'I'm not taking sides, human life to me is equal': Khawaja will push to ...
Perth: Usman Khawaja may yet wear shoes emblazoned with slogans referring to the plight of Palestinians caught in the fighting in Gaza on Boxing Day at the MCG, under an International Cricket Council process that allows players to gain approval for personal messages on the field.
While Khawaja backed down from wearing the shoes on day one of the series in Perth after speaking with Cricket Australia’s chief executive Nick Hockley, among others, four senior cricket sources – who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the talks are ongoing – confirmed to this masthead that he has an avenue open to formally request the right to wear them in future matches.
Usman Khawaja wearing “All lives are equal” on his shoes during an Australian nets session at the WACA on Tuesday.Credit: Getty Images
“The ICC have told me I can’t wear my shoes on field because they believe its a political statement under their guidelines,” Khawaja said on Instagram on Wednesday. “I don’t believe it is so, it’s a humanitarian appeal. I will respect their view and decision, but I will fight it and seek to gain approval. Freedom is a human right, and all lives are equal. I will never stop believing that, whether you agree with me or not.”
Khawaja also spoke of the fierce reaction his stance had generated.
“I notice what I’ve written on my shoes has caused a little bit of a stir,” Khawaja said. “What I do want is for anyone who did get offended somehow, is to ask yourself these questions: Is freedom not for everyone? Are all lives not equal? To me, personally, it doesn’t matter what race, religion, or culture you are.
“But let’s be honest about it, if me saying all lives are equal has resulted in people being offended to the point where they’re calling me up and telling me off, well isn’t that the bigger problem? These people obviously don’t believe in what I’ve written. It’s not just a handful of people. You’d be shocked at how many feel this way.
“What I’ve written on my shoes isn’t political, I’m not taking sides, human life to me is equal. One Jewish life is equal to one Muslim life, is equal to one Hindu life, and so on. I’m just speaking up for those who don’t have a voice. This is close to my heart. When I see thousands of innocent children dying without any repercussions or remorse, I imagine my two girls.
“What if this was them. No one chooses where they’re born. Then I see the world turn their backs on them, my heart can’t take it. I already feel my life wasn’t equal to others when I was growing up. Luckily for me I never lived in a world where a lack of inequality was life or death.”
Khawaja faced the possibility of being banned from taking the field in the match if he’d worn the shoes he trained in on Tuesday, but only because he had not followed this formal approval process – under which numerous religious or political messages have been worn by other players.
Within the Australian team, Marnus Labuschagne sports a Bible verse on the back of his bat, while both the West Indies and England teams have worn a “Black Lives Matter” slogan on the collars of their shirts in recent times.
These instances may be a surprise to the former players – including Simon O’Donnell and Greg Ritchie – who on Wednesday asserted that Khawaja had no right to carry personal messages onto the field of play.
Pat Cummins at Perth Stadium on Wednesday ahead of the first Test against Pakistan.Credit: Getty
International Cricket Council clothing regulations empower the match referee, in this case India’s Javagal Srinath, to prevent a player taking part in a match if they are wearing an item of clothing sporting a logo or wording that is “non-compliant”.
“Any clothing or equipment that does not comply with these regulations is strictly prohibited,” the regulations state. “In particular, no logo shall be permitted to be displayed on cricket clothing or cricket equipment, other than a national logo, a commercial logo, an event logo, a manufacturer’slogo, a player’s bat logo, a charity logo or a non-commercial logo as provided in these regulations.
“In addition, where any match official becomes aware of any clothing or equipment that does not comply with these regulations, he shall be authorised to prevent the offending person from taking the field of play (or to order them from the field of play, if appropriate) until the non-compliant clothing or equipment is removed or appropriately covered up.”
But that regulation can be waived if the ICC approves Khawaja’s request. Cricket Australia released a statement backing up the ICC regulations: “We support the right of our players to express personal opinions. But the ICC has rules in place which prohibit the display of personal messages which we expect the players to uphold.”
Australian opener Usman Khawaja.Credit: Getty Images
Khawaja wore the shoes sporting the slogans “Freedom is a human right” and “All lives are equal” at Australia’s main training session on Tuesday, and initially confirmed to this masthead he intended to wear them on Thursday; day one of the first Test against Pakistan.
Captain Pat Cummins confirmed at his pre-match press conference on Wednesday that Khawaja would not wear the shoes during the Test match, but was supportive of all players’ rights to express their views. Khawaja is set to be interviewed by broadcasters Foxtel and Seven on day one of the Test.
“I think it is one of our strongest points as a team that everyone has their own passionate views and individual thoughts,” Cummins said. “I chatted to Uzzy briefly about it today, and yeah, I don’t think his intention is to make too much of a fuss, but we support him.
“[The ICC] drew attention to the ICC rules, which I don’t know if Uzzy was across beforehand. Uzzy doesn’t want to make too big a fuss. On his shoes he had ‘all lives are equal’ [written on them], I think that’s not very divisive, I don’t think anyone could really have too many complaints about that.”
Messages for political causes “shall not be granted”, the ICC’s regulations say, but the governing body also acknowledges the game’s capacity to “bring people and communities around the world together”, but “not as a platform to draw attention to potentially divisive political issues, rhetoric or agendas”.
Additionally, if Khawaja did happen to walk out to bat or field on Thursday while wearing the shoes, it was possible he’d face a series of sanctions, ranging from a reprimand for a first offence to a 75 per cent match-fee fine. Cummins said that the topic was not raised in his regular pre-series meeting with Srinath on Wednesday.
Federal Sports Minister Anika Wells backed Khawaja on Wednesday, saying he had expressed his “respectful” view as an individual and in a manner that did not compromise the Australian cricket team’s obligations to the International Cricket Council.
“As the federal sports minister, I have always advocated for athletes to have the right to have a voice and to speak up on matters that are important to them,” she said at a press conference in Perth on Wednesday morning.
“Usman Khawaja is a great athlete. Usman Khawaja is a great Australian, and he has every right to speak up on matters that are important to him.
“I think he has done it in a peaceful and respectful way, and as a way that he as an individual can express an individual opinion that doesn’t compromise the Australian cricket team’s obligations to the ICC.”
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Players were permitted to take a knee supporting the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020 and, more commonly, to wear a black armband to acknowledge the death of a former player, official or someone close to the team.
A proud Muslim, Khawaja has been deeply affected by the distressing scenes out of Gaza since Israel retaliated to the Hamas attacks on October 7. He took to Instagram on Saturday to post his concerns on the war.
“Do people not care about innocent humans being killed? Or is it the colour of their skin that makes them less important? Or the religion they practice? These things should be irrelevant if you truly believe that ‘we are all equal’. #gaza #humanity #equality #alllivesmatter,” Khawaja wrote.
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