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The COVID-19 outbreak has not been a good time for tennis' famed Big 3. While Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal have actively contributed to and participated in efforts to battle the pandemic, the three superstars of modern tennis have also seen themselves get tangled in political controversies.
First World No. 1 Novak Djokovic received widespread criticism for his stance on vaccination, then Swiss legend Roger Federer sparked outrage over his farewell message for Australian broadcaster Alan Jones. And now, Rafael Nadal has found himself in hot water on social media over a supposedly innocuous political remark.
While there would be little disagreement among Spanish citizens on Nadal being the best athlete in their country's history, the 19-time Grand Slam champion has been known to divide opinion in the political sphere. The Mallorca native has, somewhat unwittingly, become the face of the resistance against Spain's current socialist government led by Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.
Rafael Nadal first made the political headlines in 2018, when Sanchez's Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) assumed power after a successful vote of no confidence was passed against then Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy (who belonged to the conservative People's Party). Nadal, who had until then shown little interest in the country's politics, was not in favour of having an un-elected government in power; he called for a re-election.
"I would like to vote again. With all the things that have happened, which are not few, the citizens would like to be able to vote again," Nadal had said while speaking at a press conference during the French Open of 2018.
Rafael Nadal and his 'apolitical' stance
That was followed by two general elections in Spain within a span of seven months last year, and Pedro Sanchez managed to narrowly keep his seat .
However, the Spanish premier has once again attracted criticism over his government's late response to the coronavirus outbreak, which resulted in a rapid spread of the disease and a death toll of over 27,000 in the Iberian country.
Rafael Nadal also criticized Sanchez's government for the lack of adequate preventive measures in Spain, and expressed discontent at not being able to train during the stringent lockdown measures in Spain.
"If preventive measures had been adopted earlier, it would have avoided the need for all the extreme measures we took later," Nadal had said in May.
In an interview radio 'Voz de Galicia' the Mallorcan also said that he is indifferent to political ideologies and that he just wants the best for his country - irrespective of the ideological leanings of the ruling government.
"It is absolutely indifferent whether the country is governed on the left or the right or even in the center. Give me the same. When I speak I don’t think about politic, I speak as a citizen. And I want those who govern us to do the best they can for people."
Nadal further added that the ruling party or the Prime Minister don't make much difference to him if the concerned persons did their jobs well.
"What difference does it make to me if the PP, Podemos, the PSOE, Vox, Ciudadanos, or whatever! I do not care Casado, Abascal, Arrimadas, Iglesias or Sánchez. That they take us out of this and that we have the least number of deaths possible and the least economic impact possible," the Spanish tennis legend said.
While this quote might appear harmless, Nadal has come under criticism for supposedly taking a stand with the right wing of the country and masking it by maintaining an "apolitical" stance. Over the last couple of days, Twitter has been buzzing with backlash over Nadal's comments, with many suggesting he is showing sympathy towards fascist ideals.
In particular, the mention of Abascal and his political party Vox in Nadal's statement has attracted the harshest criticism.
The dynamic or right vs left politics in Spain
Founded towards the end of 2013 by Santiago Abascal, Vox is a far-right populist party in Spain with a hard-line nationalistic and authoritarian vision of society. The party has been calling for the closure of fundamentalist mosques as well as the arrest and expulsion of extremist Muslim priests.
Vox has openly called for the deportation of tens of thousands of Muslims from Spain. In 2019, the party's leader demanded a Reconquista or 'reconquest' of Spain, explicitly referencing a new expulsion of Muslim immigrants from the country.
At a time when the immigrant and refugee problem is making headlines all over Europe, the statement from Nadal expressing his indifference to a right wing, anti-immigrant party being in power hasn't gone down well with political observants.
One Twitter user said Nadal has no idea about politics and that his "amateur" political opinions should be taken as seriously as an epidemiologist's opinion on tennis.
"Rafa Nadal commenting on politics and health is like Fernando Simón (an epidemiologist) playing tennis: an amateur who is clueless, and that is very sad," the user said.
Another Twitter user said that as a citizen, Nadal is well within his rights to opine on politics and other things he doesn't have much knowledge about. But the problem arises when such blanket statements are popularized among the mainstream populace, coming as they do from a celebrity and role model.
"Rafa Nadal and Fran Rivera (Spanish bullfighter) can comment on issues of which they have no idea, like any citizen, that is not a problem. The problem is that these opinions are disseminated in the media and given relevance due to the fact that they come from famous people," said this particular political observant.
There were also calls for Nadal to take a cue from football manager Jürgen Klopp and refuse to speak on issues where he has no expertise, like politics.
"Rafa Nadal is within his rights to give his opinion on the pandemic, but I am more of a Jürgen Klopp (who had said 'The opinion of celebrities on the coronavirus is not important. I am just a soccer coach. Ask smarter people')," the Twitter user. This was in reference to Klopp refusing to answer a question on the coronavirus citing lack of knowledge on the subject.
However, it's worth nothing that while Klopp had been asked a rather scientific question on the pandemic, Nadal was voluntarily expressing his opinion on politics and the handling of the pandemic.
On the surface this might not seem like a big issue; Rafael Nadal is, after all, just a citizen exercising his basic rights. But his statement on indifference to right wing populism and political parties advocating divisive politics certainly does have the potential to alienate some of his fans.
The recent backlash received by the Big 3 is, in a way, instructive for famous athletes. They need to be careful of what they say and do - whether in their interviews or on social media - given how polarized the world has become during this crisis.
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