Roddick Pulls out of Dubai: Disagrees w/ UAE's Peer ban

breadstick

breadstick

Rookie
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iBeL2KSe-HkOhBczFPcZy8wI3e5AD96FOML80

"Andy Roddick won't defend his title in Dubai next week because he doesn't agree with the United Arab Emirates' decision to deny Israeli Shahar Peer a visa to play in a women's tournament.

"There were a lot of factors why I should probably go, and obviously having played well there doesn't make it any easier," Roddick said after beating fellow American Sam Querrey 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 on Friday to reach the semifinals of the Regions Morgan Keegan Championships."

Good to see a player with a spine.

The draw for Dubai just keeps getting worse.
 
Z

Zaragoza

Banned
I thought everybody knew it since Wednesday but anyway Memphis gives as many points as Dubai so not a big deal.
 
O

ohplease

Professional
breadstick said:
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iBeL2KSe-HkOhBczFPcZy8wI3e5AD96FOML80

"Andy Roddick won't defend his title in Dubai next week because he doesn't agree with the United Arab Emirates' decision to deny Israeli Shahar Peer a visa to play in a women's tournament.

"There were a lot of factors why I should probably go, and obviously having played well there doesn't make it any easier," Roddick said after beating fellow American Sam Querrey 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 on Friday to reach the semifinals of the Regions Morgan Keegan Championships."

Good to see a player with a spine.

The draw for Dubai just keeps getting worse.
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Good for him.
 
Jonnyf

Jonnyf

Hall of Fame
Good for Andy! I think it's great to see players stand up and supporting fellow professionals. I also find it pathetic that people despise Roddick to such an extent, that they try find a way of taking something out of this.
 
S

shanker

Rookie
Way to go Andy! After all, he is very patriaotic and now is apparently ready to take a stand for something really important.

HATS OFF TO MR. RODDICK!
 
C

csb

New User
roddick

First of all let me state i am not Jewish.
I applaud Roddick for what he is doing and quite honestly can't believe more players(especially the women from last week) didn't pull out also.
And to anyone who thinks the situation has been resolved because of the 300,000 fine i strongly disagree.
Do you know the story about the football team in the 1960's(Buffalo i think)
who turned down their schools first bowl game because if they went their African-American players would not be permitted to play. That was 40 years ago.

I'm not going to says who is right or wrong in the this Gaza mess because i honestly don't know. It does seem to me that there is an awful lot of anti-semitism going on right now though around the world though

People say American tennis is down right now probably so.
But say this about Roddick -he plays hard, never misses a Davis Cup(unlike many top players) and obviously stands up for what he believes in.

And to anyone who doesn't think this is a big deal how would you feel if you had a usta match next week and the club you were supposed to play at said you weren't welcome beacuase you were Asian, or Jewish or Muslim or whatever.
 
A

andyroddick1

Rookie
The WTA players don't defend Peer but a guy from the ATP does?

Well this shows two things.

1. Roddick not only cares about the women's tour but he cares about tennis overall. Its never good for a tournament when the defending champ pulls out and its especially not good when he pulls out for reasons other than injury. That says he dislikes the tourny which say the tourny has made some bad decisions.

2. The WTA girls have no pride or gut. They supposedly stick up for Peer but nobody does anything about it. Takes a guy who this doesn't affect at all to show what really sticking up for someone means.
 
gj011

gj011

Banned
This was not necessary. Tournament is fined, Ram got his visa and Peer got her money and points.

Roddick is yet again pulling publicity stunt. He just didn't want to travel from Memphis to Dubai and then back to USA for DC.
 
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breadstick

breadstick

Rookie
gj011 said:
This was not necessary. Tournament is fined, Ram got his visa and Peer got her money and points.

Roddick is yet again pulling publicity stunt.
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Interesting (I don't really follow the WTA tour)...

Maybe he's got an injury he doesn't want people knowing about or just wants the rest for Davis cup.

But that's just speculation. Funny if Roddick didn't know that it had been resolved and is now pissed off that he said he wouldn't compete.
 
Nadal_Freak

Nadal_Freak

Banned
gj011 said:
This was not necessary. Tournament is fined, Ram got his visa and Peer got her money and points.

