Monday, September 09, 2013
Cricket boss rejects 'bigoted' barbs at Muslim player
Muslims can do things that no-one else would be allowed to do
Cricket Australia boss James Sutherland has condemned "bigoted" comments about spinner Fawad Ahmed, after former rugby international David Campese said he should "go home" if he didn't want to wear a beer sponsor's logo on his playing shirt.
Campese was commenting on a story that appeared in The Daily Telegraph, in which former Test batsman Doug Walters was quoted as saying: "I think if he doesn't want to wear the team gear, he should not be part of the team. Maybe if he doesn't want to be paid that's OK."
Campese tweeted: "Doug Walters tells Pakistan-born Fawad Ahmed: if you don't like the VB uniform, don't play for Australia Well said doug. Tell him to go home."
Ahmed was granted refugee protection in Australia on the basis that Taliban commanders in his homeland threatened on multiple occasions to kill him for coaching local children and promoting education free from religious extremism for women and girls.
He was granted permanent residency in Australia in November and became an Australian citizen in July. Sutherland said the comments were "out of order" and a poor reflection on Australian society.
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6 comments:
There's the start of a slippery slope if there ever was one. First allow religious belief to dictate what sponsor shows on a uniform, then let religious belief dictate days a team member can play, then extend all of that to the team and finally to the league.
An individual has the right to choose not to wear an offensive jersey. He/she also has the right to sign with a team whose jersey does not offend.
A society that tries to structure itself so no one is ever offended will paralyze itself into inactivity. No matter what one does, someone somewhere will be offended by that action.
It's because religions play on the PC belief that people's religion must be respected no matter how crazy. It resulted from all the inter-religious and inter-demoninational wars and persecutions that went on in the past, so to avoid the dreadful affect on societies which that caused, many western countries adopted the seemingly better course of accepting all religious sensibilities. But now some religions or religious people exploit that to push for more consideration in wider society than is fair when it imposes on others' right to be free of their influence and outright demands, yet feel inhibited to oppose it by said desire to be tolerant.
Part of the revenue of the team is from advertisers. If the players are not wearing the advertisers logo, what is the benefit? If your religion prohibits it, then you have a choice to make.
Personally I admire his stance.
If he has said he will not wear the logo and the selectors still want him in uniform without the logo - no problem.
I am sure he would have been ok had they said - no logo, no team.
The usual demand of wanting one's cake and eating it too!
don't like it, don't play.
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