THANK YOU FROM THE PARENTS OF NIA ABDALLAH

Greetings All,

The Olympics are over and The USA Taekwondo Team are back on American soil which means the fight is not over. This letter is not about the Lopez’s but a Thank You letter to all of you who have supported Nia and our family in time of need. The old saying that says evil will triumph when good people stand and do nothing is so true and thank God all of you are righteous people because you showed us how much you cared, by doing something to correct a wrong. Rhonda and I can not thank each and every one of you enough. We ask that you continue to pray for us as we will do the same for you all. So just remember a lie is always hidden in dark places and will not stand forever but the truth is the light and it is eternal.



Thank you,
Thomas and Rhonda Duhart
Nia Abdallah Parents
wesupportnia.blogspot.com

A Letter of Support for Nia Abdallah

Hello Nia,

I recently came across your blog, I watched the video of your sparring match with Diana Lopez. I have been in Taekwondo for 18 years, Im 3rd Dan and I have been a certified judge and referee. From my point of view and the cameras point of view, more than anything all of your kicks on her head gear DID NOT count. Which was unbelieveable.

I proud of how you are supporting Taekwondo the "right way". What happened to the tradition of Taekwondo? The honor and respect. I know what is RIGHT is not if you WIN or LOSE but to what is fair. I also want to change the way the world sees Taekwondo.

Keep on aiming high.

Sincerely,

In Christ,
~Janice Courtney

Lopez takes fight to taekwondo federation? What?! PLEASE COMMENT!!

(Editors Note: Now it has been a rarity that we would give ample space for an article featuring the Lopez family but we felt this recent article presented a special occasion. Our team of bloggers will be addressing this article real soon but for now we highlighted some interesting quotes. PLEASE READ IT AND LEAVE US YOUR THOUGHTS NOW! Remember the old saying, what goes around.....)

Lopez takes fight to taekwondo federation
By Charles Robinson, Yahoo! Sports
Posted August 22, 2008

BEIJING – With taekwondo already rumored to be on the brink of Olympic elimination, the sport was doing everything it could to avoid even the slightest shock of controversy.

On Friday, it was struck by lightning.

In a chaotic episode that might ultimately prove to be the tipping point to Olympic doom, American two-time defending gold medalist Steven Lopez was eliminated from gold-medal contention on a controversial referee’s decision. Lopez would go on to win bronze in the 80-kilogram weight class, but not until after his team leader, Herb Perez, had filed a protest and then ripped the World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) for intimidation and gross mismanagement of the sport’s rules and oversight.

“When (poor judging) happens to you, you’re told to shut up and not say anything because of what will happen to you, or what will happen to the sport,” Perez said. “If this is truly what taekwondo is about, maybe taekwondo shouldn’t be in the Olympics. Maybe they should fix it.”

Perez was furious after a string of events that began when Lopez – who hadn’t lost a match since 2002 – was docked one point in his quarterfinal match against Mauro Sarmiento. A referee determined Lopez had used a “cut kick,” which is essentially kicking away an opponent’s blow below the waist. Perez maintained that Lopez had merely raised his left leg in defense on the foul, and Sarmiento had kicked into Lopez’s leg in an attempt to draw a point deduction.

Lopez’s lost point cut his 2-1 lead into a 1-1 tie in the third and final period of the match. He eventually lost in sudden-death overtime.

What came next had the WTF scrambling on the defensive as Perez came out with some serious allegations. First, he said the protest wasn’t properly handled – that the Olympic Competition Supervisory Board didn’t respond for 45 minutes, well outside of the allotted 15 minutes typically allowed. Second, Perez said they were given little explanation as to why their protest had been deemed “unacceptable.”

“Unacceptable could mean anything from we didn’t file the papers properly to we didn’t use the right color pencil,” Perez said. “… Under the WTF competition rules, we should have been notified about the decision, the criteria, the methodology used, what evidence was presented,and what referees were reviewing it. We were not.”

But that wasn’t even the bombshell. Perez said that, in a June taekwondo conference, the heads of the 25 teams which attended were asked to sign an agreement not to file any protests at these Olympic Games in hopes of avoiding a controversy that could further put the sport’s Olympic future in jeopardy.

“We were manhandled,” Perez said. “We were threatened not to protest at this event. I think that needs to be said. We were made to sign a document not to protest for the betterment of taekwondo. It was a very big thing. There was a table, you went up to the table, (and) you signed the document. You signed it in front of the secretary general (of the WTF) and you gave him the document.”