Roddick is yet again pulling publicity stunt. He just didn't want to travel from Memphis to Dubai and then back to USA for DC.
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I just think he didn't want to get owned by Murray again. :D
 
jimwh

jimwh

Rookie
I watched Roddick play Sam Querry last night in Memphis and I can tell you he looks as focused and determined as I have ever seen him. On the other side, he behaved like an absolute ass. My wife is as big a Roddick fan as there is, and she even started to root for Sam because Roddick was being such a jerk.
 
icedevil0289

icedevil0289

G.O.A.T.
THUNDERVOLLEY said:
We do not agree on much, but here I see eye-to-eye with you.
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surprsingly I agree. I don't know about publicity stunt, but it wasn't necessary to withdraw for that reason. Its an unfortunate situation for peer and so much hate, epecially towards dubai and the arab people, has come out of it and I hope the same thing doesn't happen again, but this is a bit too much.
 
tangerine

tangerine

Professional
Vamos Andy Roddick! It is not so surprising that of all the players it is Roddick who finally says something. He's always had a heavy pair of balls on him and a big mouth to go with it. The fact that he's defending Dubai champion makes it even more impressive. Roger's and Rafa's lack of leadership over this problem really disappointed me, but Roddick has saved the day! I knew why I was such a big fan of his. My respect for him grows by the day. :cool:

Telepatic said:
First time I see something good from Roddick outside of court.
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lol you must be new to tennis.
 
tahiti

tahiti

Professional
I don't think so. My opinion is definitely gonna change after this. He's losing a winner's points. That makes a statement that he believes in what he's doing for the "rightness" of it. And of course he's not a politician, he can't make statements outside of tennis.

Vamos Roddick!
 
M

miyagi

Professional
GeoffB said:
I do think there's a big difference here. Celebrities often do speak out on issues that have nothing to do with sports/film/music, others prefer to stay out of politics. This can be a good thing - Andy could speak out on global warming, genocide in Sudan, and any number of other issues. Or, he can decide his status as a top 10 tennis player doesn't qualify him as an activist. Both are fine.

Andy isn't taking sides in the Israel/Palistine conflict by pulling out of Dubai. All he is doing here is objecting to the denial of a visa to a tennis player on political grounds.
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But I understand he is entitled to his opinion and respect it.

I did put this^^^^

Everyone deals with things differently, as I have said I respect his opinion. I just think in the grand scheme of things. Speaking out due to people living with no future and being effectively murdered is more important than someone not be allowed into Dubai.

But I do understand he is a tennis player but we can't always be concerned with things that only effect us directly otherwise as humans we would never resolve anything
 
Topaz

Topaz

Legend
The women did not find out about Peer's situation until they were already in Dubai, and I believe the qualifiers had already started. They played a week before the men, remember.

Yeah, they got fined...what? 300,000? For the Dubai tournament, that's chump change.
 
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bjk

bjk

Hall of Fame
I bet the top players are pulling out because Dubai isn't giving them big appearance bonuses . . . market is bad, oil collapsed, Dubai is in bad shape . . . probably not alot of cash to lavish on tennis players. Peer is just a convenient excuse to ditch a tournament in the desert half-way across the world.
 
goober

goober

Legend
Taking a public stand and not playing is better than just going a long with the program like all the WTA players are doing.

The field in Dubai is much weaker than last year when he won it, so the argument that he is scared to go there because he might lose is weak. Resting up for DC? Give me a break. He is going to play 2 matches. It is not a tournament. How much rest does he need more than usual?
 
D

Deleted member 21996

Guest
so the man has guts to talk about the most shameless behaviour ever by a event organization and you guys label him... _____ (fill the blanck with any insult released in the last posts)?

nice personalities here... lots of guys with caracther!
 
kungfusmkim

kungfusmkim

Professional
WTA players cant afford to defend other player because they'll lose sponsors. They are already have an awful era after they lost henin. i dont think they need to lose any more value able belongings. Even if roddick stands up for Peer there is no down for him. Since his in the ATP tour not the WTA tour he doesnt need to worry about losing sponsors.
 
goober

goober

Legend
kungfusmkim said:
WTA players cant afford to defend other player because they'll lose sponsors. They are already have an awful era after they lost henin. i dont think they need to lose any more value able belongings. Even if roddick stands up for Peer there is no down for him. Since his in the ATP tour not the WTA tour he doesnt need to worry about losing sponsors.
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Last time I checked there is a ATP tournament occurring in the Dubai this week. With Fed, Rafa and Roddick all out, you don't think that is going to affect sponsorship for the tournament in the future even in some small way?
 
saram

saram

Legend
gj011 said:
This was not necessary. Tournament is fined, Ram got his visa and Peer got her money and points.

