A journalist has called out Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic for his superfan’s controversial comments about world number one Jannik Sinner recently.
It’s no secret that the 24-time grand slam champion has no shortage of supporters across the world. However, a few superfans continue to stand out among the others.
But this time, one such superfan – Pavvy G, got the tennis legend in trouble with his statement. The blogger’s statement about Sinner’s continuous participation in professional commitments despite losing his aunt was perceived by many as insensitive.
“When his Aunt so poorly and now unfortunately passed away, he didn’t miss a single event for Gucci or the Olympics promotion in the last week and is now in Beijing. A sad loss for him and his family but sometimes missing sponsor obligations is important when family involved?.” wrote Pavvy G on Twitter.
This statement from the superfan attracted a lot of criticism, with famous journalist Jon Wertheim also joining the debate.
In the process of slamming Pavvy, Wertheim questioned whether Djokovic should be held accountable for his fan’s statement.
“This is a legit question, not limited to tennis….what level of responsibility – if any – do today’s athletes bear w/r/t their more prominent/vocal/offensive stans? …Would a public repudiation to this kind of rot do any good?,” wrote the journalist.
This is a legit question, not limited to tennis….what level of responsibility – if any – do today’s athletes bear w/r/t their more prominent/vocal/offensive stans? …Would a public repudiation to this kind of rot do any good? https://t.co/fJD8PtUb1m
— Jon Wertheim (@jon_wertheim) September 23, 2024
However, some fans did not like Wertheim scrutinizing Djokovic for something he has no control over. They believe the tennis star cannot act as a social media police and monitor what his fans are saying.
It’s not a player’s job to police fans. Once you open that door, it just leaves detractors with a window to say “ohhhh well he/she didn’t specifically denounce this account’s tweet today, so that’s a tacit endorsement! What a racist/bigot/sexist!”
— 1ga’s Bakery (@KCMahomie15) September 23, 2024
So players would need to monitor the social media posts of their fans and at the appropriate time voice objection to the tone or content of a post? No. I would not put that expectation on players to actively police their fans.
— Variant488 (@Variant488) September 24, 2024
The person making the comments bears full responsibility for their own words and actions. Have the Athletes not got enough on their plates without having to worry about censoring fans?
— Anne Ryan (@AnneMazza17) September 24, 2024
That said, Pavvy had earlier received a special shoutout from Djokovic during this year’s Wimbledon game. While speaking about how his fans follow and support him day and night without expecting anything in return, he took the name of Pavvy.
“These are people who are very important in my life, who follow me. For example, Julie, Pavvy, I don’t know how many are there who have been following me for 15 years,” said Djokovic.
It’s important to remember that while superfans will be heavily involved in debating and sharing stories about their favorite player, this does not hold the player responsible for their actions.
