Yahoo Sports Novak Djokovic is kind of a jerk but he doesn't deserve boos for being injured
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Good morning, Winners! Happy Friday. You made it through the week.
Look, we all know how annoying Novak Djokovic can be. He's tennis' self-proclaimed "villain." He's thrown tantrum after tantrum throughout his career, trash-talked entire crowds of people, and he's argued with umpires and so much more. That's before we even get into all the vaccine stuff during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The dude is a great tennis player. He's also just, generally, a jerk. It is what it is. That's how he's always been and that's how he always will be.
But still, he didn't deserve the boos he got from the Australian Open crowd after getting injured.
Djokovic retired early from his match against Alex Zverev. He's been battling a nagging muscle tear in his leg, at least, since his match in the quarterfinals on Tuesday against Carlos Alcaraz. He confirmed it following his win earlier in the week.
He attempted to manage the injury for the semifinal but, obviously, it didn't work. Whatever pain he was in worsened to the point where he had to retire early from the match after one single set.
The Australian Open crowd didn't like it. So they booed. All Djokovic could do was give a thumbs-up on his way through the tunnel.
ZVEREV COMES TO HIS DEFENSE: He implored the crowd not to boo Djokovic after his exit.
That was such a cringey moment. It felt so unnecessary. Salute to Alexander Zverev for coming to his defense. He shouldn't have had to do that. He also didn't have to do it. But he did it, anyway. That's awesome.
And, look, I get it. Djokovic is a jerk. He also left at a convenient time, just as the match seemingly got rolling. It was an injury he'd played through before, so people are likely questioning why he couldn't do the same thing here.
But, regardless of how you feel about him or what you think about him bowing out, nobody — not even Novak Djokovic — deserves to be booed for being injured. You don't have to like him. You can absolutely root against him. You can boo him when he's healthy.
But booing someone when they're hurt and can't play? That's wack, man. We're better than that as a sports-viewing public. Or, at least, we should be, anyway.
Mark Andrews speaks
Everyone has been waiting for Mark Andrews to say something after dropping a potential game-tying catch on Sunday against the Bills. The Ravens would've had another shot to get to the AFC title game.
Instead, they're at home and Andrews has to live with his mistake.
"WE'RE A TEAM": Lamar Jackson consoles Mark Andrews after devastating drop
Andrews hasn't spoken to the media about the play, but he did finally issue a statement via Instagram on Thursday.
"Even though the shock and disappointment are unlike anything I've ever felt before, I refuse to let the situation define me," Andrews said.
There ya go. That's how you do it. Get back up off the turf and try it again next year. It'll be a tough pill to swallow, but taking the challenge head-on is the best way to go about it.
Salute to Andrews for committing to that.
Ichiro is a better man than me
Because ain't no way I'm sitting down and kicking it with my biggest hater.
He said that he wants to have a drink with the lone Hall of Fame voter who left him off of their ballot. Andrew Joseph has more here.
"Ichiro said that he would like to have a drink with that voter, which was a gracious approach to someone who honestly deserves to have their voting privileges revoked.
To this day, Mariano Rivera is the lone player to reach the Hall of Fame through a unanimous vote. Ichiro surely deserved to be the first position player to have that honor.
But really, you have to love that response from Ichiro. It was all class."
Andrew is right. That's super classy. Ichiro seems like a very nice, stand-up guy.
But, again, couldn't be me.
Photo Friday: The other side of sports
The anguish of sports is never celebrated, but it certainly exists. We see it plainly here through David Montgomery as he goes back to the Lions' locker room after an upset loss against the Commanders.
Quick hits: Starters and snubs ... The NBA in Paris ... and more
— Here are the starters for the NBA All-Star game, including a surprising appearance from Jalen Brunson. This feels right.
— There are plenty of NBA All-Star snubs, though. Here's Bryan Kalbrosky with more.
— Everybody pulled up to the NBA in Paris on Thursday. Fashion Week looks like a fun time. Here's Meg Hall with more.
— Here are the best bets for NFL Conference Championship weekend from Christian D'Andrea.
— Here's Robert Zeglinski with more on Amari Cooper's selfless message despite his limited role with the Bills.
— Blake Schuster put together a fantastic explainer on why X and Meta links are no longer welcome on some subreddits. This is fascinating.
That's a wrap, folks. Thanks so much for reading. Happy Friday, Winners! Have a great weekend. Peace.
-Sykes ✌️
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Novak Djokovic is kind of a jerk but he doesn't deserve boos for being injured
