Right: In 2006, Dean Jones, a television commentator and former Test player, was sacked for referring to Sri Lankan cricketer Hashim Amla as a "terrorist".
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Arguments suggesting Australian cricket is not racist
1. Australian cricket has outlawed racist language and behaviour
Defenders of Australian cricket against the charge that it is racist note that racist sledging on the field and that racist abuse from among spectators are clearly prohibited.
The International Cricket Council (ICC - the global governing body for cricket) prohibits any form of sledging that could be judged offensive. There are specific regulations put in place to prohibit racist abuse. 'Any use of language or gestures that are likely to offend another person on the basis of their race, religion, gender, colour, descent, national or ethnic origin... is prohibited under the ICC's Anti-Racism Code and must be dealt with according to the procedures set out therein.'
The Code makes it an offence to engage 'in any conduct (whether through the use of language, gestures or otherwise) which is likely to offend, insult, humiliate, intimidate, threaten, disparage or vilify any reasonable person in the position of a Player, Player Support Personnel, Umpire, Match Referee, Umpire Support Personnel or any other person (including a spectator) on the basis of their race, religion, culture, colour, descent, national or ethnic origin, sex, gender, sexual orientation, disability, marital status and/or maternity status.'
Under the code players can be banned from playing for a specified time and mandatorily 'undergo a programme of education/counselling designed to promote the understanding and awareness of issues directly relevant to the offence that the Participant has been determined to have committed.'
Penalties also apply to spectators who make racially offensive comments or gestures. ICC Members [are able] to impose punishments on spectators found guilty of discrimination, which may include ejection from the venue or a ban of a specified period from attending venues within the Member's jurisdiction to watch cricket, and to deliver preventative measures at International Matches.'
The ICC allows member countries to determine the exact way they will implement the Anti-Racism Code. In 2016, Cricket Australia introduced its own Anti-Racism Code for Players and Player Support Personnel. The Cricket Australia Code states it is intended 'as part of CA's continuing efforts to maintain the public image, popularity and integrity of cricket by providing: (a) an effective means to deter any participant from conducting themselves in a manner that may be construed as racially and/or religiously offensive; and (b) a robust disciplinary procedure pursuant to which all matters of improper conduct of this nature can be dealt with fairly, with certainty and in an expeditious manner.'
The Cricket Australia Anti-Racism Code for Players and Player Support Personnel largely replicates the ICC's Code. Regarding penalties, 'In addition to any [international] ban imposed....a Player [may be banned] from participation in any club/grade cricket match or matches in Australia for a specified period of time.' The same mandatory education programmes also apply
Regarding racist abuse originating from spectators, Cricket Australia has also acted. Following the racist sledging of South African players during the Perth Test in 2005, Cricket Australia ordered security staff to eject any perpetrators from the ground and heavy fines for
racist behaviour were put in place.
In September 2006, the International Cricket Council Chief Executives Committee (CEC) agreed to adopt and implement an amended Anti-Racism Code signaling a new attack on racist behaviour. The amendments are designed to allow ICC members to impose a range of punishments on spectators found guilty of racist abuse, ranging from ejection from the venue to life bans.
2. Many accusations of racism among fans are unfounded and only a small minority of fans are racially abusive
Many of those who defend Australian cricket against accusations of racism note that many claims made about racist fans are inaccurate and that only a small percentage of spectators make racist remarks.
It has been claimed that crowd behaviour condemned as racist has often been misconstrued and that good-humoured banter is often mistaken for racism. This defence was offered after the incident in the January 2021 India vs Australia test played at the Sydney Cricket Ground which saw six spectators ejected from the ground. A nearby spectator has since claimed that the group were not being racist, but merely exhibiting 'Aussie humour... It was all a bit of banter and one-liners, [there] was nothing racist at all said to this guy [Indian bowler Mohammed Siraj]. Indian fans came up to me and they were loving it; they were even throwing some one-liners at the Australian team when they came out to field.'
