the hip throughout their lives. Both women are expecting, and both gave moving eulogies at the double funeral on Monday.