Perez said he was approached again by WTF officials on Friday after his protest was denied. This time, Perez said, they were asking him not to speak to the press.

“I was asked to compromise (again) five minutes ago,” he said. “They said, ‘Don’t tell anyone.’ The head of the WTF came to me and said, ‘Don’t speak to the press.’ The secretary general said, ‘Don’t do this.’ (Secretary General Jin Suk) Yang and (WTF president Chungwon) Choue said, ‘Herbert, don’t do this. Think about the future.’ ”

The WTF’s director of public relations, Seok-Jae Kang, vehemently denied coaches had signed a “no protest” pact, calling the claim “nonsense.”
“It is not an agreement. I would call it a resolution,” Kang said. “A resolution on fair play. … It was ‘Do your best to ensure fair play and judging.’ Appealing is up to them. It’s their right and their rule. They can appeal.

“Ask him the right wordings (on what he signed).”

Kang said officials from the WTF were not prepared to respond on Friday night, but pointed to a June release on the body’s Web site, which touted “Participants in WTF Olympic Coach Seminar Adopt Resolution on Fair Play.” The release lists some lines from a document signed by coaches at the event, including an agreement that signees would “respect and accept the judgment and decisions of the refereeing and technical officials in all taekwondo competitions.”

Clearly, Perez believed that to mean that coaches were being leaned upon not to protest at the Olympics. But Kang said that interpretation was “a matter of opinion.” Another coach, Iran’s Kiarash Bahri, didn’t attend the June meeting, but he said he was never told explicitly not to protest.

“The WTF wanted everybody to have more self-control, and if they want to make a protest, take the correct procedure actually, not to jump up and down and make a ruckus, raise a lot of noise,” Bahri said. “Take the correct procedure to go about it, file the complaint and then they’ll decide. But it wasn’t like, ‘Don’t make a protest.’ ”

The ugliness marred an otherwise positive story for taekwondo, which had seen a generous amount of coverage as Lopez and his two siblings, Mark and Diana, had captured medals in their respective weight classes.Diana Lopez took bronze in the 57-kilogram weight class.

“(WTF officials) don’t think about the repercussions until after they make a mistake,” Steven Lopez said. “They know the power we have as a family and bringing limelight to our sport. By no means do I want to bring this sport down. I love this sport. But sometimes in any sport there are judges, there are politics involved. Unfortunately, there’s not supposed to be that in any of the sports, but you see it all the time. Whether it be gymnastics, boxing, it happens.

“There are bad calls all the time. This is one of the times that it happened to me. It normally doesn’t, but it happened. It sucks.”

Article reposted from http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/beijing/taekwondo/news?slug=cr-lopez082208&prov=yhoo&type=lgns" target"=_blank">http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/beijing/taekwondo/news?slug=cr-lopez082208&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

Over 90% of voters in online poll say Nia Abdallah beat Diana Lopez!

Thank you to everyone who took part in the online poll that was developed on this blog. The results showed that after watching the full Olympic Trial match fight between Nia Abdallah and Diana Lopez, over 90 percent voted Nia the winner!

All we want to know is, what fight were those mere 34 "No's" looking at!

The Parents Corner

Today, August 20 at 10PM CST, Diana Lopez will be unjustly representing the United States in Beijing in Taekwondo Olympic Competition. If you were the parents of Nia Abdallah, how would you feel at this very moment knowing that your daughter is the best and most qualified fighter and should be there right now but was robbed? Well, they lean on their spiritual foundation and have encouraged their highly spiritual daughter to keep her trust in God.

They encourage all Blog readers to go and read the following and fitting passages in the Bible.

Proverbs 16:18 and Psalms 37

Want to send the family an encouraging word? Email them at: wesupportnia@gmail.com.

Support from the US Virgin Islands! Read Comment!

People from all over the world are speaking out against the injustice faced by Nia Abdallah. Read this letter that was sent to her from the U.S. Virgin Islands:

"Oss! Nia please let me congratulate you for a job well done. I had a chance to watch the kumite and without a doubt victory is yours. My Name is Master Roy J.Faulkner I am a martial artist as well, I am the founder and chief instructor of Faulkner's Unified Jujitsu School of Martial Arts here in the U.S. Virgin Islands. My school and I express a Big Oss! to you. May you continue to be victorious in all your endeavors, and may God's richest blessing continue to be with you. "

Best regards,
Master Roy J. Faulkner
St.Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands

Would Diana Lopez appear on Sports Radio 610 with Nia Abdallah?

