Last night Novak Djokovic was disqualified from the US Open for slamming a ball right into the throat of a line judge. Did he do it intentionally? Doesn’t look like it. Was it stupid and reckless and could have caused someone serious injury? YES.
Which is why it’s a bit off-putting when Djokovic fans cry foul on Twitter.
BTW, this was not his first outburst either.
Djokovic is a great player. Best in the world right now. But are we seriously going to defend this kind of behaviour?
Mind you, he infamously spoke against taking a COVID-19 vaccine if and when it comes out.
Also, he, very carelessly, organised a tournament a few months ago and people got infected with COVID-19.
So if you are still putting this man on a pedestal, there are some questions you might want to ask yourself.
And it’s not just him. We have made a habit out of putting sportsmen on a pedestal so high that every time we look at them, we feel like they need to be worshiped.
Barcelona star Luis Suarez racially abused Patrice Evra during a game and people kept on supporting him. Even former English captain John Terry has been found guilty of using racial slurs.
Coming back home to cricket, there’s monkeygate, there’s Ishant Sharma and a whole team of Indian players calling Darren Sammy ‘Kaalu’. And Virat Kohli’s PR team might have been extremely careful protecting his image, but we all don’t seem to mind when he’s cussing mothers and sisters on the field.
See, sportsmen, like everybody else, are flawed people. Some way more than others. We need to understand this simple fact.
We can love them for being the best at their craft but at the same time we need to be careful not to put them on a pedestal. Cos what that does is, takes away our objectivity when they do something stupid, reckless or downright heinous.
So stop worshiping these people.