Dave Zirin: Kazemi and Abdul-Qaadir: Recognizing the Courage of Muslim Athletes.
Kazemi then took to hiding the fact that he was born and raised in Iran, just telling people he was from the Middle East. Then an incident at a gas station taught him that hiding wasn’t an option. Kazemi told the New York Daily News, “[This guy walked up to me and] said, ‘I am going to kill you.’ Then he said he was joking. At first, I was scared. If you are me, wouldn’t you be, too?”