I've been remiss in filing a follow-up to the anti-Semitic fiasco created by the United Arab Emirates when they refused a visa to Israeli tennis player Shahar Peer, thus eliminating her from the Dubai Tennis Championships. It's a story which prompted first a news post here on Vital Signs and then an action-oriented post designed to urge the Women's Tennis Association to do the right thing and get tough with the UAE.Well, bless their hearts; they did.
The WTA ended up fining the organizers of the event $300,000 (more than double any previous fine), declaring that a portion of it will be used for Peer and her doubles partner, Germany's Anna-Lena Groenefeld, to make up for the prize money they might have won at the tournament. The rest will go to a charity chosen by the WTA and Peer.
"I think what we hope with this decision is that we're sending a very clear message that we're not going to tolerate discrimination of any kind," tour CEO Larry Scott told The Associated Press. "We wanted to send a clear signal that this is the most egregious action the world of tennis has seen in recent history. And we felt that it should be at least double what the previous highest penalty was."
Also, the tournament organizers will be required to put up a $2 million "performance guarantee" before hosting the next Dubai Tennis Championships.
Commendations are in order to the WTA.
