Wimbledon Asks Russian Tennis Star to Denounce Putin
Russian tennis player Daniil Medvedev, the reigning US Open champion, could be banned from participating in Wimbledon this summer unless he provides officials with certain “assurances” regarding his opinion of President Vladimir Putin and the invasion of Ukraine.
This unprecedented policy is backed by British MP and Sports Minister Nigel Huddleston, who is in talks with the All England Club to create a set of qualifiers for Russian players ahead of Wimbledon. Already, Russian athletes have been asked to play as “neutrals” with no reference to nation or flag on their uniforms.
“I think it needs to go beyond that,” said Huddleston. “I think we need to have some assurances that they are not supporters of Vladimir Putin and we are considering what requirements we may need to get assurances along those lines.”
Ukrainian tennis player Marta Kostyuk has called on the All England Club to implement a full ban against Russia athletes like Formula 1 and other sports have done. “You don’t have to be involved in politics to behave like a human being,” argues Kostyuk. “It hurts me every time I arrive at the stadium and see all these Russian players.”
Medvedev has promised to follow all rules required of him to participate in Wimbledon. “Right now, the rule is that we can [play] under a neutral flag. I want to play my favorite sport…I’m going to be there for the fans, play for the people, for myself,” he said.
Medvedev performed well at the Indian Wells Masters last week, defeating Tomas Machac in straight sets 6-3 6-2, and said he was touched to receive a warm welcome from fans at the event.
Medvedev fears the impact Russia’s invasion of Ukraine will have on children and posted this inspiring message to his Instagram account in late February:
“Today I want to speak on behalf of every kid in the world,” wrote Medvedev on Instagram. “They all have dreams, their life is just starting, so many nice experiences to come: first friends, first great emotions. Everything they feel and see is for the first time in their lives…That’s why I want to ask for peace in the world, for peace between countries. Kids are born with inner trust in the world, they believe so much in everything: in people, in love, in safety and justice, in their chances in life. Let’s be together and show them that it’s true, cause every kid shouldn’t stop dreaming.”
Author’s Note: What Russia is doing is unacceptable, but so is the response from the All England Club. They should either ban Russian players or not, but the decision to blackmail Medvedev into denouncing his country is repulsive.
Serena Williams was never asked to condemn President Clinton for bombing Syria, President Bush for the invasion of Afghanistan, or Obama for destroying Libya/Yemen.
You are asking someone to say something that will get them put in prison!!!
Put is almost as bad as Hitler, but Sports should be apolitical.
Completely unfair to Daniil Medvedev!
This is tennis has nothing to do with politics. Wimbledon needs to let people play the game and not get involved in this. This guy would put his whole family in danger, Wimbledon is a bunch of pathetic liberals.
You guys make me laugh, you’re willing to allow a baker not to bake a wedding cake for a gay couple, but they ask a tennis star to condemn a war criminal is a Bridge too far.
Alice even goes as far as to equate Clinton, Bush, and Obama, with Putin. Amazingly, she leaves Donald J Trump off that list. Last time I remember, he was dropping bombs all over the world too and even assassinated an Iranian general. However, none of these presidents are war criminals. Putin is. None of these president created millions of refugees, killed thousands of civilians, either.
Bottom line, you can have your opinion, but it is a private club, private business, and another country. So, they can do what they want. And you can still have your opinion.
Are you kidding me not even the same thing! When did Trump drop bombs all over the world? Never! Comparing being forced to make a cake for for something that’s against your beliefs and forcing someone to denounce the leader of the country they live in aren’t even close. God, you pathetic liberals lie and twist everything.
Do we really need to be nasty to each other all the time? I am neither pathetic nor do I represent all liberals. I twisted nothing, I just gave you a point of comparison, one that conservatives have a espoused in the past
Where did trump drop bombs, you say nowhere. He bombed Yemen more than either bush or Obama. Do you remember all the civilians he killed there? In Afghanistan, in 2019, his bombing reached record levels. And I guess you missed when he dropped the “mother of all bombs” on Afghanistan. It’s mushroom cloud was visible for over 20 miles. In 2017 in Iraq and Syria, Trump was on pace to beat Obamas bombing record. By July, he dropped over 20,000 bombs.
Perhaps it was just the military news blackout that Trump enacted the blind did you tell the truth. Or maybe you just made the mistake of believing ihim
That’s just a short list. And again, you completely overlooked the fact that he assassinated an Iranian general. I am glad he did, but still.
