Lead, follow, or get out of the way

The Women's Tennis Association chooses the former

The Women’s Tennis Association announced they’d suspend tournaments in China and Hong Kong as a reaction to the disappearance and questionable current status of Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai (pung schwāy) after she accused a top Chinese Communist party official of sexual assault last month.

(The Chinese government responded that WTA’s move is “politicizing” sports.)

Of all the groups with stakes in Peng’s safety, the WTA is putting its money where its mouth is. Pulling tournaments from China and Hong Kong could cost the association hundreds of millions of dollars. I’d say that’s a show of support.

Earlier in November, Peng posted her accusation on Weibo, a Twitter-like social media platform. The post was erased within a half hour, and the tennis star went missing for 18 days until China state media released videos of her smiling and happy.

We are cautioned not to believe the videos.

Peng is (from the BBC):

a prominent figure in Chinese tennis with almost $10m in career prize money. Introduced to the sport by her uncle when she was eight-years-old, Ms Peng made her WTA debut in 2001 and has since gone on to win 25 titles in singles and doubles. She has also competed at three Olympic Games.

Besides the WTA, Peng has been the focus of public support from a stadium full of tennis greats, including this one:

Members of the International Olympic Committee (who have been accused of having a tepid response to Peng’s situation) said Thursday they spoke with Peng, and that they share concerns of others for her safety.