On Dubai

Based on discussions with some of my friends, a significant international news story has received very little coverage here in the United States.

Israeli tennis player Shahar Peer, the 48^th ranked tennis player in the world, was scheduled to play in the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships this week. One week prior to the tournament’s start, the United Arab Emirates denied Ms. Peer a visa to enter the country. The reason? Her presence would ‘antagonize’ fans and the organizers were concerned for her security. In light of the Israeli/Gaza conflicts of late, Dubai organizers were worried that fans might protest the event or be otherwise ‘antagonized’.

The rules of the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) state that no host country can deny a player the right to compete at any event on the tour for which she has qualified by ranking. Yet the tournament has been played this week, without Ms. Peer.

So why didn’t the WTA cancel the event? Why was there only ONE player, male or female, that had the courage to boycott the event in support of Ms. Peer? And where has the coverage been? CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, The Drudge Report and every other outlet in this 24 hour news cycle must’ve missed the memo.

In explaining why there wasn’t a boycott, Venus Williams said,

“There are so many people involved. Sponsors are important to us. We wouldn’t be here without sponsors. We can’t let sponsors down. Whatever we do, we need to do it as a team – players, sponsors, the tour and whoever – and not all break off in one direction. We are team players.”

In my mind, this answers my first two questions. Evidently there was money at stake! And evidently I am watching principle and integrity die right in front of my eyes. There are very few moments in our lives when we can take a stand, and this was the easiest of easy. Ask the Tennis Channel and The Wall Street Journal – the Tennis Channel canceled their coverage and The Wall Street Journal pulled their sponsorship. Ask Andy Roddick, the ONLY player to refuse to play over the incident. On second thought, principle and integrity are alive – albeit on life support.

I am sickened that the WTA didn’t threaten the cancellation of the event and use that as leverage to right this wrong…and if they had to subsequently cancel it, so be it. Isn’t there ANYTHING more important than money? ANYTHING?

Where were Andy Roddick's tennis brethren? Not ONE player joined him in boycotting the event. This sickens me more deeply than the WTA not canceling the event. Serena Williams, Venus Williams, Dinara Safina, Jelena Jankovic, Elena Dementieva, and Ana Ivanovic are just a few of the guilty. Have you and your fellow players no conscience?

On the men’s side, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, and David Ferrer are the most recognizable names of the guilty.

Arthur Ashe and Anne Frank are rolling over in their graves.

One idea that struck me in a very strong way was this: If Venus, Serena or James Blake had been denied a visa on account of their race, the news media in this country would have gone BALLISTIC. Boycotts would have been organized, and the WTA would have been under enormous pressure to cancel the event.

But there was no outrage…no news coverage in the spirit of the ‘Don Imus/ Rutgers’ event. Why? The most obvious answer, which is usually the most accurate, is because she’s Jewish…and the offenders are Muslim. Excluding Jews is evidently much more acceptable than excluding African-Americans, and offending Muslims is most DEFINITELY not tolerated.

Those that choose to ignore history are doomed to repeat it, and I’m seriously worried that in the very near future we’ll witness yet another Holocaust.

All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing…and Andy Roddick is a good man.