Not just Djokovic: athletes who risk their careers by not getting vaccinated

After almost two years of the pandemic, unvaccinated sportsmen and women are becoming more and more scarce. Yet, there are some cases so famous that they are making headlines all over the world. The most relevant case is undoubtedly the world number one in the ATP ranking. The Serbian tennis player was expelled from Australia and unable to play the first Grand Slam of the year.

The problem for Djokovic is that this is not the only competition that he can be excluded from. The Roland Garros French Open, which starts in May in Paris, has already warned that if he does not get vaccinated, he will not be able to participate.

With more than 96% of NBA players vaccinated, the Brooklyn Nets point guard - and one of the stars of the competition - maintains his insistence on not getting vaccinated. This decision cost him several months away from the team.

Irving returned to play on 6 January, in the face of the team's numerous absentees. However, he can only play away games due to current New York legislation.

For several months, the talented Bayern Munich player chose not to be vaccinated. After contracting Covid-19 in November 2021, the Bavarian club opted to remove him from the team and take away the corresponding part of his salary.

The virus left some after-effects on the midfielder's lungs but it hasn't affected his performance. Either way, before returning to the field at the end of the year, he opted to get vaccinated.

The Green Bay Packers star claims to be allergic to an element of the vaccines, so he opted for an alternative immunity treatment, which, unfortunately, the NFL did not approve and ruled him unvaccinated.

After becoming infected in November 2021, the Packers fined the quarterback $300,000 and he has lost his Prevea Health sponsorship.

The Golden State Warriors player was against vaccinations, but the San Francisco Chronicle revealed his name as one of the few unvaccinated players in the NBA days before the start of the season.

The Warriors made it clear that if he didn't get vaccinated, he wouldn't play, which would mean withdrawing $350,000 per game he didn't play. He ended up getting vaccinated, but out of obligation, as he said on social media. "The only options were to get vaccinated or not play in the NBA."

The greatest surfer of all time, 11 times world champion, has never hidden his anti-vaccine stance. In fact, when the Djokovic case broke out, he was one of the first to defend him on social media.

"And for people saying listen to the doctors, I’m positive I know more about being healthy than 99 per cent of doctors (laugh emoji) but I wouldn’t trust me," he said on Instagram.

The Washington Wizards star has received less media attention, perhaps because Irving has hogged the spotlight. Still, he has been one of the most relevant unvaccinated names in the NBA.

The shooting guard already missed the Olympics because of a positive test for Covid-19, which opened the door to a future vaccine. This came two days before the end of 2021.

Wolfsburg's Dutch striker openly refuses to be vaccinated. As the Bundesliga does not oblige its players, he can play in Germany without any problems.

"Imagine a vaccine so safe that they have to force you to take it, for a disease so lethal that they have to test you to know you have it," he told German broadcaster ZDF.

The American tennis player also assumed, some time ago, that he would not be taking part in Australia, due to his refusal to be vaccinated.

Regarding Djokovic's stance, Sandgren took it ironically, with a tweet that immediately went viral. "I think Novak should make his vaccination record public. And his medical history. And his account number. And what he had for breakfast last week."

The Brazil international, who plays for Atletico Madrid, has been left out of Tite's squad for the 'Canarinho' because he did not want to be vaccinated. "He has lost the option to compete for not being vaccinated," said the coach.

According to Tite, "vaccination is a social responsibility" and he has taken this to heart in the important qualifiers for the Qatar 2022 World Cup.

The French tennis player, one of the best doubles specialists on the circuit, has also opted not to be vaccinated. Unlike Djokovic, however, he automatically assumed that participating in the Australian Open was not an option for him.

"I am not anti-vaccine, but I have not taken the step to get vaccinated and I would like my decision to be respected," he told France TV Info.

The all-rounder with the eternal smile, who played a key role in Chelsea's Champions League win, is one of the 25% of Premier League players who have not been vaccinated, according to data provided by the English Football League.

The midfielder has missed important games this season because he has not been vaccinated. Despite this, his coach, Thomas Tuchel, says he will not force his players to be vaccinated if they don't want to.

A three-time world kickboxing champion, Frédéric was a convinced anti-vaccine activist who was admitted to hospital on 26 November 2021 with respiratory problems. Despite this, he decided to voluntarily discharge himself a month later.

Known as 'The Undertaker', he died at home two days later. He was 41 years old and the reason he left the hospital was that "the little virus is not going to stop me." In the end, it did.