An Australian cricketer’s Gaza protest and the politics of sport

When Australia’s lead batsman and first Muslim player Usman Khawaja sought to express his politics on the field, his team and even the prime minister rallied behind him, but he was ultimately reprimanded for it. 

Khawaja wore a black armband during the first Test against Pakistan in Perth in a personal gesture of mourning for children killed in Gaza during the Israel-Hamas conflict. That was after being rejected for wearing shoes with the words ‘All lives are equal’ and ‘Freedom is a human right’ in the colours of the Palestinian flag.

Today, chief cricket writer Daniel Brettig on whether sport and politics can ever be separate. 

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