A huge queastion was posed by the hosts of the Sports Radio 610am Sunday Block Party, Bobby Z. and Lesbian Craig on August 17. They have sent out an open invitation to Diana Lopez and her family to appear on their show along with Nia Abdallah and her family to have a dialogue about the injustice that Nia feels she faced. The question is would they be willing to do it?


"We are going to make some calls and reach out because after watching this video of Nia vs Diana, I think we need to hear from the Lopez family", said Lesbian Craig. "As show host we are suppose to be non-biased in our interviews but after the watching this fight, its hard not to be. Nia is scoring points left and right."

"What happen to Nia is not what the Olympics is suppose to be about", said Bobby Z.

Nia Abdallah commented that "if you can get Diana on the show I would come back. But these question is would she be willing to come."

The hot hour long interview drew several callers who were in support of Nia Abdallah as the winner and wanted to see more action taken. The co-hosts watched the fight during the show as well with "play-by-play" jokingly commentary as Nia landed kick after kick to Diana's head and body.

"I honestly don't know the point system but I do see Nia going upside her head and no points being scored", added Bobby Z.

The co-hosts then asked Nia to describe how it felt to win a silver medal in 2004. "Honestly I was really upset that I did not win the gold medal so I was crying. Looking back I wish I had not been so upset so I could have enjoyed the moment. Because I know others saw it as a great feat, and it was, but I didn't fully take it in because I wanted to win the gold. It does feel good to know that I will always be an Olympian forever."

Her step father, Thomas Duhart Jr. said "It was emotional for Nia in 2004 because she had the U.S. flag with her that belongedto her grandfather, who she has promised she would win the Olympics. So she was thinking about him. But we were so proud of her and that was an unbelieveable feeling to see her get that medal."

"We are so proud of Nia", said her mother Rhonda Duhart. "she worked so hard, even after having a baby, to prepare herself to win in Beijing. She is a wonderful daughter."

DO YOU THINK DIANA LOPEZ SHOULD APPEAR ON THE SPORTS RADIO 610AM SHOW ONCE SHE RETURNS FROM BEIJING? Leave a comment here or email Lesbian Craig at lesbiancraig@yahoo.com

LISTEN TO NIA ABDALLAH ON THE SPORTS BLOCK PARTY RADIO SHOW TONIGHT!!!!

LISTEN LIVE NOW AS NIA ABDALLAH AND HER STEP FATHER THOMAS DUHART JR. MAKES A GUEST APPEARANCE ON THE SPORTS BLOCK PARTY RADIO SHOW AT 8:00PMCST. THE STATION IS 610AM IN THE HOUSTON AREA AND LISTEN LIVE ONLINE AT WWW.SPORTSRADIO610.COM

ABOUT THE SHOW: Sundays 6PM – 9PM You like sports?!? We’ve got your sports on the Sunday Block Party with Bobby Z. and Lesbian Craig. We know you’ve got a lot to say, so give’em a call or shoot’em an email because that’s what we’re waiting for on the Sunday Block Party. Listen for Dr. Football.com, Jimmy Neal each week in the 7 o'clock hour right here on the Sunday Block Party.

NIA ABDALLAH INTERVIEW ON WPFW-DC 89.3FM PACIFICA! LISTEN!

Nia Abdallah went one-on-one with WPFW-DC 89.3 FM Pacifica Radio to discuss the We Support Nia campaign. She was interviewed by News Director Askia Muhammad based in Washington, D.C. The interview aired live on August 8, 2008. Click below to hear the interview now!

About
The purpose of WPFW-FM Pacifica is to provide outlets for the creative skills and energies of the community, to contribute to a lasting understanding between individuals of all nations, races, creeds and colors, and to promote the full distribution of public information. Programming on WPFW will principally be a mix of jazz, Third World music, news and public affairs. For more information visit:www.wpfw.org

Nia Adallah To Appear on International Million Woman Movement Radio Show

Nia Abdallah has been invited to be a special guest on International Million Woman Movement Blog Radio Show "NU Day Resurrection and Liberation" hosted by Empress Chi. The interview will air on Saturday, August 16 at 10:00pm CST (11:00pm EST). Nia will also be joined by Deric Muhammad of the Millions More Movement Ministry of Justice. To listen live log on to www.blogtalkradio.com/empresschi or via your telephone 1-646-652-2232


About the Host:Empress Chi is the visionary,architect, and sole founder of the historic 1997 Million Woman March and President General of the MWM Universal Movements. The historic 1997 Million Woman March is the largest gathering in the world of any women anywhere and now it is rising up as more than an organization but a nation building pro-active force.

