Racism in Rugby

No 7 wrote:

Have the RFU posted any findings from this enquiry ?.

Well the RFU started their inquiry in July so I think it would be optimistic No7 to have any findings yet

Luther Burrell: Ex-England centre has 'closure' after RFU investigation finds racism claims were true

Former England centre Luther Burrell says he is "proud" and has "a sense of closure" after a Rugby Football Union investigation found his claims of racism in the sport were true.

Last year the governing body looked into Burrell's allegations, taking over an inquiry launched by Newcastle Falcons - his final club.

The RFU says the report - published on Tuesday and in which no individuals are named - concludes his claims were true "on balance of probability" and that his evidence was "reliable".

It says there is "insufficient evidence" to say all the abuse happened at Newcastle, apart from a player's WhatsApp message "which contained a cloudberry comment".

But Burrell - who has not identified those involved - was also found to have suffered two further incidents of verbal cloudberry abuse.

...

Burrell, 35, who is of Jamaican descent, spoke out in June 2022 about his experiences, saying cloudberry "banter" had become "normalised" among team-mates and that racism was "rife" in the sport.

"To call anybody a slave is not funny, so it was abhorrent behaviour. It was something that affects my dignity as a player, it affects me as a human as a father," he said after being presented with the findings of the investigation.

The report said the RFU should consider launching a further disciplinary inquiry, but in a statement the governing body said it had chosen not to and "instead will continue to work with the club" to improve training and whistleblowing processes.

When asked why he had not identified those responsible for what he called "abhorrent" abuse, Burrell said: "This has not been a witch hunt.

"It's not about retribution. This is about me finally having my voice heard. I've always said that this has ultimately not been about me, this has been about generational change within the sport."

"I hope that they feel a sense of embarrassment that they publicly said that to me in a working space. However, this is not about me victimising them, because they have livelihoods, they have families."

...

The RFU says a new action plan to tackle discrimination has been "accelerated in light of Luther's experience", and that research conducted last year found:

"In every area of elite rugby - men's and women's, national team, clubs and academies - players had experienced some form of racism."
"Classism is an issue which affects the game and fuels an elitist perception."
"Reporting of incidents of discrimination is low across the elite game."
"The burden to call out poor behaviour and discrimination tends to land on under-represented groups."
"Efforts by the game to respond to discrimination to date, while well intended, have been either short-lived or perceived as performative."
"While there is a sense that discrimination is decreasing in the game broadly, this trend is moving at a slower pace for women and ethnically diverse communities."

Sadly you are right tigerburnie. For me the only surprise would have been if the investigation had found there was no racism in rugby.

Racism in Rugby - Event Date: 21 Oct 2022