And whether not baking a cake or forcing a statement, restrictions on commerce by private businesses represent the same sort of action. In both cases, a private businesses making demands in order for customers to be able to purchase goods. In one case it was a cake, and the other case, it was entrance to a tournament.
Funny, tennis for years has had all sorts of restrictions including having to wear whites. Not only that, but often a non-seeded player can gain entrance to a tournament not based on results, but based on past results and the ability to draw crowds. So it’s swings both ways
.I am a tennis fan. I hate it when Yokovich or Manéfdev can’t turn up. I also didn’t like watching the Olympics with the white washed Russian team circumvented the fact they were caught dosing and not allowed under the Russian flag. Thought that was just as bad as banning them, perhaps not from their standpoint, but from mine. .
The bottom line is, in this country, that your or my thoughts really don’t matter. The law says it’s a private business and they can do what they want. This has been upheld and supported by conservatives as noted above. It’s just that when it offends their conservative sensibilities, integrity goes out the window and it’s easy to be two faced.
“nasty to each other”? Pot, Kettle
Thus, when I use the word “we,” an all inclusive pronoun including everyone posting , you read it as “you.” But thank you for the bigger take away, now we all know the pot kettle absolves all wrongs.
I bet Putin likes to use pot kettle a lot.
In case this was lost in the translation, it means you are a hypocrite. You should refrain from casting the first stone, since you live in a glass house. Any other mixed metaphors you need to explain this to you?
Po kettle joe
I’d hardly call President Trump’s precision airstrikes via drone that targeted known terrorists in Yemen and elsewhere as “dropping bombs all over the world”. No coincidence those days were otherwise peaceful times for our nation and the world.
Oh come on. There were civilian deaths in every country I mention the Trump pound. Also in Somalia he polished off a few dozen civilians with bombs. There’s no way any smart strikes at the quantities that Trump was dropping does not result in civilian casualties at some level. Nothing like Putin but to say we don’t kill civilians is ridiculous. Just perhaps another war crimes level
And yes, Trump presided over one of the more peaceful times. However, even with the peace time of Trump, there were many more nuclear bombs after Trump then when he began. North Korea had more nuclear bombs. Russia had more nuclear bombs. Iran began its program again under Trump. He may not of been a hawk, but he certainly did not stop that much.
Perhaps a good world economy has as much to do with the ongoing peace under Trump and everything Trump did. Certainly could not have been his international negotiations…
But again, who cares, this is about a private business conducting business as it chooses. It is legal to do in the US what Wimbledon diid so why would it not be considered OK By us for Wimbolton to do it in England.
We may not like it, but as far as I can tell it is lol. How is the same law that was applied to bakers not making a cake for a gay couple.
Trump quit too soon. They are still here He only targeted ISIS
I think it’s good you know so much about being gay. I mean not many racist pricks would admit such familiarity with this lifestyle you seem to have so much personal experience with. Bully for you, bonerbuttboy.
Frank I think you like to feel important going on and and on with nothing but pure BS! You are a pathetic liberal who wouldn’t know the truth if it kicked you in the head.
Wearing white and having to denounce the leader of your country who will probably have you killed aren’t even in the same universe. You’re really stretching your comparisons but typical for a liberal. You just wrote how many paragraphs of lies and blah, blah, blah. I think everyone gets it you hate Trump and everything in the world is Trump’s fault. I don’t think I have ever seen a liberal accept responsibility for anything they do that’s wrong, always someone else’s fault.
Apparently you don’t remember the loser Obama leaving our men to die in Benghazi or the coward Biden pulling out of Afghanistan and the deaths that are on his hands. People hanging off planes, leaving how many Americans behind and equipment but that doesn’t bother you right? Just like Biden/Harris leaving our border open for every criminal to pour in. I just hope when they get into this country it’s democrats families they attack since they’re the ones who won’t let our border officers do their job.
Trump did no such thing if you didn’t get your news from CNN or MSNBC you would know that everything you wrote is bs.
Lisa, you’re very good at the name calling , and the stereotyping and some stupid thoughts, but prove me wrong on any of the facts that I put forth. So far, nada.
As far as what you said about Obama and Biden and the rest, you may be right. But probably not. None of that proves anything that I said is not true. A nice story but has nothing to do with proving anything I said to be a lie.
