REPORT: Olympians Come Together To Stand Up Against Iran For Executing Nation's Star Athletes
An athlete coalition, which includes multiple Olympians, reportedly signed a letter that advocates against Iran’s history and preparations to have star athletes executed, doing so as an execution of Iranian boxing champion Mohammad Javad Vafaei Sani is being planned.
A boxing champion, coach and political prisoner, Sani is currently up against a threat of execution that’s imminent by the Ayatollah in Iran.
In March 2020, Sani was placed under arrest by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) after he participated in the protests across the nation in November 2019. The protests were originally triggered by the swift increase of gas prices. He was charged with “corruption on earth” by the Iranian judiciary, which is listed as a capital offense in the nation. (RELATED: Bears Set To Leave Democratic Chicago After Over 100 Years)
Headlined by tennis legend Martina Navratilova and British gold medalist swimmer Sharron Davis, the Olympians are calling for global sports bodies and governing powers to step in to stop the Sani execution.
“Currently, Mohammad Javad Vafaei Sani, a 31-year-old boxing champion and coach, remains on death row,” reads the letter, per Fox News.
“We call on the United Nations, international sports federations, and governments to act immediately to save the lives of Iranian dissidents, including athletes. The world must not stand by while Iran silences its champions. We stand with the victims. We stand for justice.”
Iran imprisons and executes its star athletes but also using its supposes national teams’s participation in international games to whitewash these very crimes. It should be expelled from @FIFAcom and international athletic bodies. @StateDept_NEA @Olympics…
— OIAC: Organization of Iranian American Communities (@OrgIAC) June 5, 2026
In the letter, a spotlight is also put on incidents in the past regarding star athletes being executed in Iran, which includes champion wrestler Saleh Mohammadi, 19. Taking place in March, Mohammadi’s execution caused backlash around the world.
“Since mid-March, Iran has witnessed a horrific spree of executions of political dissidents, marking one of the most severe crackdowns in the past three decades. Dozens of people have been executed following unfair trials and coerced confessions.
“The theocratic regime, fearing another uprising, has exploited the cover of war to suppress growing dissent. Several victims of these executions were protesters arrested during the January 2026 uprising. Among them were Saleh Mohammadi, a 19-year-old national wrestling champion, and Sasan Azadvar Joonaghan, a 21-year-old karate champion,” reads the letter.
“Tragically, Iran has a grim history of executing athletes for their beliefs, including Habib Khabiri, the captain of Iran’s national football team, who was executed for his affiliation with the PMOI, and Forouzan Abdi, captain of Iran’s national women’s volleyball team, who was executed alongside 30,000 political prisoners during the 1988 massacre. In 2020, Iranian wrestling champion Navid Afkari was executed after participating in peaceful protests in 2018.”
24 signatures from athletes are included in the letter, which features a total of five Iranians and nine Olympians, per Fox News: