RULES are rules, a po-faced Prime Minister Scott Morrison reminded Australians two weeks ago, as his henchmen collected wood for the bonfire and started tying Novak Djokovic to the stake.
Fair enough, many will say.
But there is a subtle difference between obeying the rules and playing in the spirit of the game, and if that appears to be beyond the PM's powers of comprehension, perhaps it won't have escaped the attention of those who will soon be queuing at the ballot boxes.
Greg Chappell could argue the underarm ball was within the laws of cricket.
Douglas Jardine could argue Bodyline was a legitimate tactic.
Melbourne Storm could argue the grapple tackle and chicken wing were nothing more than an efficient method of stopping an opposition ball-carrier, until rival teams started whinging.
The rest of us, however, booed and hissed in unison and yelled: "Fair go mate."
Aussies pride ourselves on being fierce competitors who play to win, yet we don't stoop to laying the slipper in, no matter how despised an opponent may be, nor how much is at stake.
Djokovic, of course, should never have been allowed into the country, and he surely won't be welcome on our shores any time soon, at least not until he complies with our COVID-19 vaccination policies.
Deportation was no less than he deserved.
But that doesn't make it right, not by a long shot (from way behind the baseline).
This has been a disgraceful chapter in Australian sporting history, causing our entire nation embarrassment that is likely to linger for years and even decades.
Djokovic undoubtedly brought it on himself, to a large degree, by refusing to roll up his sleeve.
But the international incident it became was not really his fault, and could so easily have been avoided.
For starters, what on earth were Craig Tiley and Tennis Australia thinking when they tried to facilitate an "exemption" (which some might suggest is a euphemism for "rort") that they felt would have entitled the world's most high-profile anti-vaxxer to enter the country?
In Melbourne, of all places, after all the lockdowns residents of that city have endured.
It's just madness. I can't believe Tiley has not yet cleared his desk and disappeared out the back door.
For him to declare this week that he would not be resigning and was "proud of what the team has done and what we have delivered so far" shows how tone-deaf he must be.
Surely he is on borrowed time. It was, after all, his ultimately worthless assurances that convinced Djokovic to get on a plane in the first place.
Yet Tiley's cluelessness, for mine, has been completely overshadowed by the political stunt that followed.
When news first broke that the world No.1 was heading to Australia (after a post on his Instagram), the Prime Minister was questioned about the issue at a press conference.
"Well, that is a matter for the Victorian government. They have provided him with an exemption to come to Australia, and so we then act in accordance with that decision," Morrison said. Asked if he thought it was an appropriate call, Morrison added: "Well, that's how it works. States provide exemptions for people to enter on those basis, and that's been happening for the last two years. So there's no change to that arrangement."
Yet the following morning, we woke to news that Djokovic had been detained at Tullamarine Airport, and the whole farcical process of deporting him kicked off.
The question I find myself asking is why didn't someone from the federal government contact Tennis Australia, after Djokovic's Instagram post, with one simple message: "If he's not fully vaccinated, he won't be allowed in the country."
One 11th-hour phone call from Tiley to Djokovic, relaying that information, would surely have convinced the 20-time grand slam champion that there was no point boarding his flight.
Instead he made his way to Australia, under the impression that his entry was a formality and clearly unaware of what was about to unfold.
What awaited him was a stitch-up. A low act. A cheap shot from the blind side.
All rammed home by a government with much-publicised "God-like powers" to override the decision by a Federal Court judge, simply because it didn't suit their agenda.
I guess it's easy to say "rules are rules" when you make them up as you go.
It was all too easy for the government to demonise Djokovic. Anti-vaxxers are a minority. Not the full quid, many would say.
But is Djokovic any weirder than the bloke, who in the lead-up to the last election, saw a painting of an eagle and later told his fellow Pentecostal church-goers: "The message I got that day was: 'Scott, you've got to run to not grow weary, you've got to walk to not grow faint, you've got to spread your wings like an eagle to soar like an eagle'." Honestly, the mind boggles ...
Morrison has not ruled out waiving a three-year ban and allowing Djokovic to enter the country for the 2022 Australian Open, presumably providing he has been vaccinated.
How big of him.
That might not be a decision Scotty from Marketing gets to make, if karma has any say in it.