Preparing Your Mind For Competition by Nia Abdallah

Preparing Your Mind For Competition
Written by Nia Abdallah

Everything starts in practice. You must always focus on doing your best every time you go to work on your craft. Why? The lack of preparation before competition is what creates doubt in the heat of competition. I have always lived by the motto that "If what you did yesterday still looks good today, you haven’t done much today." This keeps me motivated to do a little bit more everyday in and out of practice.

Let’s go deeper. Living a positive lifestyle is critical because what you do outside of practice effects what you do in. After you have been doing that consistently, you must find something to comfort you when you are preparing yourself for the challenge ahead. My comforting tool is music. I listen to positive and motivating songs the day before and the day of competition. The night before a competition I make time to sit quietly alone to visualize the victory. I mentally paint a picture of me executing the kicks and movements that are necessary to secure the victory. I visualize getting the medal and doing interviews. I can see myself doing everything that comes with being the winner of the competition. I don’t allow any pictures of doubt to enter into my mind. I believe in claiming a victory before it happens as long as I am ready to do all the work to get to the victory. There are two reasons for that.

One is that your subconscious does not reason. It just hears the basics. For example, if you said “I don’t want to lose”, your subconscious mind hears the word ‘lose’. That’s why I’m cautious of speaking and thinking only with positive words. Secondly, is to put myself in the situation before I actually get there. A great coach always tells the quarterback or the point guard to see the play before it happens. They want them to see themselves scoring the winning touchdown and the winning shot with unwavering confidence.

Have you ever notice that the first time you do just about anything it is the hardest? Well if I have already done it in my mind then when I actually get out there, it is not a problem because your subconscious does not know any better. Lastly, I remember that I got to this competition the same way as everybody else. Even if it is their ninth time at this competition and this is my first, they had to go through their first once before. All and all they are still humans so why fear or doubt yourself? When they look across that mat into your eyes, send them a message that they are in for the fight of their life.

I truly learned all of this in my experiences, because I saw all the little girls in the same place I was just years before. That keeps me focus because just like I dethroned someone there is a little Nia somewhere else waiting to dethrone me if I don’t watch out. I never underestimate anyone.

A closing tip is to always remember to have fun. That is what you got in the sport for in the first place, do not change that. When it becomes a job and you are not having fun then it will show in your competition.

Focus. Love your life so you can live your life.

(Nia Nicole Abdallah is the 2004 Olympic Silver Medalist in Taekwondo. She is the first U.S. woman in history to win a medal in the sport since it became an official Olympic sport. She can be reached at wesupportnia@gmail.com)

Why did NBC avoid showing the Taekwondo Olympic Trial match?

In an awesome one-on-one interview on August 8 with KCOH Sports News director Ralph Cooper, a serious question was posed by the step father of Nia Abdallah that has the listeners wondering.

"NBC has shown all of the Olympic Trial fights on national television except the fight between Nia and Diana Lopez. Have you ask yourself why?", posed Thomas Duhart Jr., Nia's step father. "If this was suppose to be such a historic win for Diana and her family, why hasn't been aired all over television? It because they know that Nia was the winner hands down. They know the truth and anyone who watches the fight knows that Diana Lopez did not win."

Being that this interview was done on the day of the 2008 Opening Ceremonies in Beijing, Cooper asked Nia to go deeper into how she feels about being robbed and not being able to represent the U.S. although she won. "It has been really hard to grip. It's hard to get up these days going to grocery store when I know I should be in China right now training and preparing to win the gold medal. I had a headache all night last night but I'm fighting to expose this corruptness because things have to change. We need new management in Taekwondo. I won that fight and know that looking back I did everything in that match I planned on doing to ensure a victory."

Nia further called on all listeners to "watch the fight for yourself, vote on the blog as to who you think won, write your congressperson because this not just about me. it's about making sure those that come behind me don't have to face this."

Cooper ended the interview by declaring "after watching the fight myself, I know you won. Always remember that a champion always finds his or her way back to the top."

Nia Abdallah To Appear on KCOH Radio TODAY!!!

