Pardeep Nagra can go into a Canadian boxing ring and compete wearing the beard that is the article of his Sikh faith.
Ironically, Nagra's bearded lawyer Chris Leafloor -- who helped Nagra obtain yesterday's court order that permits him to box -- would be required to be clean shaven if he wanted to box.
The order, signed in Ontario Superior Court by Madam Justice Wailan Low, specifies that the Canadian Amateur Boxing Association must permit any boxer who wears a beard by reason of his legitimate and bona fide religious belief to participate in CABA-sanctioned events.
But boxing's rules can still discriminate against a beard worn for aesthetic reasons, Leafloor said, who wears a beard simply because he likes it.
"It was discrimination on the basis of an article of religion that we were fighting," Leafloor said at a news conference yesterday.
Anne Lowthian, executive director of the World Sikh Organization, called yesterday's court order a win for all Canadians in that it defends the right to religion as expressed in the Canadian charter.
"It's not just for Sikh Canadians. It applies to anyone who wears a beard for religious purposes. It could be an Orthodox Jew, a Muslim . . . anyone who, for a legitimate religious reason, wears a beard," she said.
Nagra has fought seven times in the light flyweight class, with a record of two wins, three losses and two classed as exhibitions. He was stopped from competing in the Canadian championships at Campbell River, B.C. last month because of a rule calling for athletes to be clean shaven.
The rule is based on a medical concern that a stray hair from a beard may cause an abrasion on the eye. But the court heard arguments that facial hair and body hair -- not covered by the rule -- are equally dangerous.
"The order has been a long time coming. It's been three years for me," said Nagra, who had previously obtained two human-rights rulings in his favour and was allowed to box in Ontario matches wearing a net on his beard.
"It's a necessary first step to allow me to compete. It has been a distraction. Now I want to be able to concentrate on boxing."
Lowthian said that while the court order is binding in Canada, the next step would be for other jurisdictions to take similar steps and join forces to push the International Amateur Boxing Association to change its rule before the Sydney Olympics.
"The rules have been there a long time, but that doesn't preclude modernization," she said. She wants to get federal Heritage Minister Sheila Copps and Secretary of State for Amateur Sport Denis Coderre onside to add weight to the bid to change the international rule.
"And, if necessary, we'd register a similar procedure in a Sydney courtroom."
Nagra can fight in his division of the Canadian championships Jan. 20 and 21 in St. Catharines, Ont.
"If I don't make the Olympic Games, I'll continue both fights -- in the ring, the dream to have a national championship; and outside the ring, to get the rule changed, so no other human being has to go through this hardship."
Nagra, who has never shaved, said his beard represents "my personal sovereignty and my personal responsibility that I must serve the community and those in need. It's a significant part of who I am."