Blowing the alarm on racial discrimination terminated my professional journey - Burrell

Important note: This piece contains details of racially offensive comments and behaviour

FormerEngland centre Luther Burrell says that speaking out to expose racism in rugby union brought his career to an premature conclusion.

In a June 2022, Burrell described racism as being "rife" in the sport, 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 occurred," he told media outlets.

"I really hoped to continue competing, naturally I did. I pursued that, and it collapsed when news came out that there were investigations going on.

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

A sports organization investigation in April 2023 found Burrell's claims were accurate "likely correct", but stated it could not gather sufficient proof to definitively say they happened at Newcastle.

Burrell told journalists he also faced discrimination within the England set-up, during a international career that saw him win 15 appearances after his debut in February 2014.

"I've had several traumatic experiences within England camp," he stated.

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

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

"This is 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 believe that it's the standard and that is fine and that it's not harmful, but that's nonsense."

Burrell explains he was eventually motivated to speak out after a fellow player at Newcastle called him as a "enslaved person" and instructed him to put sunscreen on his wrists and ankles "where chains would be placed."

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 strategy for the elite level."

"We has placed considerable attention on diversity and inclusion in the sport and a great deal of work completed both prior and since Luther Burrell spoke publicly and revealed his experiences of racism and class discrimination," it added.

"The organization are continuing work with clubs and partners in the professional game to strive for a culture of acceptance but acknowledge this takes time and is an ongoing process."

Every Premiership and women's rugby club now has in-person training on creating welcoming environments, with its effectiveness monitored via individual reports and feedback.

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

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

"We know it has had this impact on you and ended your playing days, but in our eyes, you have achieved so well. We are so proud of you and to have you as a family member."

Burrell's father Geoff died shortly after the filming of the film, and his sibling died recently.

Burrell, who was raised on a social housing in his hometown, maintains his work to make the game more open.

His charitable organization works to connect with children in disadvantaged communities and help them thrive both on the pitch with free sports training, mentoring and nutrition education.

"My personal motivations are genuine, I want to see the evolution of the game and if nobody else is prepared to tell their story then I'll persist to advocate for that cause because I'm not just pursuing this for my own benefit," he explained.

"We have an obligation 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 own stories as well.

"I need to grab the challenge by the opportunity and keep carrying this flag and keep carrying this weight and do what I can to create possibilities and make the sport more appealing and more inclusive.

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