The tournament director of the Australian Open, Craig Tiley, said a sentence to the broadcaster ABC that sounds banal in normal times, but is not that banal at the moment. The fact that you have to be in quarantine with a positive corona test and not leave your hotel room for training, “that is the price that our guests and everyone who wants to come to Australia has to pay”. Emphasis on “everyone”.
The fact that there are no exceptions for tennis players in Australia seems to surprise some, especially Novak Djokovic, but this is not particularly surprising since the Serb was already noticed last year due to a largely irresponsible handling of Covid-19.
In some quarters one has evidently got used to the privileges of the profession
Maybe you really have to remind the sport that it is taking place under special conditions. The pandemic is raging worse than ever in large parts of the world, but the World Handball Federation is holding a World Cup with 32 teams. Three of them had to leave again – unable to play due to too many corona cases. And while professional sport was dormant in the spring of 2020 and when it resumed it was grateful and humble, in some circles people have now apparently got used to the privileges of professional practice.
But that is not a matter of course. In Germany, the retail trade, hairdressers, restaurants, museums, theaters, cinemas and large parts of the event industry are tight, largely despite the hygiene concepts presented. Professional athletes are allowed to continue working – and that’s why it’s part of their job not only to kick a ball, but also to adhere to requirements. Obviously not everyone is aware of this.
The generally benevolent mood towards sport can quickly change
In a phase of the pandemic, in which almost everyone is affected by restrictions, the impression that you are a fool if you stick to the rules is fatal, and a message like Breel Embolo’s comes at the wrong time. The Gladbach striker was at least so close to a party that his personal details were recorded by the police. In the ZDF sports studio, Wolfsburg’s manager Jörg Schmadtke answered questions about a Bundesliga continuation almost piqued. He preferred to keep quiet about the fact that his club recently had to warn four professionals for disregarding the Corona requirements. In Great Britain the national incidence value was now over 600, the Premier League continued to play, among other things with the argument that otherwise it would not be possible to catch up on the games.
It helps those in charge that many sports fans are very happy to be able to watch biathlon or ski jumping or handball or a cup win by Kiel against FC Bayern and not just hundreds of special broadcasts on the Corona situation. But this fundamentally benevolent mood towards sport can quickly change if you no longer relieve the actors of dealing responsibly with the situation.
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