Sounding the whistle on racism terminated my professional journey - Burrell

Warning: This article includes details of racially offensive comments and behaviour

Ex-England player Luther Burrell claims that going public to expose racial discrimination in rugby union led his professional journey to an premature conclusion.

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

Then 34 and out of contract, Burrell's only professional rugby since has been a handful of games with guest team the Barbarians.

"I have absolutely had to retire because of what occurred," he told reporters.

"I really hoped to carry on competing, of course I did. I pursued that, and it fell through when word came out that there were inquiries going on.

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

A rugby governing body investigation in April 2023 found Burrell's allegations were true "on the balance of probability", but said it could not gather sufficient evidence to categorically say they happened at Newcastle.

Burrell told journalists he also faced prejudice within the England team environment, during a Test career that saw him earn 15 appearances after his debut in 2014.

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

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

Racism had become normalised in team environments, in Burrell's experience.

"It's something that has been disguised as banter 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 norm 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 "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 "a deeper look at the culture within the professional level and to the implementation of an action plan for the elite level."

"The organization has placed considerable attention on inclusion and diversity in rugby union and a great deal of work completed both before and since Luther Burrell spoke publicly and shared his experiences of racism and classism," it continued.

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

Every Prem and women's rugby club now has in-person education on building inclusive cultures, with its effectiveness tracked via specific documentation and surveys.

All England athletes, including age-grade squads, are trained in being "active bystanders" to step in and defend others from damaging behaviour.

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

"I know it has had this effect on you and finished your career, but in our eyes, you have done so well. We are so proud of you and to have you as a family member."

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

Burrell, who grew up on a council estate in Huddersfield, maintains his work to make the sport more open.

His charitable organization works to connect with young people in under-served communities and help them succeed both on the pitch with complimentary sports coaching, mentoring and dietary education.

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

"We have an responsibility to make the game as excellent as it can be and the more I talk about it hopefully the more confident fellow players will feel about discussing their own experiences as well.

"I need to grab the bull by the horns and keep carrying this flag and keep supporting this weight and do what I can to create possibilities and make the game more attractive and more inclusive.

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