Gutless
Aussie Dave | Sep 11, 2005 | 1 comment
A quick lesson on Judo:
With its strict moral and ethical principles, and its humanitarian approach to life, Judo fosters a sense of respect and consideration. Participants are taught to strive for physical, intellectual and moral perfection, so they can not only improve their own life, but also contribute to the greater good.
Looks like the Iranians have forgotten these fundamentals yet again.
Iranian judoka Wahid Sarlak lost his match against a competitor from Azerbaijan on purpose Sunday in order to avoid a showdown with Israeli judoka Gal Yekutiel at the world judo championships in Cairo.After the match, a sobbing Sarlak revealed that heads of the Judo federation in Teheran had instructed him to lose the match.
I say “again” because they have pulled this sh*t before, during the Olympic Games of all things. I have to echo what columnist Michael Farber wrote after the Olympic scandal.
If Iran won’t face Israel, banning one judoka is not enough. The position of an NOC, on behalf of its government, should make Iran a pariah in the Olympic family. The rules of sport were mocked, the spirit of the Olympic movement trashed.
About the Author
An Australian immigrant to Israel, Aussie Dave has been blogging since early 2003.Filed Under: General
Why can’t we just ban those countries from the Olympics and all sports where they are to meet / encounter other sportsmen from the West? If they can pull stuff like that, why can’t we? Imagine how mad the mullahs would be if an ordinary, American tennis-player refused to play against something like an Iranian or a Saudi on the grounds that he would not support the Arabian or “Persian entity”. Just imagine what would happen if an American did something like that to someone due to his nationality or religious beliefs. The world would freak out, but when it’s an Iranian being blackmailed by his government into not playing against a Jew, or simply an Israeli, they apparently have every right to spit on the ideals of the Olympics and sport in general.
Oy…
I say ban Iran(has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?) just for the hell of it, and see how they like it.