Sounding the alarm on racism cut short my professional journey - Luther Burrell

Warning: This article includes details of discriminatory language and conduct

Ex-England player Luther Burrell claims that going public to expose racism in professional rugby brought his career to an early conclusion.

In a 2022 interview, Burrell described racism as being "widespread" in the game, showing Whatsapp messages and recalling training ground "comments" he had been subject to while representing 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 end my career because of what went on," he explained to media outlets.

"I wanted to continue playing, naturally I did. I pursued that, and it collapsed when word came out that there were investigations underway.

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

A rugby governing body investigation in April 2023 found Burrell's claims were true "on the balance of probability", but stated it could not gather enough proof to definitively say they happened at Newcastle.

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

"I have had multiple distressing experiences within the national team," he stated.

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

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

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

"During a period of time you just learn to think that it's the standard and that is fine and that it's not malicious, but that's nonsense."

Burrell says he was eventually motivated to go public after a team-mate at Newcastle called him as a "enslaved person" and told him to put sun cream on his wrists and ankles "where your shackles were."

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

"The organization has placed considerable focus on inclusion and inclusion in rugby union and a substantial amount of work completed both before and after Luther Burrell spoke publicly and shared his encounters of racism and classism," it continued.

"We are continuing work with clubs and stakeholders in the professional game to work for a environment of acceptance but recognize this requires patience and is an continuous effort."

Every Premiership and PWR club now has in-person education on building welcoming environments, with its effectiveness tracked via individual reports and feedback.

All England athletes, including age-grade squads, are educated in being "engaged observers" to intervene 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 documentary Luther Burrell - Rugby, Racism and Redemption.

"We know it has had this impact on you and finished your career, but in our view, you have done so much. We are so impressed of you and to have you as a son."

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

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

His charitable organization works to reach children in under-served communities and support them succeed both on the pitch with free sports training, mentoring and dietary education.

"My personal motivations are pure, I want to see the progress of the game and if nobody else is willing to share their experience then I'll persist to advocate for that cause because I'm not just pursuing this for myself," he said.

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

"I grab the challenge by the opportunity and continue bearing this banner and keep supporting this responsibility and accomplish what I can to create possibilities and make the sport more attractive and more welcoming.

"There's a lot of disadvantaged children and a lot of economic hardship and I sincerely think that the sport has the ability to transform their futures, just as it transformed things for me."