Tennis star Novak Djokovic is doubling down on his vaccine status.
After all of the backlash he received stating he refused to get the COVID-19 vaccine, he wanted to make one thing clear. His decision doesn’t make him anti-vaccine.
“People tried to declare me as an anti-vax [person]. I’m not anti-vax, nor am I pro-vax. I’m pro-freedom to choose,” he said in an interview with 60 Minutes, via Fox.
“I was basically declared as a villain of the world,” Djokovic added. “I had, basically, most of the world against me. I had that kind of experience on the tennis court with crowds that were maybe not cheering me on. But I never had this particular experience before in my life.”
This was the second time he declared he was “pro-freedom to choose.”
“I got the exemption, I got the permission to come into the country,” Djokovic said. “So, of course, it escalated to the highest of highest levels globally.”
After his Grand Slam title at the US Open this year, he spoke to tennis legend John McEnroe he detailed his feelings on it saying he didn’t believe he had a choice in the matter when it came to receiving the vaccine.
“I was encountering that on a daily basis with so many people in my country or around the world,” Djokovic told McEnroe in September.
About Jessica Kleinschmidt
Jess is a baseball fan with Reno, Nev. roots residing in the Bay Area. She is the host of "Short and to the Point" and is also a broadcaster with the Oakland A's Radio Network. She previously worked for MLB.com and NBC Sports Bay Area.