Surfer Kelly Slater has ‘no chance’ of competing in Australia if he doesn’t get the Covid jab

Surfing icon Kelly Slater will be banned from competing in Australia if he refuses to get the Covid jab, the Sports Minister Richard Colbeck has warned.

The 11-time world surfing champion, 49, has is yet to reveal his vaccination status but has made waves online railing against jab mandates and posting anti-vax rhetoric to his social media pages during the pandemic.

Mr Colbeck said the American will face a wipeout similar to world No. 1 tennis star Novak Djokovic who was sensationally booted from the country on the eve of the Australian Open, if he fails to prove he’s vaccinated.

‘I reckon he knows the rules. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a surfer, or a tennis player, a tourist or anyone else, those are the rules. They apply to everyone,’ the Sports Minister told the Sydney Morning Herald.

‘I don’t like the chances of him competing in Victoria, and I’d hate to think of what the chances were of him competing in Western Australia.’

The Australian government is taking a hard line on unvaccinated international athletes looking to compete Down Under, as the nation faces a surging rate of Covid cases and supply chain chaos.

All non-citizens are restricted from travelling to Australia if they haven’t had the jab, although in some rare cases exemptions can be approved.

Slater’s skeptical stance on the life-saving vaccines has raised eyebrows during the pandemic.

The 11-time world surfing champion, 49 (pictured with partner Kalani Miller), is yet to reveal his vaccination status but has railed against jab mandates and posted anti-vax rhetoric to his social media pages

Senator Richard Colbeck said the American (pictured at Pipeline in Hawaii) will face a similar situation to world No. 1 tennis star Novak Djokovic, who was sensationally booted from the country on the eve of the Australian Open, if he fails to prove he’s vaccinated

‘If I know the risks (informed consent) and I judge the choice to be one that benefits/hurts me based on stats and info and my own ability (health), I can choose accordingly,’ he said on Instagram about the Covid jab.

‘For people saying listen to the doctors, I’m positive I know more about being healthy than 99 per cent of doctors, but I wouldn’t trust me. But most of my Covid info comes directly from doctor friends, many of them in disagreement with the official “science”.’

He has also claimed some of his friends have ‘literally died’ from the vaccine and that it made his mother’s quality of life suffer.

Slater copped a heavy backlash when he said Covid is a ‘disease of obese, unhealthy, and elderly,’ claiming the virus ‘exposes the unhealthy underlying patterns and issues in people’.

Medical experts have dismissed the surfing legend’s comments.

Another possible exclusion from Australian World Surf league events is the reigning champion Gabriel Medina.

Slater’s skeptical stance on life-saving vaccines has raised eyebrows during the pandemic

The 28-year-old Brazilian may also miss out on Bells Beach and the Margaret River Pro in April with his vaccination status still unknown.

He had refused to get the Covid jab before the Tokyo Olympics but later said he planned to get vaccinated soon.

Andrew Stark, the WSL Asia-Pacific general manager, said there is no mandate for surfers to get vaccinated but added the league will ‘stringently follow the set government entry guidelines of each country we visit for our events’.

‘We encourage everyone who is able to get vaccinated and have advised everyone associated with the WSL that unvaccinated individuals may face significant challenges as they travel around the world and may be prohibited from entering certain countries,’ he said.