It would be nice to have a discussion about ideas supported by fax and just facts. Otherwise, I would have to say you are one hot bitch Who issues nothing but bullshit Like any pathetic racist republican Who would know the truth that they kicked them in the ass… I think you get the drift. How boring you are in your clever world.
Beyond that, you have your opinion on what can and camp be done by Wimbleton, and I have my opinion on what should be done in the time of war that being I’m okay with this.
But the bottom line is the law says it’s no problem. It’s a private business and private businesses can’t control their own employees and customers sets. This is a standard that the republican party previously has embraced.
Again, pot kettle
Pot kettle, pot kettle… And with that little catchy phrase, Joe says it’s all OK as long as everyone does it. To that I add, what a dumb fuck. Kettle pot Joe. It’s like carrion Kohl’s in Newcastle Joe. Course then again, you’re one brick shy of a wall, you have one or out of the water, you’re half an inch short of a yard, and so on and so on.
A real man might take a stand against this crap and stop at everywhere for all time on his site. A weak man would just allow it because he’s into the money and cheap thrills create cash. Then again, one only has to look at your ads that you allowed to run to realize you’ll do anything for a buck. .Until the time you grow a pair and end it along with the ad hominem attacks, I give up, and therefore will add that you’re just a stupid son of a bitch. Have a nice day!
I would ban you, except you are really funny.
Ban away Merrill, ban away..
Oh boy. Putin has a fan. Go join him you idiot
Learn to read.
I mean only an idiot come away were thinking I was Putin’s friend.
So, how many do you think it’s wrong for a baker not to make a cake for gay couples wedding? Put your money where your mouth are, they certainly are big enough.
Opinions are like assholes. Everyone has one and some of you are one
Ha, ha. Points for originality and maturity to Robbie.
Not.
Another believer in free speech as long as people see what he likes.
I dunno, how many? Have you jfgi? And why does that matter? Are we comparing? Is one better than another? Is one less tragic or less wrong than another? What does 9/11 means to Putin’s war and Wimbledon’s reaction?
I still find it funny that people are more than willing to restrict gays from getting a cake from the baker, In middle America but are all up in arms about restricting a Russian playing tennis In England.
What’s next, you guys protecting Putin’s free speech for propaganda?
This is not right, it is offensive to ask him to turn on his country, over a game of tennis. He is not a military person he is a tennis player. The Wimbledon is wrong he already feels bad about the WAR on the people in Ukraine.
I agree. What does that say about us, that we try to impose that on him personally?
It says that if you’re Russian and you do not turn on Putin, we will turn on you.
I am really OK with that.
I believe I believe it is a war after all? And even if this was totally unfair, and it is not because it is according to their law and our law for private business to be able to do that, but if it was on fire, it’s a war, lots of unfair things happen. Ask the Ukrainians what they think.
And what they think about stupid fucking assholes like you for writing this crap.
Did you actually read the article?
Yes. and I think you are all hypocrites to get your panties all knotted up over forcing some Russian to say something bad about Putin In order to play tennis in a private tournament and win millions of dollars to take home to Russia. At the same time you’re more than willing to send American boys in to die, risk global nuclear war, but making someone say they hate Putin….. that’s a Bridge too far? I’d say you have an incredible level of integrity, however that horse left the barn long ago. You support businesses restricting customers, participants, etc. all the time, but somehow forcing things on Russian seems bad. I’m done Putin up with you.. What’s next, return all the assets to the Oligarchs?
No, in case you missed it, this is war and I have no problem taking some extreme actions are in war. Especially legal ones and this one is legal. You seem to forget that too.
So, the real question is, how far will you go to support Russians?
Would it be less offensive to ask him to turn on a war criminal who’s slaughtering massive numbers of civilians including children? Or how he’s targeting the necessities of life for said civilians like food water and heat?
No, I really like this player and have followed him for years I love the fact that he’s finally coming into his own after all of his difficulties. However, again, this is a private business in another country. In the US, the private business, by law, could do this. Get over it. It is the law
You posted about civilian deaths. How many civilians died on 9/11?
2,977
Add to that approx 2000 additional deaths are attributed to 9/11 on account of injuries to the health of first responders and survivors. That any of these heroes have to pay for insurance and healthcare in the richest country in the world is a travesty.