To deport or not to deport, the Federal Court has finally ended the drama surrounding Novak Djokovic’s participation in the Australian Open by deporting him. When Djokovic, the world’s foremost tennis player, arrived in Australia, he was detained at an immigration detention center for four days, inviting outrage from all corners of the globe. Announcing that he had no intentions of getting vaccinated prior to his arrival, the star athlete was nevertheless allowed to compete at the Australian Open. However, instead of being welcomed with open arms, he was caught in between the state government of Victoria and the federal government, the latter of which revoked his visa twice—the first attempt being unsuccessful and the second one yielding fruit. Haplessly caught in-between the two authorities, Djokovic has been treated in a rather unacceptable manner.

Under Australian law, international arrivals must be vaccinated against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), unless granted a medical exemption. Djokovic was granted that medical exemption by the Victorian state government under the premise that he had already been infected with the disease prior to the tournament. This exemption, however, was contested by the federal government, who revoked his visa on January 5.

This conflict between the state government and the federal government could be said to be due to their differing interests. The Australian Open is one of the biggest state events for Victoria, which is understandably why the state wants Djokovic to participate. The federal authorities, on the other hand, want to demonstrate to all that they decide who gets to come in and out of the country, making no exemptions. Thus, caught between this conflict is Djokovic, who has been regarded as little more than a mere object.

The 20-time Australian Open Champion has gone through what many can imagine as a rollercoaster of emotions with the numerous decisions regarding his deportation. Indeed, Djokovic’s visa was revoked but successfully overturned when Judge Anthony ruled that he be freed from the immigration detention only for his visa to be revoked for the second, final time. The legal fiasco of which concluded only days prior to the competition, leaving Djokovic on the edge.

Evidently, the authorities have demonstrated a rather blatant disregard for the tennis player. If the federal government felt so strongly that Djokovic should not have been allowed into the nation, they should have blocked his medical exemption prior to his arrival in the nation. Certainly, the federal government has acted out of rightful intentions, but they have acted too late, essentially toying with someone’s career just days before his biggest tournament of the year, putting the individual in a highly distressing and rather uncalled for situation.

Since Djokovic already entered the nation and was gearing himself up to play, the federal authorities should have accepted his arrival, not having vetted it beforehand. However, they have instead remained too focused on demonstrating assertiveness and strength, failing to account for Djokovic beyond his vaccination status and beyond his status as an athlete–a human being first and foremost. In this way, the federal authorities were wrong to interfere with Djokovic’s participation in the Australian Open, robbing him of not only his dignity but also his shot at winning the first-place title at the tournament. As Sophie McNeill of Human Rights Watch (HRW) in Australia tweets, “No one deserves to be humiliated in this way. This could have been resolved before he travelled. Not a good image for #Australia to send to the world.” Truly, this could have been resolved prior.