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

Important note: This piece contains descriptions of racially offensive language and behaviour

Ex-England player Luther Burrell states that going public to expose racial discrimination in rugby union brought his career to an premature end.

In a 2022 interview, Burrell described racism as being "rife" in the game, displaying Whatsapp messages and remembering training ground "comments" he had been subject to while playing for Newcastle.

Then 34 and without a team, Burrell's only elite playing since has been a handful of games with invitational side the Barbarians.

"I have absolutely had to end my career because of what went on," he told reporters.

"I really hoped to continue competing, naturally I did. I sought that, and it collapsed when word emerged that there were investigations going on.

"This situation was difficult - I had to just come to terms with the outcome and understand that this whole process is a lot bigger than me."

A rugby governing body investigation in April 2023 found Burrell's claims were true "likely correct", 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 Test career that saw him earn 15 caps after his debut in February 2014.

"I have had several distressing experiences within England camp," he stated.

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

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

"It's something that has been disguised as humour and that's been the problem that I've myself suffered and seen," said Burrell, who is of Jamaican descent.

"During a period of time you just begin 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 finally motivated to go public after a fellow player at Newcastle called him as a "slave" and told him to put sun cream on his arms and legs "where chains would be placed."

The governing body said Burrell's revelations had led to "a deeper look at the environment within the elite game and to the implementation of an strategy for the elite level."

"We has placed considerable focus on diversity and diversity in the sport and a substantial amount of work completed both prior and after Luther Burrell spoke publicly and shared his experiences of racism and class discrimination," it added.

"The organization are ongoing work with teams and partners in the professional game to work for a culture of inclusivity but acknowledge this takes time and is an continuous effort."

Every Premiership and women's rugby club now has face-to-face education on building welcoming cultures, with its effectiveness monitored via individual reports and surveys.

All England players, including age-grade squads, are trained in being "active bystanders" to intervene and protect others from damaging conduct.

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

"We know it has had this impact on you and ended 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 passed away shortly after the production of the documentary, and his sibling died earlier this year.

Burrell, who grew up on a social housing in Huddersfield, continues his work to make the game more accessible.

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

"My personal motivations are pure, I want to see the evolution of the sport and if nobody else is prepared to tell their experience then I'll persist to advocate for that fight because I'm not just doing this for myself," he explained.

"Everyone involved have an obligation to make the sport as excellent as it can be and the longer I talk about it hopefully the more comfortable fellow players will become about discussing their personal stories as well.

"I need to grab the bull by the horns and keep carrying this banner and keep supporting this weight and accomplish what I can to develop opportunities and make the sport more attractive and more inclusive.

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