The May 11 Edition

Who has the right to speak on matters outside their recognised realm? It’s become one of the big debates of recent times, spanning not just sport but the arts and big business, too. Should an ASX 200 CEO have proclaimed their support for gay marriage when it was up for public debate? What about for the Voice? “Stay in your lane,” is the refrain of some. Your job is to make stuff, sell it, and improve the return for shareholders. The end. Actors, writers, netballers and cricketers are just some of those who’ve fielded similar criticism when they’ve dared to speak out on matters political or contested. For all our talk about the sanctity of free speech, we tend not to like it from those we don’t agree with. Usman Khawaja finds it all so perplexing: “At what stage do you qualify to have an opinion? If you get voted into politics, suddenly you can say whatever you want? Then if you don’t, you don’t have a voice, you can’t speak up?” The Australian Test cricketer talks about all this with The Age’s chief cricket writer, Daniel Brettig, for today’s cover story. Brettig traces how Pakistan-born Khawaja found his feet in one of the country’s whitest sports – then discovered his voice. – Editor, Katrina Strickland