[News] No Justice, no play? Gaza anger overwhelms hoops contest

Anti-Imperialist News news at freedomarchives.org
Fri Jan 9 11:59:46 EST 2009


NO JUSTICE, NO PLAY? GAZA ANGER OVERWHELMS HOOPS CONTEST

By Dave ZIRIN

<http://www.edgeofsports.com/2009-01-09-404/index.html>http://www.edgeofsports.com/2009-01-09-404/index.html 



We have officially entered uncharted waters. Never before in my years 
of reporting has a sports team been forced to abandon the field of 
play due to political protest from fans. Never before have fans 
become the central actors in turning a sporting event into a political melee.

But Tuesday evening in Ankara, Turkey, the Israeli basketball team, 
Bnei Hasharon, had to flee the wrath of what the Associated Press 
described as "hundreds of fist-pumping, chanting Turkish fans." What 
exploded was yet another protest against Israel's bombardment of 
Gaza. The shock here is the setting, a sports arena, and the target, 
a basketball team.

It may be surprising that this came to pass in such a supposedly 
apolitical environs--a Euro-cup game against a team called Turk 
Telekom--but local officials knew this could happen and took every 
precaution. Thousands of police officers surrounded the court, and 
street demonstrations of 4,000 people were already taking place 
outside the arena. Protesters shouted, "Israeli murderers, get out of 
Palestine!" and "Allah-u Akhbar!" as the Hasharon team bus entered the arena.

Only 500 fans were even let into the arena and were also subject to 
intense searches, but it wasn't enough. Police made the mistake of 
not confiscating the shoes.

Before the game could begin, angry chants of "Israeli killers!" came 
down from the crowd as smuggled Palestinian flags were unfurled. 
Then, in a scene that would look familiar to a certain sitting 
president, off came the shoes as footwear rained down from the stands 
(the shoes didn't hit any players).
As both teams looked at the crowd, frozen in place, battles began 
between police officers and Turkish fans, as the fans surged forward 
to take the court. Both Hasharon and Turk Telecom were rushed off and 
spent two hours in the locker rooms while the battle for control of 
the arena raged on.

Hashoran captain Meir Tapiro spoke about the fear and chaos he felt 
around him to the Jerusalem Post: "The fans raced on to the court and 
ran towards us like madmen, but the police stopped them. It was really scary."

After ninety minutes all the fans were expelled, arrested or dragged 
from the arena. The referees attempted to get the teams back onto the 
court to play before an empty arena, but Bnei Hasharon, after two 
hours of being prisoners in their locker room, had no desire to play. 
Referees called it a forfeit, and the Turks were declared winners of 
the game by the official forfeit score of 20-0.

Hasharon team chairman Eldad Akunis was understandably incensed. 
"After such a trying ordeal, there was simply no point in playing. 
The players were just concerned for their safety. We were also given 
instructions by the Israeli embassy staff, who were monitoring the 
situation, not to play," said Akunis.

There is no doubt that it was "a trying ordeal," a frightening 
experience that not even Red Sox fans would wish on the Yankees. But 
to put it mildly, it pales in comparison to the situation in Gaza 
itself. With more than 500 deaths, 3,000 injuries and 100 tons of 
bombs dropped on one of the impoverished regions of the world, the 
trials of a basketball team seem trivial.

It's certainly true that none of the players--two of whom are 
African, five of whom are American-born--bear a hint of 
responsibility for any of this carnage. But it's difficult not to 
remember the famous telegram sent by playwright Arthur Miller to 
President Lyndon Johnson. Miller was invited for a gala of some kind 
and refused, saying, "When the guns boom, the arts die." Perhaps when 
the guns boom, sports should die as well.

We may recall January 2008, when soccer star Mohamed Aboutreika 
lifted his shirt to reveal the slogan "Sympathize with Gaza." He 
wanted people to stand up and notice that an economic blockade had 
triggered, for the Palestinians in Gaza, a humanitarian crisis. The 
new year begins with another instance where the reality of Gaza has 
unexpectedly interrupted the field of play. Only this time--fitting 
the new moment--it was altogether more livid, more dangerous and more 
desperate. No sympathy has meant no peace.


[Dave ZIRIN is the author of "A People's History of Sports in the 
United States" (The New Press) Receive his column every week by 
emailing dave at edgeofsports.com. Contact him at edgeofsports at gmail.com]




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