Some of those present at the game have claimed that the sledging from the crowd has led to an overreaction. Indian-Australian spectator Rishi Aryan, who was seated in the same bay, told the Herald and The Age, 'All these boys were doing is a bit of sledging of the player on the outfield. First it was Bumrah, then they had a sledge against Siraj. They kept calling him Shiraz and all that crap. Next thing you know they said: "Welcome to Sydney, Siraj" and then he got the shits. That was literally it. Then he walked off.'
Aryan added, 'I don't know why [the police kicked the men out]. Next thing you know you see police everywhere. It didn't make sense. It was confusing.'
Another spectator with his family believed there was nothing racist said. He also corroborated Mr Aryan's statement that the phrase 'Welcome to Sydney, Siraj' was used.
Ben Grogan, a senior executive in the New South Wales public sector, was sitting just behind the men police removed from the ground, watching the game with his nine-year-old son. Mr Grogan said there was a separate group of young spectators to his right who had been asked to] leave earlier in the afternoon by SCG staff. Drinking heavily, they had been the most vocal and it was they who had referred to Siraj as 'Shiraz'. He explained, 'They were just a real poor man's Barmy Army sort of thing. They were singing songs like, "We love you Jasprit, we do"; "Jasprit, give us a wave", weaving his name into songs, stuff like that. There was no derogatory stuff, but it was just constant. It wasn't a great workplace but there was nothing racist.'
It has also been claimed that some of the accusations of racist abuse from the crowd may not only have been mistaken; they may also have been false and possibly motivated by player pique and frustration. Another Indian-Australian spectator, Prateik Kelkar, who was sitting just in front of the fans later ejected from the Sydney Cricket Ground, has said, 'We got kicked out as well for sticking up for them, for saying that they didn't say anything...
[Siraj] was pissed off because he got hit for two sixes the previous over. He came to field on the boundary. He was copping it a bit and then they said: 'Welcome to Sydney, Siraj'. Next thing we knew they were getting kicked out.'
Those who defend Australian cricket against accusations of racism also observe that, to the extent that there is racism among spectators, it is confined to a small minority. Matt Cleary, a freelance sports journalist, has stated, 'Like anywhere there's a tiny percentage of card-carrying cross-burners, maybe five percent [cross burners is a reference to racists like the Ku Klux Klan]'
New South Wales premier, Gladys Berejiklian, has also called for the need to act against spectator racism, while stressing that it occurs among only a small minority of fans. Berejiklian stated, 'We have to be vigilant against any comments, against any actions, even though it's conducted by only a very small minority of people.'
3. Racial abuse is not tolerated among cricket commentators
Those who argue that Australian cricket is not racist note that cricket commentators who make racist remarks are normally reprimanded and sometimes fired. They further note that this is in part because listening and viewing audiences will not accept such conduct.
In 2006, Dean Jones, a former Australia Test batsman, later a cricket commentator for Ten Sports, was heard calling South African batsman Hashim Amla a 'terrorist' on live television during play between Sri Lanka and South Africa at Colombo.
When Amla, a devout Muslim, took the catch to dismiss Kumar Sangakkara, Jones was heard to say 'the terrorist has got another wicket'. Such commentary provoked an immediately hostile reaction from viewing audiences who saw it as racist and inflammatory. Gerald Majola, Cricket South Africa's chief executive, said, 'The switchboards of both Cricket South Africa and SuperSport, that takes a feed of the broadcast to South African audiences, have been jammed with calls from some very angry people.'
Majola added that 'this kind of insulting racial stereotyping has no place in cricket and must be stamped on swiftly. The ICC has strongly condemned racism and we will be discussing the matter with them.'
Ray Reed, the director of communications for Taj TV, whose channel Ten Sports is beamed into 50 million households, subsequently stated, 'We've terminated Dean Jones's freelance contract with immediate effect... As a company we have a zero-tolerance policy regarding such comments.'
