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According to two stories in today’s New York Times, some entities are actually showing some backbone and standing up to the United Arab Emirates’ refusal to grant an entry visa to Shahar Peer, thereby barring her in Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships this week.
Richard Sadomir reports on the Tennis Channel’s refusal to televise the event, and is it really a back injury that made Roger Federer back out of his appearance in the tournament, or is it a secret show of solidarity?
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It would be quite the gesture if Federer backed out of the tournament to show his support for Peer, but that seems dubious to me.
This has become big news in Israel. The newspaper “Yediot Achronot” reported that Andy Ram’ one of the highest ranked doubles players in the world, was also not granted an entry visa, and that the “Wall Street Journal” has withdrawn its sponsorship of the tournament. The tournament organizers are claiming security as the reason for their actions, though a security agency hired by the international tennis organizations decided that there is no risk to the Israeli players.