Wednesday
April 26, 2000
Azizi still respected
I remember the times when Iran would get worldwide attention in sports:
Takhti in wrestling, soccer players Ali Parvin, Hassan Roshan, Andranik
Skandarian (who played for New York Cosmos in Major League Soccer), and
many more great athletes.
Today here in San Francisco's Bay Area we have Khodadad Azizi who plays
for the San Jose Earthquakes. Two weeks ago he received
a red card and a three-week suspension. But yellow or red cards are
part of the game. I don't know how to express myself but after all these
years of playing soccer I can understand how a player could react in heated
situations. It is just part of the game!
It is a great honor to have Azizi here among us. We ought to understand
we have a hero among us here . Let's cherish him and not hurt his feeling,
since our feeling should all be coming from one spirit: IRAN. We need to
be united and not trash him because he got a red card or that he has "dishonored
the Iranian community". Iranians not only in this situation but in
every possible matter should support each other and be as one.
Azizi is the flower of the Iranian community in California and the U.S.
We ought to honor him with pride and respect him as an international star.
We are lucky to have him here. The problem with some of us is that we appreciate
people sometimes when it is too late, when they are gone. Let us not point
fingers at him for a red card; he is a great soccer player.
Armin Khalili
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