Blowing the whistle on racism terminated my professional journey - Burrell

Warning: This article contains descriptions of discriminatory comments and conduct

Ex-England centre Luther Burrell states that going public to reveal racial discrimination in professional rugby brought his professional journey to an early end.

In a June 2022, Burrell described racism as being "widespread" in the game, showing digital communications and remembering training ground "jokes" he had been exposed to while playing for Newcastle.

Then 34 and without a team, Burrell's only elite playing since has been a handful of games with invitational side the Barbarians.

"I have definitely had to end my career because of what happened," he explained to media outlets.

"I wanted to carry on playing, of course I did. I pursued that, and it fell through when news came out that there were investigations underway.

"That was challenging - I had to just come to terms with the outcome and understand that this whole situation is a lot more important than me."

A sports organization investigation in April 2023 found Burrell's claims were true "on the balance of probability", but stated it could not gather sufficient evidence to definitively say they occurred at Newcastle.

Burrell revealed to media he also faced prejudice within the England set-up, during a Test career that saw him win 15 caps after his debut in February 2014.

"I have had multiple traumatic experiences within the national team," he stated.

"Some discrimination and other just old-school mentality that's really inappropriate."

Racism had become accepted in dressing rooms, in Burrell's experience.

"It's something that has been disguised as banter and that's been the problem that I've myself experienced and witnessed," said Burrell, who is of Jamaican descent.

"During a period of time you just learn to believe that it's the norm and that is acceptable and that it's not malicious, but that's nonsense."

Burrell says he was eventually motivated to speak out after a fellow player at Newcastle called him as a "slave" and told him to put sunscreen on his wrists and ankles "where your shackles were."

The governing body said Burrell's revelations had led to "increased scrutiny at the culture within the professional level and to the introduction of an action plan for the professional game."

"The organization has given significant attention on diversity and diversity in the sport and a substantial amount of work completed both before and after Luther Burrell spoke publicly and shared his experiences of racism and classism," it added.

"We are continuing work with teams and stakeholders in the professional game to strive for a culture of inclusivity but acknowledge this takes time and is an ongoing process."

All Prem and women's rugby club now has face-to-face training on building welcoming environments, with its effectiveness monitored via individual reports and surveys.

All England athletes, including youth squads, are trained in being "engaged observers" to intervene and defend others from damaging behaviour.

"You be so pleased of what you have done," Burrell's mother Joyce said to him as part of the film about his experiences.

"I know it has had this impact on you and ended your career, but in our view, you have done so much. We are so proud of you and to have you as a family member."

Burrell's father Geoff passed away shortly after the production of the film, and his sibling passed away recently.

Burrell, who grew up on a social housing in his hometown, maintains his work to make the sport more accessible.

His charitable organization aims to reach children in under-served communities and support them succeed on and off the field with complimentary sports training, guidance and nutrition education.

"My personal motivations are genuine, I want to see the evolution of the sport and if others is prepared to tell their experience then I'll persist to fight that fight because I'm not just pursuing this for my own benefit," he said.

"We have an responsibility to make the game as great as it can be and the more I speak about it perhaps the more confident others will become about sharing their personal experiences as well.

"I take the bull by the opportunity and continue bearing this flag and keep supporting this weight and do what I can to create possibilities and make the sport more attractive and more inclusive.

"There's a lot of disadvantaged young people and a lot of economic hardship and I sincerely think that rugby has the ability to change their lives, just as it transformed things for me."