‘Don’t Gaslight Me’ – Usman Khawaja Speaks Out on Racial Bias at Retirement Presser

Usman Khawaja has spoken in strong words about the racial criticism he received throughout his career. He shared plenty of statements at the press conference, where he also announced his retirement from international cricket. The upcoming Sydney test will be his last appearance for Australia, provided he gets selected in the final squad.

Speaking at the press conference, Usman Khawaja said that he always felt a bit different in society, even after becoming a top Australian test cricketer. However, he still remains proud of his background and will always be thankful for it.

"I've always felt a little bit different, even to now. I'm a colored cricketer. The Australian cricket team is, in my opinion ... that's our best team. It's our pride and joy. But I've also felt very different in a lot of respects, different by the way I've been treated, different for how things have happened.” said Usman Khawaja at the press conference.

He then spoke about the racial criticism he received at the start of the Ashes series. Those remarks were not about his performances, but they targeted him on a personal level.

"I had back spasms, and that's something I couldn't control. But the way the media and the past players came out and attacked me, I could have copped it for two days, but I copped it for about five days straight. And it wasn't even about my performances.” said Usman Khawaja.

"It was about something very personal, it's about my preparation. And the way everyone came at me about my preparation, it was quite personal in terms of things like, he's not committed to the team, he was only worried about himself, he played this golf comp the day before, he's selfish, he doesn't train hard enough, he didn't train with them the day before the game, he's lazy. These are the same stereotypes, the racial stereotypes I've grown up with my whole life.” added Usman Khawaja.

Usman then said that his perception was wrong that people have become more mature over a period of time. Unfortunately, this isn’t the reality, as some people haven’t moved past it, which is quite worrying and frustrating for him.

"I just thought that the media and the old players and everyone else had moved past it, but we obviously haven't fully moved past it, because I've never seen anyone being treated like that in the Australian cricket team before." said Usman Khawaja.

Dealing With Unfair Media Criticism

In the past, several Australian cricketers got injured due to playing golf. Usman Khawaja too became a victim of it at the start of the current series, which drew plenty of media criticism towards him. He said the remarks he received had racial undertones, which made him utterly disappointed.  

"There's still a little bit out there, which I still have to fight every single day, which is the frustrating thing for me. I can give you countless number of guys who play golf the day before and have been injured. You guys haven't said a thing. No one else said a thing.” said Usman Khawaja.

"I can give you even more, probably guys who've had 15 schooners the night before and then got injured. No one said a word. That's all right. They're just being Aussie larrikins, right? They're just being lads. So for me, that was the frustrating part. But when I get injured, everyone went at my credibility and who I am as a person." added Usman Khawaja.

He then gave another example from last summer, when he missed the final round of the Sheffield Shield season due to a hamstring injury. Because of that, he received plenty of negative remarks, whereas other players who were not playing the match did not come under the radar.

"You guys had a crack at me for missing a game, yet plenty of my team-mates, who were not playing, you didn't say a word to them. So for me, I've been dealing with this stuff a long time. And for me, I know I'm up here talking about topics and people are like, okay, Uzzy's here, he's playing the race card again, but don't gaslight me.” said Usman Khawaja.

"I felt that I had to bring this up. I didn't want to talk about this, but I just want the journey for the next Usman Khawaja to be different. I want you to treat him or her all the same, not have racial stereotypes of who they might be. Treat them with the same cloak that you would treat any of my wholesome other cricketers that I play with." concluded Usman Khawaja.