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Stick to politics: Ron DeSantis a hypocrite using Novak Djokovic to attack Biden

Mike Freeman, USA TODAY
·4 min read
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Many athletes – almost always the Black athletes – are told to keep politics out of sports. LeBron James was told to "shut up and dribble" by Fox right winger Laura Ingraham. Donald Trump stated that protesting NFL players "shouldn’t get the politics involved." Colin Kaepernick has said repeatedly the message to him from most fans when he kneeled for the anthem was keep politics out of football.

Former Sen. Kelly Loeffler, one-time co-owner of the Atlanta Dream, wrote a letter to the commissioner of the WNBA in 2020 at the height of the Black Lives Matter movement, opposing having the words Black Lives Matter displayed during games.

"We need less – not more – politics in sports," she wrote. She added: "And now more than ever, we should be united in our goal to remove politics from sports."

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So imagine my surprise when Ron DeSantis, the governor of Florida, hyper-injected politics into sports (yet again), despite many of his right wing brethren saying for decades it's so un-American that every time it occurs Ben Franklin rolls over in his grave. DeSantis didn't just wade into the politics-in-sports pool, he dived from the high board, 50 feet up, headfirst, twisting and turning and belly flopping.

Welcome aboard, Ron! I'll teach you the politics-in-sports (PIC) handshake as soon as you pay the membership fee. Make your check payable to WokeAntifa-PIC Inc.

DeSantis wrote to President Joe Biden on March 7 requesting tennis star Novak Djokovic be allowed to compete at this month's Miami Open despite Djokovic being unvaccinated for COVID-19.

Reuters reports that the United States currently prevents unvaccinated foreigners from entering the country. That policy is expected to be lifted when the government ends its COVID-19 emergency declarations on May 11.

"This denial is unfair, unscientific and unacceptable," DeSantis wrote.

"The only thing keeping Mr. Djokovic from participating in this tournament is your administration's continued enforcement of a misguided, unscientific, and out-of-date COVID-19 vaccination requirement for foreign guests," DeSantis said.

DeSantis doesn't care about the merits of the policy. He's using Djokovic, and sports, as a way to bludgeon Biden.

The fact Djokovic is a petulant brat who has refused to believe in basic scientific principles isn't the main story here.

The story is DeSantis, who seems to be prepping a presidential run, and is being brazenly hypocritical. It's apparently OK to put politics in sports as long as it's your politics.

Then again, this isn't the first time DeSantis has used sports for political gain. In fact, he does this all the time. No one refuses to stick to politics more than DeSantis:

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DeSantis is in the not-sticking-to-sports Hall of Fame. It's the only thing he, LeBron James and Kaepernick have in common.

The entire stick-to-sports phenomenon has always been absurd. Wouldn't you want athletes to be well-rounded people who care about the country and world? Who use their power to better things, even if their politics don't agree with yours?

The attempt to shun people like James and Kaepernick was about silencing strong, Black voices. Since, many times, it's Black voices that often refuse to stick to sports.

DeSantis understands the power of sports and politics. Just as long as those politics, and athletes, agree with him.

Don't worry, DeSantis, it won't be me who tells you to stick to politics. Talk about whatever you want.

See how that works.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ron DeSantis a hypocrite using Novak Djokovic to attack Biden on COVID