Nia Abdallah will be a special guest on the Houston based KCOH 1430AM Sports Rap show hosted by Ralph Cooper. The live interview will air at 5:00pm CST. For those outside of the Houston area log on to www.kcohradio.com

About the Host: Ralph Cooper's roots extend deep into the fabric of Houston. Grimes Elementary, Attucks Middle School, Worthing High School, Houston Community College and the University of Houston - Downtown, have made him a true product of Houston Area schools. Ralph became the Sports Director for KCOH Radio in 1984 after leaving a competing station here in Houston where he had held that same position from 1973-1984. Ralph Cooper can be heard Monday thru Friday at 8 AM with Sports Update, and on Sports Rap, Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday's from 5 PM to 7 PM and Tuesday from 5 PM to 8 PM.

Photo Highlights of People's Politics Live Interview!

On, Monday August 4, Nia Abdallah and Attorney Warren Muhammad were studio guests on the show People's Politics which aired live on Channel 17 and is produced by Pyramid Global Media.

The video of the full hot interview will be released soon. But you can watch excerpt from the interview at Nia Abdallah People's Politics Interview

Dallas Morning News post Video on DallasNews.com!

Breaking News! The Dallas Morning News has released an article featuring Nia Abdallah and her fight against injustice in her Olympic Trial fight against Diana Lopez. The Dallas Morning News also posted the YouTube video of their Sudden Death round to allow viewers to comment on who they thought won!


Read the full article at: Nia Abdallah in Dallas Morning News


See Sudden Death video posted at:Taekwondo controversy: Lopez-Abdallah Olympic qualifying video

Listen to Podcast! Portland and Vancouver hear from Nia Abdallah

On August 4, 2008 the people of Portland,OR and Vancouver,WA heard live from Nia Abdallah as she went one-on-one with Opio Sokoni of Poli-tainment.com and KMBS radio. The question was posed by Opio: Will there be justice for a 2004 Olympic Tae Kwon Do Silver Medalist? Ms. Abdallah may have been robbed by the 2008 United States Olympic Committee in her Des Moines, Iowa Olympic trial match against Diana Lopez. Nia talks to Opio about it...click below and listen to the podcast now.

LISTEN!:Nia Abdallah Speaks To Right An Olympic Wrong

About Opio Sokoni
Opio Sokoni is a Howard University trained lawyer working as the General Manager of Portland, Oregonâs KBMS radio where he self produces a politics and Hip Hop radio show. Opio has previously worked for the Drug Policy Alliance, TransAfrica and Amnesty International. His multimedia interviews have included Congressional members and entertainment icons such as Harry Belafonte and Russell Simmons. His writings have appeared in the Boston Globe, The Black Commentator, the Washington Times, DaveyD.com and numerous popular websites. He has also appeared on C-SPAN and the O'Reilly Factor. An activist filmmaker, he has written, directed and produced two documentary films, and last year, premiered the first ever activist film, Turn Off Channel Zero which targets Viacom as a major source of negative media portrayals of African Americans. Opio is the author of an award-winning children's book (I Want to Be a Lawyer When I Grow Up) and an activist manual (Poli-Tainment: Making Struggle Sexy). Mr. Sokoni was the lead organizer and consultant for the Appeal for Redress campaign - a movement of active duty military members appealing to end the war in Iraq - it was a featured broadcast on 60 Minutes. He runs the news and culture website http://www.poli-tainment.com/. Also visit www.myspace.com/turnoffchannelzero

Nia Abdallah story featured on BlackAthlete.com

The word about the We Support Nia Campaign continues to spread. The story of Nia Abdallah is a featured newsmaker on Blackathlete.com, which is considered one of the top sports networks online. Click the link: Nia On BlackAthlete.com

WATCH NIA ABDALLAH TONIGHT ON LIVE TELEVISION!

Nia Abdallah will make a live appearance TONIGHT (August 4) on the live television show The People's Politics. The show will air at 8:30pm CST on Comcast Channel 17 and TV Max 15. Ms. Abdallah will be joined by Attorney Warren Muhammad to contine to expose the corruptness of Tae Kwon Do and the great Olympic injustice that took place that robbed the United States from having the BEST and MOST QUALIFIED fighter on the team!

Tune in and then come back to the blog and leave her a comment!

What: Nia Abdallah appearing on The People's Politics Show
When: TONIGHT, August 4th
Time: 8:30PM CST
Channels: Comcast Channel 17 and TV Max 15.

About the Show Producers
Pyramid Global Media, LLC. is a production company established to uplift people one step at a time. Their mission is to be the eyes of the people and give a voice to their social and economic affairs through various mediums. For more information visit www.pyramidglobalmedia.org