As the Miami Open gets ready to kick off in Florida later this month, the state’s governor, Ron DeSantis, is asking President Joe Biden to let Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic into the country even though he isn’t vaccinated for COVID-19.
Djokovic, a 22-time Grand Slam winner, is one of, if not the best male tennis players to ever compete in the sport. However, his decision to be unvaccinated has made him ineligible for the competition for multiple tournaments because of the U.S. and other countries’ rules.
DeSantis (R) sent Biden a letter on Tuesday, demanding that he exempt Djokovic from the U.S. vaccination policy that currently requires all noncitizens who are not immigrants and traveling to the U.S. by air to be vaccinated against the virus.
“It has been reported that Novak Djokovic has formally applied and been denied permission from your administration to enter the United States so that he may compete at the upcoming Miami Open tennis tournament,” DeSantis wrote to Biden.
The Florida governor said the only thing stopping the all-time great from competing in Florida is the president’s “misguided, unscientific and out-of-date” policy.
“This denial is unfair, unscientific, and unacceptable,” DeSantis continued. “It’s time to put pandemic politics aside and give the American people what they want — let him play.”
In the letter, DeSantis goes on to question the current policy and the Biden administration’s decision to deny Djokovic’s appeal to enter the country.
Under the current policy, DeSantis questions if Djokovic would be able to enter the country if he took a boat, as the current policy only requires noncitizens coming into the country by air to be vaccinated.
DeSantis told Biden in the letter to confirm with him by Friday at the latest if Djokovic could take a boat into the country.
The Republican governor also criticized the Biden administration for being so strict with the policy, as it pertains to Djokovic, while it is currently allowing immigrants passage into the country via the southern border without first checking their COVID-19 vaccination status.
“Furthermore, even as you enacted the Proclamation on air travel that remains in force to this day, your administration pointedly allowed thousands of unvaccinated migrants to enter our country through the southern border,” he wrote.
Not only do they not have to show proof of being vaccinated, the CDC says that immigrants are not required to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
This is not the first time Djokovic has been prohibited from playing in a tennis tournament due to his vaccination status. In January 2022, he was deported from Australia and not allowed to compete in the Australian Open, and he was also stopped from playing in last year’s U.S. Open.
Australia reportedly banned Djokovic for three years at the time of his deportation, but it walked back the move this year as he was allowed to compete in the tournament in January.
DeSantis is now calling on Biden to make a similar decision to Australia by allowing the Serbian to enter the country and compete.
“Mr. Djokovic is an extraordinary tennis player who should have every right to compete in this year’s Miami Open, which will commence on March 20,” DeSantis concluded in his letter. “I respectfully ask you to grant his requested exemption so that he may delight and inspire tennis fans in Florida and around the Nation.”
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