The Munich Massacre Must Not Be Forgotten

Demand A Moment Of Silence At The London Summer Olympic Games

By Alan Veingrad

The start of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London will undoubtedly be a magnificent pageantry of thousands of entertainers, heads of state, national flags, and marching athletes before a sea of cheering stadium fans.

But the traditional torch lighting will be splashed with darkness should the International Olympic Committee choose to ignore calls for a moment of silence, at the opening ceremony, in memory of the horror of the 1972 Munich Olympics.

Is it too much to remember 11 Israeli athletes and their coaches, kidnapped and murdered in the Olympic village dorms and on a German airport tarmac, individuals who came in the spirit of sport but who died because of their religion and nationality?

I was a mere 9 years old growing up in Miami when the tragedy of the games took place, and given my age probably better grasped the Miami Dolphins pursuing and achieving the first and only perfect season in professional football.

By high school, however, besides being a decent lineman in football, I also was a high level discus and shot put thrower. By that age, I could understand the magnitude of preparation and effort to get to an Olympic level in track and field.

The Israeli athletes murdered in 1972 trained many hours at something they loved, and then they go to compete and don’t come home. I could never imagine the type of horror that these athletes succumbed to, let alone the pain inflicted on their families.

Forty years since Israeli fencing coach Andrei Spitzer was murdered, his wife Ankie is leading a petition drive urging the IOC to remember the spirit in which her husband and other Israelis came to Germany four decades ago, and the tragedy that ensued.

I am glad to say I am one of 86,000 people to have signed the petition and hope others will do so as well. The U.S. Senate has passed a similar resolution. But the Olympics seem unwilling to place a memorial in its proper place, instead choosing a separate off site ceremony. It angers me and makes me wonder why? Is it because they were Jewish?

I played seven seasons as an offensive lineman for the Green Bay Packers and Dallas Cowboys, and I am proud to say the NFL over the years has found ways to address sadness and tragedy. On September 19, 2004, every team wore a memorial decal in honor of Pat Tillman, the former Arizona Cardinals safety turned Army Ranger killed in Afghanistan. On Sept. 11, 2011, NFL teams used a video, taps and a moment of silence to memorialize the 10th anniversary of the attack on America by terrorists.

The London Olympic begin July 27 and we must speak up soon on this issue. Besides the IOC, individuals should consider contacting corporate sponsors of the games. At a minimum, sign the petition from Ankie Spitzer. www.change.org/petitions/international-olympic-committee-minute-of-silence-at-the-2012-london-olympics

Alan Veingrad, www.alanveingrad.com, is a transformational speaker based in Boca Raton. An inductee of the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame and Museum, Veingrad was a member of the Dallas Cowboys Super Bowl XXVII championship team.