Sounding the whistle on racism cut short my career - Luther Burrell

Important note: This piece includes details of discriminatory comments and behaviour

Ex-England centre Luther Burrell says that going public to expose racism in professional rugby brought his professional journey to an early end.

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

At that time 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 happened," he told reporters.

"I wanted to continue playing, naturally I did. I sought that, and it fell through when news emerged that there were inquiries underway.

"That was challenging - I had to simply accept the fate and understand that this entire process is a lot bigger 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 definitively say they occurred at Newcastle.

Burrell revealed to media he also encountered prejudice within the England team environment, during a Test career that saw him win 15 appearances after his debut in 2014.

"I have had several 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 view.

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

"Over a period of time you just learn 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 go public after a fellow player at Newcastle referred to 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 revelations had led to "increased scrutiny at the environment within the elite game and to the introduction of an action plan for the elite level."

"The organization has placed significant focus on inclusion and diversity in the sport and a substantial amount of work completed both before and after Luther Burrell came forward and shared his encounters of racism and classism," it added.

"We are ongoing work with teams and partners in the elite level to strive for a environment of acceptance but recognize this requires patience and is an ongoing process."

All Prem and women's rugby club now has in-person education on building welcoming environments, with its effectiveness tracked via individual reports 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 should be so proud of what you have done," Burrell's mother Joyce said to 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 eyes, you have achieved so much. We are so impressed of you and to have you as a family member."

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

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

His 12 Foundation works to connect with children in under-served communities and help them succeed on and off the field with free sports training, guidance and nutrition education.

"My personal motivations are genuine, I want to see the progress of the game and if nobody else is prepared to tell their story then I'll persist to fight that cause because I'm not just pursuing this for myself," he said.

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

"I need to take the bull by the opportunity and continue carrying this flag and keep supporting this weight and accomplish what I can to develop opportunities and make the game more attractive and more inclusive.

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