If Novak Djokovic wants to play in the U.S. Open, why doesn’t he just cross at the southern border?
Sure, tennis officials will likely notice that he’s showed up at the venue in Flushing Meadow, Queens. But maybe he can put on a fake mustache and play under a pseudonym. Say, Shnovak Bjokovick. Nobody’ll notice.
Alas, Djokovic didn’t think about this one. The Serbian tennis superstar will be absent from the final grand slam of 2022 because he isn’t vaccinated against COVID-19 — and even though the vaccines don’t necessarily stop one from getting COVID or from passing it on and even though a COVID test could easily determine whether he has the virus, the United States stipulates that all those who enter the country must get the jab.
Actually, let me correct that: All those who enter the country legally must get the jab. If you come over illegally, the government doesn’t give a hoot. That paradox was on full display during Monday’s White House media briefing, when Fox News correspondent Peter Doocy cornered White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre over the hypocrisy.
The question was straightforward enough: “How come migrants are allowed to come into this country unvaccinated, but world-class tennis players are not?”
If the White House position was defensible, the answer would have been straightforward, too. Lo and behold, the Notorious KJP’s answer was anything but.
“The U.S. government cannot discuss the details of individual visa cases,” she began.
“Due to privacy reasons, the U.S. government also does not comment on medical information of individual travelers as it relates to tennis player.”
Should unvaccinated Novak Djokovic be allowed to compete in the U.S.?
Oh yeah: That’ll preserve his privacy.
Jean-Pierre also claimed that unvaccinated illegal immigrants and unvaccinated legal travelers were “two different things.”
Doocy continued to press: “Somebody unvaccinated comes over on a plane, you say that’s not OK. Somebody walks into Texas or Arizona unvaccinated, they’re allowed to stay?”
“That’s not how it works,” Jean-Pierre said. “It’s not like someone walks over.”
That’s actually exactly what’s happening. Or, as Doocy put it: “That’s exactly what is happening.” (Rational minds think alike, I suppose.)
“Thousands of people are walking in a day,” Doocy said. “Some of them turn themselves over. Some of them are caught. Tens of thousands a week are not. That is what is happening.”
The two also locked horns over Title 42, the public health policy invoked during the Trump administration which allows for the exclusion of some illegal immigrants. The policy doesn’t apply to child migrants.
While the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention extended it last month, the administration tried to end it in the spring. A court blocked the move, however.
“Why is there a CDC [vaccine] requirement for people that fly here as opposed to people who cross the southern border?” he asked.
“We have talked about Title 42,” Jean-Pierre replied. “There is a CDC provision for folks coming through the southern border. It is not just for tennis players.”
Yes, but the administration didn’t even want to continue the provision a few months ago — and furthermore, it’s still not applicable to everybody. One of the primary reasons the CDC decided to extend Title 42 is the fact the administration faced major blowback after reportedly releasing numerous migrants displaying COVID symptoms into communities.
“We’re releasing people out of the door day in and day out with actual positive tests for COVID and more keep popping up,” Chris Cabrera, a vice president of the National Border Patrol Council, told Fox News earlier this month. He also said illegal immigrants who don’t display symptoms aren’t even tested.
But let’s keep Djokovic out. That’ll solve the problem.
Alas, the U.S. Open started on Monday. Common sense hasn’t prevailed and Shnovak Bjokovick didn’t show up in a mustache for the first round of the men’s singles. If only he’d thought of crossing at the southern border. I mean, I know I’ve been assured that isn’t “how it works” by no less than Karine Jean-Pierre — but from all available evidence, that appears to be exactly how it works.
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