Sounding the whistle on racism ended my professional journey - Burrell

Warning: This article contains details of discriminatory comments and behaviour

FormerEngland player Luther Burrell says that speaking out to expose racial discrimination in rugby union brought his career to an early end.

In a 2022 interview, Burrell described racism as being "rife" in the sport, showing digital communications and remembering training ground "jokes" he had been subject to while representing Newcastle.

Then 34 and without a team, Burrell's only professional rugby since has been a handful of games with guest team the Barbarians.

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

"I wanted to carry on playing, of course I did. I pursued that, and it collapsed when news emerged that there were investigations underway.

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

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

Burrell told media he also faced discrimination within the England set-up, during a international career that saw him earn 15 appearances after his first game in 2014.

"I've had multiple traumatic experiences within England camp," he said.

"Certain instances of discrimination and other just old-school mentality that's really unacceptable."

Racism had become accepted in team environments, in Burrell's view.

"It's something that has been dressed up as humour and that's been the problem that I've myself experienced and seen," said Burrell, who is of Jamaican heritage.

"Over a period of time you just begin to think that it's the norm and that is fine and that it's not harmful, but that's incorrect."

Burrell says he was eventually motivated to go public after a fellow player at Newcastle called him as a "enslaved person" and told him to put sun cream on his arms and legs "where your shackles were."

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

"The organization has given considerable attention on diversity and inclusion in the sport and a great deal of work undertaken both before and since Luther Burrell spoke publicly and revealed his encounters of racism and classism," it added.

"We are continuing work with clubs and stakeholders in the professional game to work for a culture of inclusivity but acknowledge this takes time and is an continuous effort."

Every Premiership and PWR club now has face-to-face training on building welcoming cultures, with its success monitored via individual reports and feedback.

All England players, including age-grade squads, are educated in being "active bystanders" to intervene and defend others from harmful behaviour.

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

"I know it has had this effect on you and finished your playing days, but in our view, you have done so well. We are so proud of you and to have you as a son."

Burrell's father Geoff died shortly after the filming of the documentary, and his sister passed away earlier this year.

Burrell, who was raised on a council estate in his hometown, maintains his work to make the sport more accessible.

His 12 Foundation works to connect with children in disadvantaged communities and help them thrive both on the pitch with complimentary sports coaching, mentoring and dietary education.

"My personal motivations are genuine, I want to see the progress of the sport and if nobody else is prepared to share their story then I'll continue to advocate for that cause because I'm not just pursuing this for myself," he explained.

"We have an obligation to make the sport as great as it can be and the more I speak about it perhaps the more comfortable fellow players will feel about sharing their personal stories as well.

"I grab the challenge by the opportunity and keep bearing this flag and keep carrying this responsibility and accomplish what I can to develop possibilities and make the sport more attractive and more inclusive.

"There's a lot of disadvantaged children and a lot of poverty and I sincerely believe that rugby has the potential to transform their lives, just as it did for me."