Novak Djokovic Forced To Withdraw From Indian Wells As Biden Administration Continues To Be Detached From Reality

Novak Djokovic has been forced to withdraw from this week's ATP-WTA event in Indian Wells, Calif. after being denied entry into the United States due to being unvaccinated against COVID-19.

The 35-year-old requested a vaccine waiver to enter the country, but the Biden administration and the Homeland Security Department rejected it.

READ: NOVAK DJOKOVIC HAVING TO ASK FOR SPECIAL PERMISSION TO ENTER THE U.S. TO PLAY TENNIS IN 2023 IS BEYOND COMPREHENSION

Most countries around the world have recognized that the pandemic is over and started to treat unvaccinated individuals like actual human beings, but the United States refuses to do so.

Unvaccinated Still Being Punished By The Biden Administration

In early January, five days before the vaccine requirement was due to expire, an emergency amendment was issued that extends the entry requirement of proof of vaccination for non-U.S. nationals until April 10, 2023.

Meanwhile, over 2.76 million undocumented immigrants illegally entered the country at the southern border in 2022. This means that roughly 7,500 illegal immigrants entered the United States every day last year, and the U.S. government does not care about their vaccination status.

READ: NEW YORK TIMES FINALLY ADMITS IT’S NO LONGER A ‘PANDEMIC OF THE UNVACCINATED’

Florida Senators Rick Scott and Marco Rubio co-signed a letter to President Joe Biden urging him to allow Djokovic into the country to compete, but that letter clearly fell on deaf ears.

Djokovic was allowed to play in January’s Australian Open, which he won. Ahead of last year’s Aussie Open he was deported from the country, yet Australia had the gusto to change its policies, lift his ban, and allowed him to compete.

Australia was without question one of the strictest countries when it came to vaccine requirements, yet lifted its vaccination requirements for visitors in July 2022.

The United States seems to want to be the last country on Earth to put COVID in the rearview mirror.

Follow Mark Harris on Twitter @ItIsMarkHarris

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Mark covers all sports at OutKick while keeping a close eye on the world of professional golf. He graduated from the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga before earning his master's degree in journalism from the University of Tennessee. He somehow survived living in Knoxville despite ‘Rocky Top’ being his least favorite song ever written. Before joining OutKick, he wrote for various outlets including SB Nation, The Spun, and BroBible. Mark was also a writer for the Chicago Cubs Double-A affiliate in 2016 when the team won the World Series. He's still waiting for his championship ring to arrive. Follow him on Twitter @itismarkharris.