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A coalition of seven Olympic athletes from several countries, including three gold medalists, came forward to condemn the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for its response to the execution of Iranian wrestler Saleh Mohammadi.
After Mohammadi was allegedly hanged in public last week, the IOC issued a statement saying: “It is very difficult to comment on situations of people during a conflict or unrest in a country without the IOC being able to verify the often contradictory information…
“The IOC, as a non-governmental civil organization, has neither the mandate nor the ability to change the laws or political system of a sovereign country.”
Now, the seven Olympic athletes share their objections to the IOC not condemning Iran for the execution.
The IOC told Pak Gazette Digital that it stood by its original statement.
Nancy Hogshead, three-time US Olympic gold medalist swimmer
Nancy Hogshead, senior director of advocacy for the Women’s Sports Foundation, attends the 40 For 40 event, 40 Years of Title IX, 40 Women Who Have Made an Impact, at the JW Marriott Hotel on June 21, 2012 in Washington, DC. (Larry Busacca/Getty Images for WICT)
“I am stunned that the IOC was unable to denounce the murder of a teenage wrestler in Iran. The organizations that govern the Olympic Games are not political, but denouncing the murder of an athlete for political purposes is not political… it is simply doing the right thing,” Hogshead told Pak Gazette Digital.
“Olympians deserve better. The IOC can and must oppose the execution of athletes by violent regimes for political purposes.”
Tyler Clary, American swimmer, gold medalist at London 2012
American swimmer Tyler Clary celebrates winning gold in the men’s 200m backstroke final at the London 2012 Olympic Games on August 2, 2012 in London. (CHRISTOPHE SIMÓN / AFP)
“The IOC statement seems like corporate damage control, not moral leadership,” Clary told Pak Gazette Digital.
“Hiding behind neutrality and bureaucracy is not leadership, it is evasion. The IOC says it has no authority to influence sovereign nations, but it has never hesitated to take strong positions when it suits its interests. To suddenly claim impartiality when an athlete dies shows a lack of guts and an inability to defend the very people who make the Olympic movement possible.”
Maciej Czyzowicz, Olympic gold medal pentathlete from Poland in Barcelona 1992
Poland Maciej Czyzowicz, gold medalist in the Pentathlon (Courtesy of Maciej Czyzowicz)
“The lack of action and resolve by the International Olympic Committee is scandalous. Iran should be excluded from the Olympic Games for its behavior unless the regime is overthrown and new leadership comes to power,” Czyzowicz told Pak Gazette Digital.
“If the IOC cannot defend the life of an innocent teenage athlete, it has completely lost all moral credibility. With this statement they showed that they do not care if any of the countries of the Olympic movement violate human and civil rights”
Keith Sanderson, American Olympic shooter, four-time Olympian
Keith Sanderson on Day 7 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at the Royal Artillery Barracks on August 3, 2012 in London, England. (Lars Baron/Getty Images)
“This is normal at the IOC. They enrich themselves at the expense of athletes and they can’t even stand up and say that any regime, including Iran, that murders a teenage athlete is categorically wrong,” Sanderson told Pak Gazette Digital.
“The IOC has been known for years to be corrupt, but this is off limits. If the IOC wants to show any shred of morality or credibility, it should denounce this murder and impose sanctions on Iran until it changes its leadership or apologizes for this brutal execution.”
Rubén González, Argentine Olympic bobsled athlete, four-time Olympian
Ruben Gonzalez of Argentina after finishing the last run of the men’s individual luge final on Day 3 of the 2010 Winter Olympics at Whistler Sliding Center on February 14, 2010 in Whistler, Canada. (Clive Mason/Getty Images)
“The IOC’s refusal to speak out against Iran for killing the teenage fighter is shameful. But that’s how they’ve always been. All they care about is themselves,” Gonzalez told Pak Gazette Digital. “As far as the IOC is concerned, athletes are simply pawns to enable it to make profits. Time and time again, it has put its own interests before the athletes it claims to represent. If the IOC has any integrity left, it should publicly condemn the act and take decisive action against Iran.”
Katie Uhlaender, American skeleton athlete, five-time Olympian
Team USA skeleton hopeful Katie Uhlaender poses for a photo during the 2018 US Olympic Team Media Summit at the Grand Summit Hotel on September 25, 2017. (Kevin Jairaj/USA TODAY Sports)
“The IOC’s claim that they are simply a ‘civil organization’ is a convenient excuse for inaction. They used it to avoid responsibility for the Russian state-sponsored doping crisis, and they are using it now regarding the safety of Iranian athletes. Whether it’s doping in China, competition rigging in Canada, or American skaters’ stolen moments in 2022, the pattern is the same: the IOC is unable or unwilling to protect the people who make the events possible. Games”. Uhlaender told Pak Gazette Digital.
“If the IOC insists that athlete protection is a state responsibility, then the United States has the opportunity to lead by example heading into Los Angeles 2028. It is time to stop waiting and start setting the standard for athlete safety and integrity ourselves.”
Eli Bremer, American modern pentathlete in Beijing 2008
Eli Bremer of the United States celebrates in the Men’s Fencing Epee One Touch Modern Pentathlon held at the Fencing Hall during day 13 of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games on August 21, 2008 in Beijing, China. (Nick Laham/Getty Images)
“I have believed that the IOC has been morally bankrupt for years and therefore did not have particularly high expectations for them. That said, I assumed that the murder of a teenage athlete at the hands of his own country would be something that even the IOC could discover and report,” Bremer told Pak Gazette Digital.
“The fact that they can’t come out and say that Iran’s murder of this teenager who had become a national icon is wrong just confirms how completely out of touch this organization is. I think sports organizations in general should stay out of politics. But they can and should stand up for their basic humanity and say that murdering athletes is wrong. The fact that the IOC can’t do this says a lot about them.”
Afsoon Roshanzamir Johnston, Iranian-born Team USA women’s Olympic wrestling coach at Rio 2016
“As an Iranian-born athlete, coach and pioneer for women in wrestling, I am deeply disappointed by the International Olympic Committee’s recent statement regarding the execution of 19-year-old wrestler Saleh Mohammadi,” Johnston told Pak Gazette Digital.
“By framing its role as a ‘non-governmental organisation’ without a mandate to influence national affairs, the IOC is moving away from the very principles of the Olympic charter. The charter aims to promote a ‘peaceful society, concerned with the preservation of human dignity’, but when a young champion is barbarically and publicly hanged through a state-sanctioned execution, ‘quiet diplomacy’ feels painfully inadequate.
“Political neutrality should not result in passivity when athletes face brutality sanctioned by a terrorist state. Such a ‘safe’ response sends a worrying message to athletes in Iran and elsewhere; that the athlete’s life and safety are secondary to organizational protocol.
“We don’t need the IOC to change the laws of a country, we need them to stand up and use their immense platform to support and help protect athletes.”
What happened to Saleh Mohammadi?
Mohammadi was reportedly killed in a public hanging on Thursday, according to human rights activists and Iranian-American dissidents.
Iran International reported that Iran’s regime hanged Mohammadi and two other Iranian men, Mehdi Ghasemi and Saeed Davoudi, “after being accused of killing two police officers during nationwide protests earlier this year,” the judiciary-linked Mizan news agency reported.
Mohammadi previously told the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting that his dream was to be an Olympic champion.
Mohammadi won a bronze medal in September 2024 in Iran’s national wrestling at the Saytiyev International Cup in Krasnoyarsk, Russia.
