Novak Djokovic’s dad has said the way his son has been treated in Australia is comparable to Jesus’ crucifixion - and the internet is having a field day with this dramatic comparison.
The tennis star was denied entry into Australia and had his visa cancelled by Australia’s Border Force after the medical exemption visa he received that supposedly enabled him to play in the Australian Open without being vaccinated was denied.
Srdjan Djokovic has since slammed the Australian authorities in a press conference and accused them of using his son in a “political witch hunt.”
“What is not fair play is the political witch hunt [against Djokovic], by everybody including the Australian prime minister pretending that the rules apply to all.
“[Novak] met all the required conditions for the entry and participation at the tournament that he would have certainly won,” he said, before making the bold religious analogy.
“Jesus was crucified and endured many things but is still alive among us. Novak is also crucified... the best sportsman and man in the world. He will endure.”
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But it isn’t the only figure Srdjan mentions in comparison to his son, as the famous gladiator Spartacus also gets a mention.
“Tonight they can throw him in a dungeon, tomorrow they can put him in chains. The truth is he is like water and water paves its own path. Novak is the Spartacus of the new world which won’t tolerate injustice, colonialism and hypocrisy,” he said.
People on Twitter couldn’t quite believe that Novak Djokovic’s treatment was being likened to that of Jesus Christ and his resilience to Spartacus.
Apparently Djokovic refusing to get vaccinated makes him a mixture of Jean Val Jean, Nelson Mandela and actual Jesus. https://t.co/gaXAAPqfJQ
— Sooz Kempner (@SoozUK) January 6, 2022
Srdjan Djokovic explaining to Jesus how Novak's being treated just like him. pic.twitter.com/ms0MRhZDcA
— Thomas McGuire (@thommcg1980) January 6, 2022
After denying him entry into Australia, Novak Djokovic’s father compared him to Jesus, saying: “They’re trying to crucify him”… But he seems to have forgotten, Jesus wasn’t an asshole…
— Cyrus McQueen (@CyrusMMcQueen) January 6, 2022
"They crucified Jesus and now they are trying to crucify Novak the same way."
— ཊལབསརངཧ (@David_Rudnick) January 6, 2022
Novak Djokovic's father, on his son's refusal to take a vaccine and then being unable to enter a country that requires entrants to have taken said vaccine
#Djokovic's father compares his son to Jesus. Even if you have no Christian Faith you have to believe that the former has nowhere near the influence of the latter. #EJIT #r4today
— 𝐉𝐨𝐡𝐧 𝐃. 𝐋𝐞𝐰𝐢𝐬 (@John_D_Lewis) January 7, 2022
insane sports parents are the best lmfao https://t.co/hEyELlvPrw
— Sunny Day Real Aesthete (@leaaves) January 6, 2022
Try read that with a straight face...😅😂😂🤣🤣🤣😆😆 https://t.co/ZF2iB5GZ9G
— evil_gnome 🍄 (@gnome_196883) January 6, 2022
I CANT DO THIS ANYMORE THIS IS UNREAL https://t.co/DXYGhRBOMP
— sasak (@tennistaboo) January 6, 2022
Novak is Jesus 2.0
— Hacked Raûl (@HackedYayonne11) January 6, 2022
We all remember how Jesus won Wimbledon after the romans persecuted him! https://t.co/nkO39Dny1n
Did he just… he didn’t just… Did he just compare his son to Jesus Christ? https://t.co/htnYSG7rb4
— Ray Rauth (@dpn_ray) January 6, 2022
wish my parents thought so highly of me that they'll compare me to jesus christ https://t.co/mJKTzbE3oI
— chlo (@chloelaulaulauu) January 6, 2022
Jesus. Seriously? COMPARING HIM TO JESUS?! https://t.co/BpUHM9ZEcR pic.twitter.com/PdwiWWGGwC
— Jasmin (@fiorebianca) January 6, 2022
By referring to his son as Jesus, does that mean Novak Djokovic's father believes himself to be God?
— One Wry Eye (@onewryeye) January 7, 2022
My favourite quote from this Novak Djokovic saga is his father describing him as a freedom fighter against colonial injustice.
— Ahmed Yussuf (@ahmedyussuf10) January 6, 2022
“Novak is the Spartacus of the new world which won’t tolerate injustice, colonialism and hypocrisy.”
One person jokingly referred to comments made by Djokovic back in 2020 during an Instagram Live talking with speaking to Chervin Jafarieh as part of his series ‘The Self Mastery Project’ where he bizarrely claimed how his positive emotions could turn polluted water into purified water, EuroSport reported.
“I’ve seen people and I know some people that, through that energetical transformation, through the power of prayer, through the power of gratitude, they manage to turn the most toxic food or most polluted water, into the most healing water,” Djokovic explained.
“Because water reacts and scientists have proven that molecules in the water react to our emotions, to what is being said.”
novak djokovic could turn water into wine but jesus christ couldn’t turn polluted water into healing water
— félix auger-aliassime’s hype woman (@rogerdiIferer) January 7, 2022
Meanwhile, mother of the world number one, Dijana Djokovic also echoed her husband’s views and compared Djokovic’s current predicament to that of a “prisoner.”
“I feel terrible since yesterday, the last 24 hours. They are keeping him like a prisoner. It’s just not fair. It’s not human,” she said.
“I just hope he will be strong as we are trying also to be very strong to give him some energy to keep ongoing. I hope that he will win.”
Djokovic is currently staying in a quarantine hotel in Melbourne, awaiting the verdict of an appeal he and his team launched against the decision to boot him out of the country which had been adjourned until 10am on Monday, January 10th.
