Biden Djokovic Ban, and a Possible Free-Market Solution

New York City has no objection to 21-time Grand Slam singles champion Novak Djokovic competing in the U.S. Open, which he has won three times. In a similar style, the Open has no objection to Djokovic, nor does the United States Tennis Association (USTA). 

The ban on Djokovic is a project of Joe Biden, who declares that all non-citizens traveling to the United States must be vaccinated. Djokovic rejects vaccination based on “the freedom to decide what you put into your body.” Biden denies that freedom and claims his policy offers “science-based public health measures,” but Djokovic has to wonder. 

He did get Covid, and that grants a certain immunity, according to Dr. Anthony Fauci. On the other hand, fully vaccinated Fauci and fully vaccinated Joe Biden both got Covid, which is not the best support for the claim of science. As embattled Americans might recall, Biden called Covid “a pandemic of the unvaccinated.”

Djokovic was also banned from Australia for three years and was a good sport about the Biden ban. He wished good luck to the players and looked forward to the opportunity to play again. The matter should not end there. 

The ban on Djokovic, a former champion now ranked sixth in the world, taints the open, which should be won on the court. Some entrepreneur or sports broadcasting magnate should set up a pay-per-view match between Djokovic and the winner at a neutral site. Whether USTA sanctioned or not, millions of people would doubtless tune in, and the match would remove any lingering doubts about the true champion. Meanwhile, rigid, unscientific restrictions should have no place in the world of sports.