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Why aren't we talking about Novak Djokovic
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Anonymous
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Not only did he have a spectacular meltdown with unsportsmanlike behavior, he withdrew from his doubles match after losing two straight matches in other events, leaving his partner without a chance to play for a medal.
I'll be honest - my view of sportsmanship is more traditional. I have, in the past, criticized the behavior of athletes, both male and female, who have behaved as poor sports, including Serena Williams. That doesn't change my opinion of their athletic achievements. I prefer more gracious and respectful competitors. However, seeing how Novak's behavior is barely mentioned while a huge segment of the population has devoted considerable time and effort criticizing Simone Biles. The fact remains that whatever you think of her decision from a competition standpoint, her sportsmanship and support of teammates and competitors during these Olympics has been exemplary. Her accomplishments in the sport speak for themselves. People want to hate her for some reason, but a racquet throwing temper tantrum from a male player isn't even worth mentioning. It's hard to think of any explanation other than sexism and/or racism. https://www.bostonglobe.com/2021/08/02/sports/theres-double-standard-work-with-simone-biles-novak-djokovic-olympics/ |
Anonymous
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Agreed. The new John McEnroe. Poor sportsmanship.
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Anonymous
| Yeah he’s kind of a jerk. And unfortunately he is going to end up with more grand slam titles than Federer or Nadal. |
Anonymous
| As long as he's been great, people tolerate it, i.e., Lance Armstrong before being exposed as a cheater. |
Anonymous
That's OP's point though. Why are we tolerating Novak and not Simon Biles? Is it because he is a man? Biles is no less great compared to Djokovic. |
Anonymous
| People are talking more about Simone Biles because she's an American. But yeah that guy is an a-hole and should be banned. He needs fined too. |
Anonymous
| It's appalling how Serena is treated compared to Djokovic. |
Anonymous
Also no one cares about Olympic tennis to begin with- many top players didn’t bother traveling for it. Total jerky move by him though- no one was forcing him to play mixed doubles but once he commuted he should have seen it through. |
Anonymous
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I’m conflicted on Novak. I don’t hate him. I wanted to see him win the Golden Slam. I hope he wins the Grand Slam.
But in the behavior department, he is no Roger or Rafa. His behavior - when he loses - is not good. There is a reason the fans always are against him. For alll his mental training, he mentally quit in his bronze medal match. He quit on his doubles partner. There is definitely sexism involved in that Simone got all the heat while Novak didn’t. I think it also had to do with tennis being just one sport among many and it isn’t even that popular an Olympic sport (compared to gymnastics.) even with Novak going for the golden slam, I don’t feel like there was much focus on tennis during the Olympics. If he has a meltdown during the USOpen (like he did last year) when there is nothing to compete against at the uS Open, I feel like he would get a lot more heat. |
Anonymous
| His reaction was especially rich after his commentary about how Biles needed to deal with the pressure of being at the top. |
Anonymous
| What heat has Simone gotten, other than on anonymous internet boards? Does that some how impact her? |
Anonymous
I've seen this circulating around FB and the Internet in general, so he's not completely being given a bye. But it isn't nearly as big of a brouhaha as when some of the other players exhibit far less "breaks of decorum".
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Anonymous
No, guys! It can’t possibly be that no one is talking about it because no one even knows about it because no one gives a shit about Olympic tennis, particularly a non-American competing in DOUBLES! It MUST be racism/sexism!!! |
Anonymous
He was playing in the bronze medal singles match when he melted down and threw his racquet into the stands. Novak is coming off of two major championships, is one of the greatest players of all time, and is very famous, even among Americans. The point is that his bad behavior does not seem to tarnish his athletic accomplishments in the eyes of the public. |
Anonymous
He’s coming off of 3 major championships not 2. He’s a phenomenal athlete and also an a$$. I watch a lot of tennis and can’t stand him. |