Save SA cricket from politics and ideology

Cricket South Africa (CSA) has issued a directive to Protea players to take a knee in support of Black Lives Matter, an ideological movement dedicated to undermining the pillars of modern liberal democracies, including freedom of speech and a market economy.

Make your voice heard. Sign this petition to send a joint email of complaint with the IRR to the ICC and the CSA. Stand with the IRR to say “No!” to forced allegiance to BLM.

The IRR is alarmed that the board of Cricket South Africa has issued a directive that all national team players will be compelled to demonstrate their allegiance to Black Lives Matter (BLM), an anti-capitalist, anti-liberal movement with origins in the U.S., by taking a knee.

This move threatens political and religious freedom and shows cricket authorities dabbling with an ideology they do not understand.

We have referred the CSA to this report and caution it that the BLM movement exploits public anger at racial discrimination to advance an unrelated political and ideological agenda to undermine the pillars of modern liberal democracies, including freedom of speech and a market economy.

By forcing players to adopt the primary action associated with that agenda, South African cricket authorities are endorsing an ideology at odds with the best interests of the game and the values of cricket supporters.

The IRR has dedicated much of its history to combating segregation, nationalist ideology, and racism in South African sport. We therefore share the CSA’s commitment to eradicating what vestiges of such discrimination still exist within cricketing ranks. But the manner in which CSA is going about it here is deeply problematic, internally contradictory, and counterproductive.

The IRR opposes forcing cricket players to demonstrate their allegiance to a specific ideological movement that they might not agree with.