Roddick is yet again pulling publicity stunt. He just didn't want to travel from Memphis to Dubai and then back to USA for DC.
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And you know this because he told you this?

Andy did right and noble thing. Let's not downplay a great action by a great person. Hats off to Andy.
 
L

leonidas1982

Hall of Fame
goober said:
Last time I checked there is a ATP tournament occurring in the Dubai this week. With Fed, Rafa and Roddick all out, you don't think that is going to affect sponsorship for the tournament in the future even in some small way?
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Sponsors are sooner or later going to pull out of Dubai:

1) Their customers are livid with the blatant discrimination and the WTA's lack of a standard. Watch this trickle down to tv audiences who will lose interest as a result.

2) Although hardly covered by world financial news, the wealth in UAE is drying up. One thing I do respect about the UAE is that it has transformed its country from a desert, essentially, to modern buildings. Luckily, I was able to experience the before and after.
 
P_Agony

P_Agony

Banned
icedevil0289 said:
I'm sorry you feel that way and I understand where you are coming from, but iI'm also sure people are hurt over the comments made about dubai and arab people in muslims in general. I guess the situation is just really complicated and it sucks.
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Did I ever say anything bad about Arabs or Muslims in general? I don't remember I did and if I have said something I'm deeply sorry.
 
icedevil0289

icedevil0289

G.O.A.T.
P_Agony said:
Did I ever say anything bad about Arabs or Muslims in general? I don't remember I did and if I have said something I'm deeply sorry.
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lol not you, I didn't mean you. This entire situation has brought on more hate for both sides of the situation. I was just talking about in general. Anways I'm sorry about all the comments that have hurt you.
 
veroniquem

veroniquem

Bionic Poster
gj011 said:
This was not necessary. Tournament is fined, Ram got his visa and Peer got her money and points.

Roddick is yet again pulling publicity stunt. He just didn't want to travel from Memphis to Dubai and then back to USA for DC.
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Yes it sounds to me like Roddick found the perfect excuse, lol.
Is there going to be anyone left to play in this tournament now? Is Murray withdrawing too?
 
P_Agony

P_Agony

Banned
veroniquem said:
Yes it sounds to me like Roddick found the perfect excuse, lol.
Is there going to be anyone left to play in this tournament now? Is Murray withdrawing too?
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Why would he want to lose all those points from last year? He's defending champion you know...
 
P_Agony

P_Agony

Banned
veroniquem said:
Didn't Roddick withdraw as soon as he learned the tournament would not be shown on American TV? (Just teasing...)
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I don't think that if Nadal would have withdrawn because of the Peer issue you'd question him, so I really don't understand why anyone would question Roddick, espcially since he has the most to lose by not showing up in Dubai.
 
veroniquem

veroniquem

Bionic Poster
P_Agony said:
I don't think that if Nadal would have withdrawn because of the Peer issue you'd question him, so I really don't understand why anyone would question Roddick, espcially since he has the most to lose by not showing up in Dubai.
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I said I was teasing! Of course Roddick is entitled to his opinions. You have to expect people are gonna want to tease because Roddick's decision came after a sanction had already been determined and Ram was granted a visa, so the situation seems to be pretty much settled by now.
 
Leublu tennis

Leublu tennis

Legend
goober said:
Players are not required to play in any tournament. It is their choice.
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This is right. Roddick can just stay home. However, to boycott a tournament to which he applied, which advertised that he would be present, for which fans bought tickets, is crass disregard of minimal respect for his sport by a professional. He really shrank in my eyes down to a really stupid level.

So Any is not going to get fined Dubai got the fine. What part of this don't you understand?
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The part I don't understand is how people who know how to type can not tell the difference between not playing in a tournament, a la Federer and Nadal, and withdrawing in a huff for a very, very minor political scuffle between Israel and arabs.
 
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