Sounding the whistle on racial discrimination cut short my career - Luther Burrell

Warning: This article includes details of discriminatory language and behaviour

Ex-England centre Luther Burrell states that going public to expose racism in rugby union brought his career to an premature conclusion.

In a June 2022, Burrell characterized racism as being "rife" in the game, showing Whatsapp messages and remembering training ground "comments" 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 guest team the Barbarians.

"I've have absolutely had to end my career because of what happened," he explained to reporters.

"I really wanted to carry on playing, naturally I did. I pursued that, and it fell through when word came out that there were investigations going on.

"That was challenging - I had to simply accept the outcome and understand that this entire process is a lot more important than me."

A rugby governing body investigation in 2023 found Burrell's claims were accurate "on the balance of probability", but said it could not collect sufficient evidence to definitively say they happened at Newcastle.

Burrell told journalists he also encountered discrimination within the England set-up, during a international career that saw him earn 15 caps after his debut in 2014.

"I've had several distressing 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"Some discrimination and some just outdated thinking that's really inappropriate."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 view.

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

"During a period of time you just begin to believe that it's the standard and that is acceptable and that it's not malicious, but that's incorrect."

Burrell explains he was finally spurred to go public after a fellow player at Newcastle referred to him as a "slave" and instructed him to put sun cream on his arms and legs "where your shackles were."

The governing body said Burrell's disclosures had led to "a deeper look at the culture within the professional level and to the introduction of an action plan for the elite level."

"We has placed significant attention on diversity 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.

"The organization are ongoing work with clubs and stakeholders in the elite level to strive for a culture of inclusivity but recognize this requires patience and is an ongoing process."

Every Prem and PWR club now has in-person training on building welcoming cultures, with its success monitored via specific documentation and surveys.

All England players, 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 accomplished," Burrell's mother Joyce told him as part of the documentary about his experiences.

"We know it has had this effect 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 dad Geoff died soon after the production of the documentary, and his sister died recently.

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

His 12 Foundation aims to reach young people in disadvantaged communities and help them thrive both on the field with free sports training, mentoring and nutrition education.

"My intentions are genuine, I want to see the evolution of the sport and if nobody else is willing to share their story then I'll continue to advocate for that cause because I'm not just doing this for my own benefit," he said.

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

"I need to take the challenge by the horns and keep carrying this banner and keep carrying this responsibility and do what I can to develop possibilities and make the sport more attractive and more inclusive.

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