Fox Sports and Our Apathetic Foreign Ministry
It is through intercultural exchanges and that each ethnicity/culture signifies its identity. Athletes and artists are unofficial ambassadors of a nation-state in cultural exchanges in other countries. What happened for the Iranian international basketball player Hammed Haddadi brought frowns to the face of every Iranian. Haddadi, , Memphis Grizzlies center and the first Iranian in NBA, was the target of offensive remarks made by Fox Sports Prime Ticket announcer Ralph Lawler and analyst Mike Smith.
Fox Sports sister channel, Fox News, has proved to the puppet of the most radical conservatives, never hesitating to attack Iran. Few media observers believe in the impartiality of this news network with a record full of cases of inciting racism and chauvinism. This time, Fox Sports and the cheesy dialogue between Lawler and Smith even did not respect the name of our country:
Lawler: “Hamed Haddadi. Where’s he from?”
Smith: “He’s the first Iranian to play in the NBA.” (‘Iranian’ falsely pronounced ‘AI-REI-NIEN’)
Lawler: “There aren’t any Iranian players in the NBA,” (Lawler repeated Smith’s false pronunciation’).
Smith: “He’s the only one.”
Lawler: “He’s from Iran?”
Smith: “I guess so.”
Lawler: “That Iran?”
Smith: Yes.
Lawler: “The real Iran?”
Smith: “Yes.”
Like there are three types of Iran in the world: real, semi-real and unreal. This was just an excerpt of the exchange between the two sport anchors.
Reactions gained momentum when the National Iranian American Council (NIAC) posted a complaint, asking for an on-air apology. The campaign mounted by NIAC was welcomed by Iranians and the channeled flooded with complaints by Iranians offended by the remarks. Lawler and Smith were banned from reporting for one match and Fox Sports issued a statement apologizing for the derogatory remarks made by its anchors.
The occasion, however, raises questions about the function of Iranian diplomatic apparatus. We remember that a couple of months ago Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki made an unexpected trip to Washington (as claimed by the ministry spokesman) in order to visit the Iran’s interest section in Pakistan’s embassy. But didn’t the offense against an Iranian high-profile athlete in a live basketball match hurt the feelings of Iranian diplomatic apparatus or Mahmoud Ahmadinejad? Was it less important than the hardships of head-covering Muslim women in France for which our diplomatic body feels quite concerns? Shouldn’t Haddadi be supported (at least verbally) by Iranian foreign ministry? Alas! Not even a letter of protest or an effort to orchestrate the protests of Iranian-Americans against Fox Sports.
Despite our opposition to its agenda for Iran-US relations, NIAC should be lauded for its quick response and sense of responsibility. The council initiated its campaign twelve hours after the derogatory remarks, a move that should have started by the Iranian Foreign Ministry. Aren’t Iranian diplomats responsible for protecting the interests and dignity of Iranians around the world? Offensive remarks against Haddadi were in fact mockery against Iran. Shouldn’t the ministry react against the comments, which appeared to be a masquerade for the United States’ anti-Iran campaign and a ‘Foxy’ style revenge?
Should we look forward to NIAC to defend our national prestige? History –not the official one, but the one written by people’s collective memory- will judge our deeds and clarify events in the best way.