Cricket South Africa’s instruction to all players to kneel before matches in support of the Black Lives Matter movement ‘threatens political and religious freedom and sees cricket authorities dabbling with an ideology they do not understand’, says the Institute of Race Relations (IRR).
The IRR conveyed this warning in a letter to the board of Cricket South Africa (CSA) today. It has also sought a meeting the cricketing body ‘to explain its concerns and have this damaging directive reversed’.
In a statement, the IRR says it referred the CSA board to its report, Because #BlackLivesMatter, warning that ‘the BLM movement exploited public anger at racial discrimination to advance an unrelated political and ideological agenda aimed at undermining the pillars of modern liberal democracies, including their support for freedom of speech and a market economy’.
IRR head of campaigns Gabriel Crouse said that ‘by forcing players to adopt the primary action associated with that agenda, South African cricket authorities were endorsing an ideology that was at odds with the best interests of the game and the values of cricket supporters’.
The IRR has also invited South Africans to add their voice to its call, here.