In vaccination battles, pro athletes become proxy players
3 years, 2 months ago

In vaccination battles, pro athletes become proxy players

Associated Press  

LOS ANGELES — The pandemic-era saga of tennis star Novak Djokovic in Australia this week is but one of many: Pro athletes who have refused to be vaccinated have been put at center court in a larger contest — as famous faces who are becoming proxy players in the accelerating worldwide cultural battles over COVID jabs. “We live in a world where we’ve moved really far away from a central set of facts,” Lebowitz says. “The kind of issues where they aren’t really influential are the traditional wedge issues,” Harvey says. “Those identities are not stripped away in these situations.” The stance of Djokovic might similarly resonate in the Serbian athlete’s home country, given its role in European conflicts of the 20th century. “Nowadays, if you don’t take a side, people don’t think you don’t have a spine.” And while athletes don’t necessarily feel the pressure they once might have to constantly think of the children they’re influencing, the expectation that they remain role models for the young remains embedded in the culture — as it has since the years of the earliest sports mega-celebrities like Babe Ruth more than a century ago.

History of this topic

Explained: Why anti-COVID vaccine rhetoric is on rise after American football star’s sudden collapse on field
2 years, 2 months ago
Djokovic Says He Would Rather Sacrifice Trophies Than Get Vaccinated
3 years, 1 month ago
Rising above reality: How Djokovic bends his mind to succeed
3 years, 2 months ago
In vaccination battles, pro athletes become proxy players
3 years, 2 months ago
List of sports stars who share Novak Djokovic's Covid-19 vaccination scepticism
3 years, 2 months ago
Get vaccinated if you want to play Australian Open, minister tells players
3 years, 5 months ago
The Latest: Crowded sport stadiums, virus combustible mix
3 years, 6 months ago
Vaccinated players to have fewer restrictions at Australian Open
3 years, 6 months ago
Vaccinated players to have fewer restrictions at Australian Open
3 years, 6 months ago
Vaccinated players will enjoy more freedom than those without Covid jab at Australian Open
3 years, 6 months ago
Murray urges fellow players to get vaccinated
3 years, 6 months ago
US Open players don’t need COVID shots; about half have them
3 years, 6 months ago
EXPLAINER: Why pandemic rules differ across college football
3 years, 6 months ago
Analysis: NFL kicks off amid nation’s rising COVID-19 rates
3 years, 7 months ago
Analysis: A day of reckoning shows America’s Covid pandemic battle is sliding backward
3 years, 7 months ago
Pro athletes and leagues are at odds over vaccines, much like the rest of America
3 years, 8 months ago
WTA to 'educate' players over Covid vaccine after big names voiced their concerns
3 years, 11 months ago
AP Analysis: Racial disparity seen in US vaccination drive
4 years, 1 month ago
How race factors into decisions about who should get priority for COVID-19 vaccines
4 years, 2 months ago
Nearly one third of Black Americans remain hesitant to get Covid-19 vaccine, study finds
4 years, 3 months ago
Athletes Must Take Their Place in The Vaccine Queue, Says World Athletics Chief Sebastian Coe
4 years, 3 months ago
Should star athletes get the covid vaccine early?
4 years, 3 months ago
Many Californians, particularly Black residents, would skip taking COVID-19 vaccine today, survey finds
4 years, 4 months ago
One infectious disease expert calls staging college sports ‘playing with fire’
4 years, 7 months ago
Coronavirus Outbreak: Novak Djokovic reaffirms stance against mandatory vaccination but says he could change his mind later
4 years, 10 months ago
Coronavirus: Novak Djokovic says he is ‘opposed to vaccination’
4 years, 10 months ago
Coronavirus Outbreak: I am opposed to vaccination, wouldn't want to be forced to take it, reveals Novak Djokovic
4 years, 10 months ago

Discover Related