Olympic Disgrace

Once again, an Iranian athlete has refused to compete against an Israeli. This time it is an Iranian swimmer, Mohammad Alirezaei, who refused to be in the pool at the same time as Tom Beeri, a swimmer representing Israel. It should be noted that they weren't even scheduled to swim next to each other - Alirezaei was in Lane 1 and Beeri was on the other side of the pool in Lane 7.

This pathetic display also happened during the 2004 Olympics in Athens:

"During the 2004 Athens Olympics, Iran's judo world champion Arash Miresmaeili, one of the country's prominent gold medal hopes, refused to compete against Ehud Vaks of Israel in the first round out of solidarity for the Palestinian cause."

This is an absolute disgrace (and I'll even call it cowardly). Instead of competing against (and wanting to prove yourself against) an athlete from a country in conflict with your own, these Iranians backed down. They are representative of the bullies in school who pick on other kids, challenging them to a fight...after school near the jungle gym (knowing full well that the other kid would be too afraid to show up). Yet, when arriving at the jungle gym to find the other kid ready to throw down, the bully remembers he's got to get home for chores.

Their actions (or inactions) are the antithesis of the bravery shown by many Olympic athletes in history. Think about the great athletes who were not afraid to step into that unwelcoming environment to prove themselves. Jesse Owens comes to mind.

"Jesse entered the 1936 Olympics, which to many are known as the "Hitler Olympics." These games were held in Nazi Germany, and Hitler was going to prove to the world that the German "Aryan" people were the dominant race. Jesse had different plans, however, and by the end of the games even German fans cheered for him."

Also frustrating is that there are many, many swimmers who didn't qualify for the Olympics who would have loved to be in that race. Instead, the race goes on with an empty lane.

Since this is a repeated offense (and looks to continue), I would like for the IOC to punish Iran by not allowing any of their athletes to compete (until they agree to participate in the spirit of the Games). Until then, they could give Alirezaei's spot (and spots of other Iranian cowards like him) to someone who would have cherished the moment and the opportunity to compete in the Olympics.