Australian Open to allow Peng Shuai shirts after backlash
FANS AT THE AUSTRALIAN OPEN have been allowed to wear “Where is Peng Shuai?” shirts as long as they are peaceful, tournament chief Craig Tiley said on Tuesday (Jan 25), after a backlash over the Grand Slam’s controversial stance.
The about-turn followed video emerging on Sunday of security staff ordering spectators to remove shirts and a banner in support of the Chinese player at Melbourne Park.
It prompted tennis legend Martina Navratilova to brand the move “pathetic”.
Peng, the former doubles world number one, is absent from Melbourne and there are fears for her wellbeing after she alleged online in November that she had been “forced” into sex by a Chinese former vice-premier during a years’ long on-andoff relationship.
Her allegation was quickly censored and the 36-year-old was not heard from for nearly three weeks, before reappearing in public in China. But there are still concerns as to whether she is free.
Tennis Australia, which organises the Australian Open, reiterated its long-standing
policy on Monday of “not allowing banners, signs or clothing that are commercial or political”.
But with pressure mounting, Tiley said “Where is Peng Shuai?” T-shirts would be permitted as long as those wearing them were peaceful, adding that security would make case-by-case assessments.
A GoFundMe page set up to raise money to print more T-shirts reached its AUS$10,000 (B236,000) goal within two days, with activists pledging to make them available to whoever wants to wear them.
Relaxation of the policy came as local media cited human rights experts as saying Tennis Australia’s stance could be unlawful.
“There does not appear to be any proper
basis for asking an attendee to remove a T-shirt that highlights a human rights issue,” barrister Michael Stanton told The Age newspaper.
The Australian government also waded in with Defence Minister Peter Dutton saying: “It’s deeply concerning and I think we should be speaking up about these issues.
“I’d encourage not just celebrities but also tennis organisations, including Tennis Australia,” he told Sky News. “It's a human rights issue about the treatment of a young woman who is claiming that she’s been sexually assaulted.”