The latest scandal to hit the tennis world is the United Arab Emirates’ decision to not give a visa to Israeli-born Shahar Peer to play in the upcoming Dubai Open. And if you think this whole thing is wrapped up in the recent Israel-Gaza conflict, you're absolutely right.
The UAE is saying they denied Peer's visa because they couldn't guarantee her safety at the Dubai Open - the folks at the Emirate somehow think she'll be the target for all sorts of pent up anger over Israel's actions in Gaza. The Israeli government counters that it is all a cheap publicity stunt to whip up more anti-Israel feelings in the Arab world.
Venus Williams, meanwhile, killed off any speculation that there might be a mass boycott by players in the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) over Peer's exclusion. And while I don't have a problem with the other players not boycotting, I have a big problem with Venus' rationale.
She didn't say it was because sports should transcend politics or anything so lofty as that, or even that tennis players were just generally apolitical. No her reason was that they didn't want to let the fans down by not appearing, or let down the sponsors. Oh, and because the tournament offers really, really big prize money.
Look, even if the reason you don't want to boycott a tournament is because you want the chance to line your pockets and you don't want to tick off the sponsors who do their fair share of pocket-lining, its pretty crass to just come out and say that. It's especially bad coming from Venus Williams, who as an African-American, not too many years ago would have been barred from playing in lots of places for reasons far flimsier than even the ones the UAE is offering up for keeping Peer out of their country.
But while the players may not be in a boycotting mood, some of the Dubai Open's sponsors are, including the European version of the Wall Street Journal.
No comments:
Post a Comment