NEW YORK — Unvaccinated pro athletes are low-hanging fruit that Howard Stern relishes picking, tearing into and spitting out the pit of. Having previously feasted on Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving and Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, Stern returned to the orchard Tuesday for a serving of Novak Djokovic.
Rodgers was a “f---head,” while Irving was the “top idiot in the country.”
Djokovic, who may have lied even more egregiously than Rodgers in his attempt to get around COVID-19 protocols to play in the upcoming Australian Open, is worse than either, Stern said in a rant on Tuesday.
“What a f---ing a--hole...They should throw him right the f--- out of tennis,” Stern said. “He’s a douchebag. ...”
“That’s like saying smoking is a private decision,” he said of Djokovic’s unwillingness to get vaccinated. “Don’t smoke in my face, f---nut. What a dummy, just a big dumb tennis player.”
Djokovic — who is aiming for a men’s record 21st Grand Slam title if he is allowed to compete when the tournament begins next week — has admitted that he gave an in-person interview after testing positive for the virus in December, although reporting from Der Spiegel has called into question the existence and timing of the positive test.
When Robin Quivers, Stern’s longtime co-pilot, pointed out that the tennis player recently had COVID-19, the host responded with what seems like a reasonable possibility: “He could be lying.”
