Dubai Forces WTA to Decide Between Pursestrings and Principles

As was widely reported today, the United Arab Emirates have denied 48th ranked Shahar Peer, of Israel, a visa to participate in this week's Dubai Tennis Championships. The move to deny the Israeli entry to the Arab country, ostensibly due to the conflict in Gaza, caused an instant uproar leading the Tennis Channel to decide not to air the tournament. The Women's Tennis Association (WTA) is threatening to strip the UAE of the tournament, based on their own internal rules.Clear cut, right? The UAE denied entry to a clearly qualified athlete just because of her national origin, therefore the WTA has to strip the tournament. There's just one little hitch - the purse for the tournament is $2,000,000.Only four events this year (not counting the Grand Slams) have larger purses, and only four offer as much money. Most other events range from $220,000 to $700,000, with most offering the former.Obviously, athletes have been used as international political pawns in the past. The Mu...