Majola also remarked, 'We take the strongest exception to this comment, and we will lodge an official complaint with the host broadcaster, Ten Sports, that employs him. We will be asking for his immediate suspension and a full apology.'
Dean subsequently apologised for his comment and returned to Australia after his sacking.
When, in December 2018, former Australian test cricketer and current commentator Kerry O'Keeffe referred to an Indian domestic team as 'the Railways canteen staff' and subsequently queried why any parent would call their child by a traditional Indian name, his remarks lead to widespread criticism from listeners. Criticism included, 'It's pretty uncool to ridicule the FC comp of another country while using dubious stereotypes for a cheap laugh', 'O'Keefe is a buffoon. That diatribe on the #RanjiTrophy competition was classic casual racism and disgracefully inaccurate', and 'Pretty sure this will be the last commentary stint for O'Keefe. Racism will not go unnoticed by officials.'
In the event, O'Keefe was not fired; however, he did issue an apology for his comments. O'Keefe's 'open letter to Indian players and fans' was published on Fox Sport, for whom he commentates. O'Keefe wrote, 'I have been devastated by the reaction to my on-air comments on Fox Cricket during the recently completed Third Test between Australia and India... I was certainly not disrespecting Indian cricket, where I toured as a schoolboy and for which I have the greatest admiration as a cricketing nation.'
Such incidents have also occurred in the past and have seen a commentator suspended when the employing company judged the incident sufficiently serious. In 1997, former Australian test cricketer and then Channel 9 cricket commentator Greg Ritchie is alleged to have spat food while in Ansett's Perth Golden Wing Lounge and to have made a racial slur to an employee. Though the incident did not occur while Ritchie was commentating and though Ritchie subsequently apologised for his behaviour he was suspended for two months from Channel 9's cricket commentary team as an indication of his employer's disapproval of what he had done and desire to separate the channel from his racist conduct.
4. Cricket Australia actively supports Indigenous reconciliation
Defenders of Australian cricket against accusations of racism point to the steps Cricket Australia is taking to acknowledge Indigenous players and encourage more Indigenous sportspeople to take up the game.
In 2024 Australian Cricket's Reconciliation Action Plan for 2014 to 2018 was announced.
The plan outlined the establishment of a National Indigenous Cricket including programs to promote Indigenous participation in cricket and increase Australian Cricket's engagement with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. It undertook to complete an ANU Research Project and Report into Indigenous cricket in Australia and to set up local Indigenous advisory committees in each State and Territory as well as a National Indigenous Cricket Advisory Committee (NICAC).
The central vision of the plan was stated as 'We are deeply committed to the engagement of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as participants, fans, staff, administrators and officials. Our game plays a significant role in uniting and inspiring Australians. There is no more important endeavour to bring our nation together in reconciliation.'
The plan announced that Cricket Australia would implement formal Acknowledgement of Country and Welcome to Country ceremonies as part of Cricket Australia's events, all men's and women's international fixtures, KFC T20 Big Bash League (BBL) matches and formal meetings. They also undertook that all Cricket Australia Board members and senior management would receive training in cultural awareness to increase understanding and appreciation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and history.
The plan also includes a commitment to increase the representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people on Australian Cricket's Boards, to increase the number of scholarships provided to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander players and to develop a national mentoring program for talented Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cricket players to assist with retention.
In 2019, Cricket Australia released its second Reconciliation Action Plan, which covers the period to the end of 2021. As part of this plan, Cricket Australia began in 2020 presenting the player judged best afield in the Boxing Day Test with the Mullagh Medal. This is a replica of the belt buckle worn by the famous 1868 Aboriginal players - the first Australian cricket squad to tour England. The buckle has been converted into a medal named in honour of the star all-rounder of the team, Johnny Mullagh, In 2020 Cricket Australia also begun an annual reconciliation round for community and premier clubs. There will also be an annual international match with either the national men's or women's teams, commemorating the achievements of the 1868 team.
