ICC to use ‘common sense’ to deal with Floyd death protests

NEW DELHI, (Reuters) – The International Cricket Council (ICC) will take a “common sense approach” to deal with any potential Black Lives Matter protests by the players, the governing body said yesterday.

A growing number of athletes have joined the worldwide protests following the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who died in police custody last month after a white police officer knelt on his neck.

The ICC usually does not allow players to display messages “relating to political, religious or racial activities” but has joined soccer’s governing body FIFA in being governed by “common sense”.

“The ICC stands against racism and is proud of the diversity of our sport,” an ICC spokesperson said in a statement mailed to Reuters.

The ICC made India’s Mahendra Singh Dhoni remove an army insignia from his wicketkeeping gloves at last year’s World Cup, while England’s Moeen Ali was banned from wearing wristbands featuring the slogans “Save Gaza” and “Free Palestine” in 2014.