The Usman Khawaja shoe row is back in the news once again. Close to a week after Australia opener donned shoes with slogans supporting Palestine and Gaza, during a practice session, and wore a black armband during the match, Khawaja could face fresh punishment. Now as per a report in News Corp, neither the shoe protest nor the armband protest was approved by the ICC.
Moreover, the ICC has strong rules in place that prohibit the display of messages pertaining to politics, religion, or race. To do something like that, all players must get permission from the ICC. The report further suggests that if sanctioned, Khawaja would just receive an official reprimand, and won’t face further punishment.
Meanwhile, after the entire issue cropped up, Khawaja said it was unfair on the part of the governing body, to stop him from putting his message across. In a social media video, he said, “I’ve noticed what I’ve written on my shoes has caused a little bit of a stir.”
“I won’t say much, I don’t need to. But what I do want is for everyone who did get offended 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. Let’s be honest about it. If me saying ‘all lives are equal’ has resulted in people being offended to the point where they are 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. And it’s not just a handful of people. You’d be shocked about 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. And 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. But luckily for me, I never lived in a world where that lack of inequality was life or death.
“The ICC have told me that I can’t wear my shoes on the field because they believe it’s a political statement under their guidelines. I don’t believe it is so. It’s a humanitarian appeal. I will respect their view, and their 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.”
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