Tennis star Novak Djokovic was recently seen wearing a Christian cross during his match at the 2024 Paris Olympics. The move follows the seemingly blasphemous mockery of “The Last Supper” during one of the performances in the opening ceremony, which has drawn backlash from Christians worldwide.
Mario Nawfal, a popular commentator on X, drew attention to Djokovic wearing his cross. In a photograph, he can be seen pulling it out of his shirt around his head. Nawfal wrote in all caps in his post, “DJOKOVIC SENDS POWERFUL MESSAGE WITH CHRISTIAN CROSS AT PARIS OLYMPICS
He continued, “Tennis champion Novak Djokovic proudly displayed his Christian cross during the Paris Olympics, sending a powerful message amid controversy. During the opening ceremony, the Paris Olympics faced major backlash for alleged mockery of the Christian religion. Additionally, the event has been criticized for reportedly weaponizing DMCA to take down social media posts containing critical media.”
Djokovic has spoken about the importance of his Christian faith in the past, emphasizing that it is the most important aspect of his identity, coming before the title of superstar tennis player. “This is the most important title of my life because before being an athlete, I am an Orthodox Christian,” he told Aleteia, an international Roman Catholic news publication.
The Serbian Orthodox Church Diocese of Eastern America also reported on comments from Djokovic when he received the Order of Saint Sava in 2011, the highest honour bestowed by the Serbian Orthodox Church for his commitment to his faith.
“This award is certainly the most important I’ve ever got,” Djokovic said. “As an athlete and a religious person, it is hard for me to find appropriate words to describe my feelings of gratitude for the confidence I gain from the Holy Synod. I can only say that it can be earned only with hard work and self-belief, belief in your loved ones and in God.”
The controversial performance during the opening ceremony has drawn global criticism, particularly from Christians who felt like it was a mockery of one of the most critical moments in Christian history: when Jesus shared his final meal with the apostles before crucifixion. The incident featured a woman who appeared to be positioned in a similar position to Jesus in “The Last Supper” where she was surrounded by drag queens instead of the disciples.
However, bizarre depictions were not isolated to this scene in the ceremony, where there were various other absurdities as well. X account Cillian offered a summary stating, “At the Opening Ceremony of the Olympics we’ve had: Drag Queens mocking The Last Supper. A decapitated head singing. A bearded ‘woman’ dancing provocatively. A naked Smurf with an erection. They want children to see this. We are fighting Satanists and Pedophiles.”
The Christian Tribune has extensively reported on the backlash toward the Olympics, where Donald Trump offered his opinion on the matter. “We won’t be having a Last Supper as portrayed the way they portrayed it the other night,” he said. “I mean, they can do certain things. I thought it was terrible … Look, I’m for everybody. I’m very open-minded. but I think what they did was a disgrace.”
Watch Trump’s response below:
Featured image credit: Peter Menzel, edited by Petar Milošević, CC BY-SA 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Novak_Djokovi%C4%87_Trophy_Wimbledon_2019-croped_and_edited.jpg