Tennis Australia: “No commercial or political statements”
It was then only a matter of time before the topic hit the Australian Open, and in Melbourne the first fans pointed out the still unclear whereabouts of Peng Shuai. TennisAustraliathe organizer of the Australian Openhad initially defended his rigorous approach to the protests by saying that “Banners, placards or items of clothing with commercial or political statements” are banned from tournaments. A well-known argument in sports business, which parts of the public and more and more critical athletes no longer want to follow. when close ties with autocratic regimes are involved.
During the protests of the fans in Melbourne, Tennis Australia now received tutoring from Martina Navratilova: “These are not political statements. These are statements about human rights“, said Navratilova in an American tennis channel. The action of the Australian organizers in the Peng Shuai case was cowardly: “They capitulate from the start and let China dictate what happens at their own tournament.”
Close ties between Australian Open and China
the Australian Open are also considered the Grand Slam for the southern hemisphere and are marketed accordingly. Chinese companies are also among the major sponsors of the tournament. One of the stadiums in Melbourne Park is even named after a Chinese luxury spirits brand. The French player used their name Nicholas Mahut then also as a hashtag when he also protested against the censorship policy in Melbourne on Twitter: “What shoud that? How little courage can one have. Would you have done that if you didn’t have sponsors from China?“Mahut asked the organizers – and thus also suggested that they had buckled in anticipatory obedience to China’s regime. As a manager of the Houston Rockets criticized human rights abuses in China in 2019, had major Chinese sponsors closely associated with the regime who NBA actually directly threatened with withdrawal.
Tiley: “Protest allowed on t-shirts”
The organizers at Melbourne were now forced to row back in view of the allegations from player circles. Wearing “Peng Shuai” shirts is allowed, the tournament boss said Craig Tiley announced on Tuesday, but also restricted this immediately. The protest should be peaceful, Tiley said: “If they come to watch tennis, that’s fine. But we cannot allow any disruption to the tournament.“It remains to be seen what exactly the partners in China might perceive as a disruption.
Status: 01/25/2022, 13:42