ESPN Forced To Award Unvaccinated Novak Djokovic 'Shot Of The Day' Presented By Moderna Following US Open Victory

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Novak Djokovic won the US Open on Sunday. ESPN broadcasts the entire tournament, including the championship match. And, one of the biggest sponsors of the tournament is Moderna. The irony, of course, is that Novak Djokovic is one of the most famous people to openly refuse to get the COVID-19 vaccine.

Moderna is one of the biggest producers of COVID-19 vaccines. The company ran commercials throughout the tournament imploring people to get yet another booster. Because this one is definitely going to work!

ESPN had a contractual obligation to Moderna to air a featured segment, the "shot of the day." First of all, that's a really poorly conceived sponsored feature. I'm sure the Moderna executives absolutely loved it.

But to use "shot of the day" in reference to a company that delivers vaccinations feels gross.

Either way, ESPN needed to fulfill its obligation with the sponsor. And because of that, ESPN had to award the unvaccinated Novak Djokovic the "Shot of the Day" presented by Moderna.

ESPN Forced To Award Novak Djokovic 'The Shot Of The Day' Presented By Moderna Following US Open Victory

OutKick's Ian Miller wrote a terrific piece about Djokovic's win and how it was the perfect rebuke of COVID lockdowns and vaccine mandates.

From Miller's piece:

After being indefensibly banned by the Biden administration from competing in the U.S. Open in 2021 and 2022, Djokovic returned to New York City for 2023. And won the whole damn thing.

Djokovic’s fourth U.S. Open win and 24th Grand Slam title overall leaves one to wonder what could have been if not for how disastrously bad this administration’s COVID policies were over the past few years.

ESPN had to award the unvaccinated Novak Djokovic the

ESPN had to award the unvaccinated Novak Djokovic the "Shot of the Day" presented by Moderna after his US Open victory. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)

Biden and the CDC were relentless in their pursuit of anti-science mandates barring unvaccinated people from entering the United States. Despite overwhelming evidence by the early-middle part of 2021 that mRNA vaccines were ineffective at preventing infection or transmission.

But similarly to their obsession with disproven mask mandates, authority figures refused to accept or acknowledge reality. And Djokovic was caught in the crosshairs of institutional incompetence.

Famously refusing to get vaccinated, Djokovic stood firm in the face of immense societal pressure. Australia deported the now 36-year-old superstar for not complying with their nonsensical mandates. The U.S. banned him. And he still refused to comply.

Pointless government policy cost him two years of further major tournament dominance.

ESPN awarding Djokovic the "Shot of the Day" presented by Moderna was the icing on top of a very, very sweet cake.

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Dan began his sports media career at ESPN, where he survived for nearly a decade. Once the Stockholm Syndrome cleared, he made his way to Outkick. He is secure enough in his masculinity to admit he is a cat-enthusiast with three cats, one of which is named “Brady” because his wife wishes she were married to Tom instead of him.