Anti-tennis-ism?

First we learned the other day of how Israeli tennis player Shahar Pe'er was denied entry into Dubai for a tournament this week.

While the WTA decided to go ahead with the tournament anyway after much debate, the Tennis Channel has taken a stand and opted out of their contract to televise the tourney.

The organizers of the Dubai event claimed that Pe'er was not let in due to "security reasons" involving fan's reactions to Israel's recent battle in Gaza. But we all kinda know the truth, Dubai and Israel just don't really get along so well.

The plot thickens, however, because next week the men will take their turn playing in Dubai and on the slate of competitors is fourth ranked doubles player and fellow-Israeli, Andy Ram.

Ram, his lawyer says, is currently in France awaiting word of whether he will, like Pe'er, be denied entry to the country as well. The ATP, who runs the men's side of tennis has said that they are awaiting word on Ram's visa status before making any decisions about going ahead with the tournament or not.

Add to this breaking news that an upcoming Davis Cup match pitting Israel versus host Sweden will be played in an empty 4,000 seat arena. Sweden's government voted 5-4 to take this measure saying they could not guarantee the security of the fans.

I suppose none of this is surprising, but still it is saddening.

Sport has always been touted as borderless and unifying. They say the Olympics is a politics-free zone. But we know better than that.

We've seen examples of the Israeli soccer team's struggle with anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli sentiment on many occasions. From more recent players refusing to play against Israel, to whole teams dropping out or refusing entry into tournaments Israel has been in, to games being played in empty stadiums.

Israel has been a full-time member of UEFA, Europe's governing soccer body, since 1994 due to alienation from Middle Eastern and some Asian soccer bodies, despite not even being a European country.

This most recent news concerning Dubai and the Davis Cup is only adding to the mountain of evidence that sport is not as pure and peaceful as most organizations, notably the Olympics, claim it is. One need only look back to the horrific events of Munich, 1972 to see the ultimate case on the matter.

The Tennis Channel has made their stand. Here's hoping if Ram is denied entry into Dubai next week, the ATP makes their voice heard and shows their commitment to the entire international tennis community by cancelling the event and not renewing their contract for coming years.