"How f**king disgustingly low can you be?": MMA star Jake Shields calling journalist's death 'poetic justice' for 'shaming' Novak Djokovic angers fans

Several tennis fans online were angered by MMA star Jake Shields referring to British journalist Mike Dickson's death as "poetic justice" because the latter had criticized Novak Djokovic in the past.

Dickson, a tennis correspondent for the Daily Mail, died during the 2024 Australian Open, just 10 days shy of his 60th birthday. He covered tennis and a few other sports in an impressive career spanning 38 years.

Following Dickson's death, Shields took to social media and insinuated that it was karma for the Brit to die while watching Djokovic play. Dickson was a staunch critic of the World No. 1's choice to not get the COVID-19 vaccine,

Fans were outraged by Shields' remarks and expressed their criticism on social media. One fan stated that celebrating the tragic and sudden demise of someone simply because they were critical of another person was "disgustingly low."

"Not QTing because that piece of sh*t doesn’t deserve the engagement but celebrating the tragic sudden death of a man because he was critical of somebody? how f**king disgustingly low can you be?" a fan posted on X (formerly Twitter).

Another fan shared similar thoughts and stated that Shield's comments about the British journalist were a "new low."

"Celebrating a person’s death because write something bad about your favourite yellow ball hitter… tt finds new lows everyday," the fan posted.

Here are a few more reactions from tennis fans:

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"Novak Djokovic hasn't slowed down yet" - Martina Navratilova

Australian Open 2024

During a recent episode of the Tennis Channel podcast, Martina Navratilova said that Novak Djokovic was a "constant professional." She attributed his mindset to his former coach, Jelena Gencic.

Navratilova also expressed her admiration for Djokovic's fitness, noting that his relentless pursuit of improvement and victory was both "scary" and "impressive."

“He is the constant professional and I think he had the mindset and he had the great coach Jelena, and other coaches that came after her. So he had all the basics covered from a very early age and he's still trying to get better and that's a scary thought, but to win that much after thirty is just impressive," she said (at 34:00).

Navratilova believes that people typically possess the level of fitness that Novak Djokovic currently exhibits before the age of 30. She stated that it was remarkable that the Serb, at the age of 36, continues to maintain top level of fitness while showing no signs of slowing down.

"I don't care what happened before thirty, you're just built from another DNA because things get harder, you slow down and Novak hasn't slowed down yet,” Martina Navratilova added.

Djokovic is currently playing at the Australian Open 2024, where he has made it to the quarterfinals by defeating Adrian Mannarino in straight sets.