Olympic sponsors must withdraw support if Iran is not banned

Excerpt

In late January, the Islamic Republic executed a second young Iranian wrestler as part of its campaign against dissent. Mehdi Ali Husseini, who was just 29 years old, was killed only four months after the execution of Navid Afkari, 27, another wrestler, who’d participated in the nationwide protests in 2017-2018.  Both men might have been saved by the international athletic community, but tragically the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and United World Wrestling (UWW) failed to pressure Iran’s clerical rulers.

In this Olympic year, the time is ripe for major athletic sponsors, such as Coca Cola, Asics (a producer of wrestling shoes), and Airbnb — among others — to hold the IOC accountable for ignoring its Charter, which states, “The practice of sport is a human right.” The Charter also contains a clause barring discrimination based on “political or other opinion.”

Afkari’s murder captured the world’s attention for weeks, because the Iranian regime killed him simply for protesting against its corruption and injustice. The Trump administration, for its part, swiftly sanctioned judicial and prison officials who hanged Afkari. And then-presidential candidate Joe Biden condemned the Islamic Republic, declaring in a tweet, “Iran’s cruel execution of Navid Afkari is a travesty. No country should arrest, torture, or execute peaceful protestors or activists.”