It has been claimed that Cricket Australia's Reconciliation Plan has already begun to have an effect. Reconciliation Australia chief executive Karen Mundine has noted there had been an eight-fold increase of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander participation in the game since 2013, from 8500 to 69,092 by July 2019. There are nine Aboriginal cricketers contracted in state and/or Big Bash teams, including Australian stars Ashleigh Gardiner and D'Arcy Short.
As p[art of the plan, Cricket Australia also wants to increase the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff it employs to two per cent by April 2022.
As an indication of commitment to reconciliation, Cricket Australia dropped the term 'Australia Day' from promotions in a bid to normalise conversations over the date's history, while three Big Bash clubs decided to wear Indigenous jerseys. A barefoot circle, Welcome to Country and smoking ceremony also took place before some games, with Cricket Australia leading the initiative backed by the clubs.
5. Cricket Australia has a set of codes that encourage inclusivity and prohibit and penalise racially and culturally discriminatory behaviour
Those who defend Cricket Australia against accusations that it is culturally and racially exclusive point to its long-standing and continuing efforts to promote inclusivity within cricket and to prohibit and penalise racially and culturally discriminatory behaviour.
In its discussion of racial discrimination within Australian sport, 'What's the score? A survey of cultural diversity and racism in Australian sport', the Australian Human Rights Commission acknowledges the range of measures that Cricket Australia has either endorsed or put in place to increase racial and cultural diversity within the game. It notes that Cricket Australia's junior cricket policy outlines a code of behaviour which identifies the key principles on which coaches, teachers, umpires, officials, parents, and players should base their cricket involvement.
The policy covers areas such as: equity and access; player development and game formats; safety and injury prevention; growing and managing junior clubs; spirit and etiquette of the
game; and codes of behaviour. The codes all state to: 'respect the rights, dignity and worth of every young person regardless of their gender, ability, cultural background or religion' and for umpires to 'give all young people a 'fair go' regardless of their gender, ability, cultural background or religion'.
The Codes of Behaviour were developed by the Australian Sports Commission's 'Active Australia' initiative and have been adapted to reflect the principles and spirit of cricket in Australia. Cricket Australia recommends the adoption of these codes by clubs and schools, with distribution of the Codes of Behaviour to all appropriate groups at the start of the current cricket season. They should apply in addition to, rather than as a substitute for, any other codes that a school, club or association may have in place.
Cricket Australia also has a racial and religious vilification code which has been adopted for all national competitions under their direct auspices. The code stipulates that 'a player will not engage in any conduct, act towards or speak to any other player in a manner, which offends, insults, humiliates, intimidates, threatens, disparages or vilifies the other player on the basis of that player's race, religion, colour, descent or national or ethnic origin'. Cricket Australia also recommends that all cricket associations, clubs and schools adopt this code and be pro-active in educating junior participants' interpretation of it.
Cricket Australia advises, where adults are involved with a breach of the code, that they
be dealt with seriously and remedial action should be a mandatory requirement by clubs and associations. In more serious cases, a conciliation procedure should be considered and conducted by a representative of the equal opportunity commission in the state where the breach has purportedly occurred. The conciliation should involve the complainant, umpire/officials who initiate the complaint, the respondent, and any supporting documentation.
In 2003, Cricket Australia's contracted players wrote a code that represents the spirit in which they seek to play the game. It states: 'we do not condone or engage in sledging or any other conduct that constitutes personal abuse' and 'we acknowledge and respect that our opponents may hold different cultural values and beliefs from our own, and value the diversity and richness this adds to the game. By treating our opponents with dignity and forging bonds of mutual respect, we will overcome any cultural barriers'.
Australian and state players are also bound by the Code of Behaviour, which includes anti-harassment, and racial and religious vilification policies. Players are briefed and educated on the code when they become contracted players.