Former England centre Luther Burrell says that speaking out about the racism he had endured playing rugby ended his career in the sport.
In 2023, an independent investigation found that Burrell was the victim of racial abuse during his time at Newcastle Falcons (now Newcastle Red Bulls).
The investigation concluded that the allegations were true “on the balance of probability” but said it could not collect enough evidence to definitively say they occurred at Newcastle, and the Rugby Football Union (RFU) chose not to take any disciplinary action.
The previous year, the 15-cap England international, who is of Jamaican descent, had spoken to The Mail on Sunday about the racism he endured at Newcastle and said he was subjected to comments about slavery, bananas and fried chicken, adding that “racial banter” had become “normalised” among teammates.
Among the evidence gathered by the inquiry was a post on a players’ WhatsApp group that contained a “wholly inappropriate racist term”.
Burrell spent the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons at Kingston Park, departing in June at the end of his contract shortly after making the abuse he faced public, and the only professional rugby game he has played since is three appearances with invitational side the Barbarians.
He was 34 at the time of the allegations and is adamant that speaking out about racism played a pivotal role in his inability to earn another contract in the sport.
“I have absolutely had to retire because of what went on,” said Burrell in an interview with BBC Sport. “I wanted to carry on playing, of course I did. I pursued that, and it fell through when word came out that there were investigations going on.
“That was difficult – I had to just accept the fate and accept that this whole process is a lot bigger than me.”
Burrell won 15 England caps between 2014 and 2016, scoring four tries, with three of those coming during the 2014 Six Nations. Those caps all came during a successful seven-year spell with Northampton Saints where he won the Premiership and the European Challenge Cup at the end of the 2013-14 campaign.
He then moved to Newcastle in September 2020, after a short spell in rugby league with Warrington Wolves, and hasn’t found a new club since leaving Kingston Park three years ago.
The now-37-year-old also opened up about the prejudice he feels he faced in the England set-up and says that racism had become normalised in rugby dressing rooms.
“I’ve had several traumatic experiences within England camp,” added Burrell. “Some discrimination and some just old-school mentality that’s really unacceptable.
“[Racism] is something that has been dressed up as banter and that’s been the problem that I’ve personally suffered and seen. Over a period of time, you just learn to believe that it’s the norm and that is fine and that it’s not malicious, but that’s nonsense.”
Burrell says he finally decided to speak out after a Newcastle teammate referred to him as a “slave” and told him to put sun cream on his ankles and wrists “where your shackles were”. He insisted throughout the investigation that he was keen to institute change within rugby, rather than targeting individuals for punishment.
That informed the RFU’s decision not to take any disciplinary action, although it insists that his revelations led to “a deeper look at the culture within the elite game and to the implementation of an action plan for the professional game”.
It added: “The RFU has placed significant focus on inclusion and diversity in rugby union and a great deal of work has been undertaken both before and since Luther Burrell came forward and shared his experiences of racism and classism,” it added.
“We are continuing work with clubs and stakeholders in the professional game to strive for a culture of inclusivity, but acknowledge this takes time and is an ongoing process.”
Every top-flight men’s and women’s club in England now has face-to-face education on building inclusive cultures, with success monitored via reports and surveys, and Burrell is still working to improve things in the sport, with his 12 Foundation helping children in underserved communities on and off the pitch.
“My intentions are pure, I want to see the evolution of the game and if nobody else is prepared to share their story, then I’ll continue to fight that fight because I’m not just doing this for myself,” added Burrell, who grew up on a council estate in Huddersfield.
“We have an obligation to make the sport as great as it can be and the more I talk about it hopefully the more comfortable others will feel about sharing their own stories as well.
“I need to grab the bull by the horns and keep carrying this flag and keep carrying this weight and do what I can to create opportunities and make the sport more attractive and more inclusive. There’s a lot of underprivileged children and a lot of poverty and I honestly believe that rugby has the ability to transform their lives, just as it did for me.”
