Iranian judoka shames Olympics with actions
The Olympics, at least in concept, are supposed to be all about competition and brotherhood and peace. Well, those are all grand concepts, but let's face it. We live in the real world, where politics is never far below the surface, regardless of where you happen to live or your place on the food chain.
The sad thing is when politics intrudes and ruins the party. In this case, what makes things even worse, is that every Tom, Dick, and Mohammed knows what happened, even if the parties involved are lying throught their teeth.
Arash Miresmaeili, a two-time world champion in judo, carried the Iranian flag into the Olympic Stadium last Friday in a moment he described as the proudest of his life. Within 36 hours, he suffered the most shameful moment -- even if he and Iran don't necessarily see it quite that way.
Miresmaeili, who was scheduled to fight an overmatched Israeli named Ehud Vaks, told INRA, his nation's official news agency, that he refused to face an Israeli because of his sympathy with the oppressed people of Palestine. His stated political beliefs might not have covered him in glory, but he did cover himself with a few extra pounds -- causing him to fail the weigh-in. (Reportedly he was lugging an extra two kilograms, almost 4 1/2 pounds. At the Olympics any veteran judoka who arrives two kilograms over the limit should have his head -- and not his stomach -- examined.)
If Miresmaeili truly had the courage of his convictions, he would have stopped hiding behind his weight and simply told officials he did not want to sully himself on the mat against an Israeli. Period. Or his National Olympic Committee should have sent someone to the judo hall and done it for him. As Reuters reported, an Iranian NOC spokesman said Miresmaeili was instructed not to fight because of government policy of not competing "against athletes of the Zionist regime."
This is despicable, deplorable, and it makes the Iranian government look like...well, like the intolerant, inflexible trolls they are. What little credibility they had to begin with has now been thoroughly and irrevocably shredded. Perhaps someday the small-minded trolls responsible for this travesty will be able to look back and realize what complete jackasses they've been...but I'm not holding my breath on this one.
Last Friday night the 10,500 athletes amassed in the Olympic stadium tacitly agreed to these words: "I promise that we shall take part in these Olympic Games ...in the true spirit of sportsmanship, for the glory of sport and the honor of our teams."
See you, pal. Don't let a Doric column hit you on the head on your way out.
Indeed. And the jackasses shall always be among us....
