Outta The Court, Feb 12, 2019 - Human Rights And Sport

Court is in session! Criminal lawyer Adam Goodman is joined by Barry Davis to discuss Pardeep Nagra, a Sikh boxer, who was asked to shave his beard to continue to box professionally in 1999. The Canadian amateur boxing association refused to let him box, so Pardeep and his lawyers took his case to the Ontario Superior Court. Should a lawyer go to court or a tribunal for issues of this nature? Are these rules, put in place by the CABF, fair? Is it simply there for aesthetic reasons? Does wearing a beard jeopardize the safety of the competitors? How would the precedents set by this case affect future cases in other sports and situations regarding rules and regulations that cross over into civil rights? These questions and lengths to which the Canadian Amateur Boxing Federation went to prevent Pardeep from boxing are unpacked. The ripples from this story inspired the movie Tiger, so its roots run deep into the public sphere. All that and more… Its all laid out for you on Outta The Court.