Novak Djokovic, Boris Johnson and Prince Andrew are in the spotlight this week, an unholy trinity dominating headlines around the world. Their stories are discrete and in many ways dissimilar, but all three have, in one way or another, let down the millions of people who looked to them for inspiration and guidance.
As I mentioned in my column last week, top-ranked tennis player and anti-vaxxer Novak Djokovic caused a ruckus after he was allowed into Australia to compete in the Australian Open tennis tournament, despite not being double vaccinated, as is required for entry by the government. He then faced deportation after it emerged he had lied on his Travel Declaration Form, but was cleared to enter after winning an appeal, only to end up being deported after a federal court ultimately ruled against him. The back and forth over Djokovic’s visa status has been something of a tennis match in itself.
Meanwhile, Prince Andrew, the second son of British Queen Elizabeth II, was recently stripped of his military titles and royal patronages after it became clear he would have to face a civil case in the United States over allegations that he sexually assaulted Virginia Giuffre in 2001, when she was still a minor.