Maro Itoje calls for racism to be 'eradicated from rugby' after 'below standard' experiences
Racism has been experienced by players at all levels of elite rugby in England, a survey commissioned by the sport's governing bodies has revealed; An eight-month investigation was launched after Luther Burrell saw an alleged racist message in a WhatsApp group involving Premiership players
Wednesday 5 April 2023 20:09, UK
Maro Itoje says he has experienced moments that have been "below standard" as rugby confronts the findings of a damming report stating racism exists at all levels of the professional game in England.
The results of the independent research compiled at the request of the RFU, Premiership Rugby and RPA paint a damning picture of the discrimination faced within the professional game in the wake of the racial abuse faced by Luther Burrell while a player at Newcastle Falcons produced a number of alarming revelations.
Interviews with players, staff and parents of academy players found "experiences of racism in every area of elite rugby covered - men's and women's game, national team, clubs and academies".
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The report said: "Very often these took the form of inappropriate or discriminatory comments and jokes from team-mates, opposition players and coaches.
"In the majority of experiences, these were described as repeated occurrences rather than one-off incidents."
England lock Itoje is concerned by the picture emerging from around 500 interviews conducted as part of the 'Purpose Union' and 'Inclusion and Diversity Survey' projects, while touching on moments of racism endured during his own rugby career.
"Obviously that's not a great place to be, that's not what we want in our sport," Itoje said.
"As always, we need to be actively trying to be anti-racist and try to eradicate this from our sport, our game, and our lives.
"I guess I've had a few experiences where things weren't exactly what I'd have liked. I've never felt my skin colour has held me back in terms of selection, in terms of playing, of how the coaches have perceived me.
"But I guess there's been occasions with individuals throughout my time that have been below standard.
"You challenge the situation. Most people don't realise what they are saying or doing is racist until you actually explain it to them.
"Often when you explain to them 'this is what you said and it means this when you said it me', once they understand the connotation and context behind it, more often than not they realise and learn from the situation. That's how I've seen it so far.
"As a society, this is something we wrestle with from time to time. I do think there have been improvements. I do think that if you compare society today to 50 years ago, my experience growing up is a lot different from my father's experience of the time he spent in London growing up.
"There have been improvements, but this is a further reminder that we need to continue to challenge this, to make sure we're holding each other to account."
Luther Burrell: RFU investigation finds player's racism claims to be true
An independent investigation has found that Luther Burrell was the victim of racial abuse during his time at Newcastle, but the RFU has ruled out taking disciplinary action.
An eight-month investigation was launched after the former England international claimed he saw an alleged racist message in a WhatsApp group involving Premiership players.
Burrell, who is of Jamaican descent, claimed racist "banter" had become "normalised" among team-mates, that racism was "rife" in the sport and said he was subjected to comments about slavery, bananas and fried chicken.
Among the evidence gathered was a post on a players' WhatsApp group that contained a "wholly inappropriate racist term".
The RFU spoke to 93 current and former employees, including players and coaching staff, present at Newcastle Falcons - Burrell's most recent club - between 2000 and 2022 and concluded, on the "balance of probabilities", the allegations in Burrell's original interview with the Mail on Sunday were "true, but there is insufficient evidence to say whether these claims occurred at the club, [apart from] a WhatApp message that contained a racist comment."
The report also confirms, in relation to two further incidents, that Burrell "was subject to racial abuse and witnessed racial abuse that were made both orally and in the WhatsApp players group."
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