The American tennis player John Isner, number 25 in the world, was the protagonist on Twitter during the night of Monday for some unfortunate comments about the pandemic. The 2.07-tall player posted a tweet criticizing the use of masks by NFL coaches in the band during games, something that cataloged as “pure theater” and that made no sense.
As a result of those words, the one who became number 8 in the ATP ranking began to interact with the responses that came to him, both positive and negative. Isner agreed with a follower who claimed that no healthy person should wear a mask, and he also agreed with those who considered it “propaganda”.
Melbourne went through +3 months of hard lockdown / mask mandate to drastically reduce the risk of covid-19 infection having no local cases recorded so far since October and strict rules for those entering in Victoria
Quite sure this isn't the best opinion to get there in ~ 20 days pic.twitter.com/t9yu8jDQxX
– Diego Barbiani (@Diego_Barbiani) December 28, 2020
The most controversial moment came when a fan responded to Isner's original tweet telling him that “Everyone should wear a mask, period”, to which the tennis player responded with a terse “brainwashed”, a clear denialist argument that maintains that those who protect themselves from the virus are being deceived. Another tweeter told Isner that “The use of a mask should be normalized because it is useful”, and the player insisted on his idea with a clear “no, it is not useful”.
The networks fell on the winner of 19 ATP titles, who continued to defend his denialist ideas and even vacillate those who asked that he not be admitted to the Australian Open. The oceanic country has made a great effort to contain the pandemic, and the measures imposed for the celebration of the tournament are very strict. The misinformation comments from Isner, who plans to start his season in Delray Beach and then travel to Melbourne, do not help, therefore. There, by the way, you should wear a mask at all times, whether you like it or not.