NEW YORK—The International Basketball Federation, also known as FIBA, has relaxed some of its requirements that had barred Sikh players from taking part in the sport while wearing turbans. In a meeting held earlier today, FIBA announced that a two year test phase has been put into place in which exceptions for headgear will be allowed under some circumstances.
Sikh organizations, particularly SALDEF and Sikh Coalition, ran a successful #LetSikhsPlay social media campaign, urging the international basketball federation to not bar Sikh players due to their religious head covering. The campaign was backed by a petition endorsed by over 60,000 signatures. A number of renowned personalities, including Daler Mehndi and Milkha Singh also supported the petition and urged FIBA to re-consider it’s headgear policies.
Stating that the FIBA ruling falls short of expectations, SALDEF stated that along with Sikh Coalition, they will follow-up with FIBA to understand exactly how the new rules will apply to Sikhs. SALDEF has identified several major problems with FIBA’s “headgear exception”:
- Religious exceptions still cannot be granted for international matches. Thus, Sikh athletes may still be forced to remove their turbans if they participate in matches outside of India.
- FIBA will wait until 2015 to decide whether to allow religious exceptions for matches at the “lowest official international level.” Thus, it is not clear whether Sikh athletes would be allowed to wear turbans during championship games.
- FIBA will decide whether to implement permanent changes to its religious accommodation policy in 2016. Thus, after FIBA completes its two-year “trial period,” it still reserves the right to ban religious headcoverings.
In a press statement issued on its website, FIBA has announced that in response to the various requests received, the Central Board held in-depth discussions regarding rules about uniforms and decided to put a testing phase into place for the next two years that will consist of:
- Relaxing the current rules regarding headgear in order to enable national federations to request, as of now, exceptions to be applied at the national level within their territory without incurring any sanctions for violation of FIBA’s Official Basketball Rules. National Federations wishing to apply for such an exception to the uniform regulations shall submit a detailed request to FIBA. Once approved, they shall submit follow-up reports twice a year to monitor the use of such exceptions.
- The players will be allowed to play in FIBA endorsed 3×3 competitions – both nationally and internationally – wearing headgear without restrictions, unless the latter presents a direct threat to their safety or that of other players on the court. Players wishing to take part in such competitions with headgear must ensure that a detailed request for approval is addressed to FIBA.
“FIBA has taken a step towards change, but this policy alteration will continue to lead to an unequal playing field,” said Jasjit Singh, executive director of the Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund (SALDEF). “We hope that FIBA will soon recognize Sikhs, Muslims and Orthodox Jews can freely play with their respective articles of faith, without process or paperwork and beyond their home countries and ask all to join us as we tell FIBA to let Sikhs play freely.”
More details are available here: http://www.fiba.com/news/pr-
