News

World Players Association welcomes FIBA’s new headgear rule

(Nyon, Switzerland)

The World Players Association today welcomed the decision of world basketball governing body FIBA to overturn its longstanding hijab ban.

FIBA’s widely anticipated decision followed a sustained lobbying effort from basketball player associations and advocacy groups such as Shirzanan, Athlete Ally and Human Rights Watch. Shirzanan, which promotes and advocates for Muslim female athletes, has championed the cause of American Bilqis Abdul-Qaadir, a former star player at the University of Memphis, who has been barred from playing for three seasons due to her commitment to wearing a hijab during games.

“Bilqis, her supporters and the players have today received the news that her campaign has succeeded. Unfortunately, the three years it has taken from her career cannot be returned,” Brendan Schwab, the Executive Director of the World Players Association said today.

“FIBA’s decision illustrates an important point: that in the debate between the specific needs of sport and human rights, human rights must always prevail. But, in so doing, so does sport. We were united in our support of Bilqis not just as a matter of human rights, but because removing the ban would make the sport bigger and more popular.”

The World Players Association believes the longstanding imposition of the ban highlights the need for international sporting bodies such as FIBA to reform their governance and practices in relation to human rights.

Schwab said, “The longstanding hijab ban in basketball demonstrates the following:

• The lack of a proper human rights policy within FIBA
• The absence of a human rights due diligence process
• The inability of a player to access a remedy when her rights were violated.

“Whilst the hijab ban has been removed, the need to address these matters continues. We will continue to seek discussions with FIBA to ensure that it follows the move of other international sporting bodies such as the International Olympic Committee, FIFA, UEFA and the Commonwealth Games Federation to start to bring their activities in line with the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.”

For further information or to arrange an interview with Brendan Schwab please contact:

Richard Elliott, Director of Communications UNI Global Union, richard.elliott@uniglobalunion.org and +41 79 794 9709

http://www.uniglobalunion.org/sectors/world-players