Blowing the alarm on racial discrimination terminated my career - Burrell

Warning: This piece includes details of racially offensive language and behaviour

FormerEngland player Luther Burrell claims that speaking out to reveal racial discrimination in rugby union brought his professional journey to an premature conclusion.

In a 2022 interview, Burrell characterized racism as being "widespread" in the game, displaying digital communications and remembering training ground "comments" he had been exposed to while playing for Newcastle.

Then 34 and out of contract, Burrell's only elite playing since has been a handful of games with invitational side the Barbarians.

"I've have definitely had to retire because of what happened," he told 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.

"This situation was difficult - I had to simply accept the fate and understand that this whole process is a lot bigger than me."

A sports organization report in April 2023 found Burrell's allegations were accurate "on the balance of probability", but stated it could not gather enough proof to definitively say they happened at Newcastle.

Burrell told journalists he also encountered prejudice within the England set-up, during a Test career that saw him earn 15 appearances after his first game in 2014.

"I have had multiple traumatic experiences within England camp," he stated.

"Some discrimination and some just outdated thinking that's really inappropriate."

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

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

"Over a period of time you just begin to think that it's the standard and that is acceptable and that it's not harmful, but that's nonsense."

Burrell says he was eventually spurred to speak out after a team-mate at Newcastle called him as a "slave" 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 "a deeper look at the environment within the professional level and to the implementation of an strategy for the elite level."

"We has given considerable attention on diversity and inclusion in the sport and a substantial amount of work undertaken both prior and after Luther Burrell came forward and shared his experiences of racism and classism," it added.

"We are ongoing work with teams and stakeholders in the elite level to strive for a culture of acceptance but recognize this requires patience and is an continuous effort."

Every Prem and women's rugby club now has face-to-face training on building inclusive cultures, with its effectiveness monitored via specific documentation and surveys.

All England players, including youth squads, are educated in being "active bystanders" to intervene and defend others from harmful conduct.

"You should be so pleased of what you have done," Burrell's mother Joyce told him as part of the documentary Luther Burrell - Rugby, Racism and Redemption.

"I know it has had this impact on you and finished your playing days, but in our eyes, 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 filming of the documentary, and his sibling died recently.

Burrell, who was raised on a social housing in Huddersfield, continues his work to make the game more accessible.

His 12 Foundation aims to reach young people in disadvantaged communities and support them succeed both on the field with complimentary sports coaching, mentoring and dietary education.

"My personal intentions are genuine, I want to see the progress of the sport and if nobody else is prepared to tell their experience then I'll continue to fight that fight because I'm not just pursuing this for my own benefit," he said.

"We have an obligation to make the sport as great as it can be and the longer I speak about it hopefully the more comfortable others will become about sharing their own experiences as well.

"I need to grab the bull by the horns and keep carrying this flag and continue supporting this weight and accomplish what I can to create possibilities and make the sport more attractive and more welcoming.

"There are a lot of disadvantaged young people and a lot of economic hardship and I honestly think that rugby has the ability to transform their futures, just as it did for me."