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Ashton Hewitt applauds Luther Burrell for speaking out against racism
Dragons player Ashton Hewitt has applauded Luther Burrell after the former England centre spoke out against racism in rugby union.
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The Rugby Football Union and Premiership Rugby both apologised to Burrell, who said racism was “rife” in the sport.
Newport-born Hewitt, whose father is British-Jamaican, had previously talked of racist abuse he has received.
In an interview with the Daily Mail, Burrell – who has played for clubs including Leeds, Sale, Northampton and Newcastle, plus Warrington in rugby league – spoke about dressing room racial “banter” that has “become normal” and “needs to be addressed”, including receiving comments about bananas, fried chicken and slavery and being greeted with a racial slur.
Hewitt said on Twitter: “I hope this opens the eyes of those who think rugby is exempt from social issues.
“Huge respect to @lutherburrell for the honesty.
“Hopefully it encourages others to not accept racism like so many of us have felt we have to.”
I hope this opens the eyes of those who think rugby is exempt from social issues.
Huge respect to @lutherburrell for the honesty. Hopefully it encourages others to not accept racism like so many of us have felt we have to. https://t.co/ty3jguGGpf
— Ashton Hewitt ????????? (@ashton_hewitt) June 26, 2022
Burrell added that he will “never name names but it’s gone on for too long”, and expressed his hope that speaking out would lead to change.
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He said: “My son and daughter, three and five, are mixed race. Would I be happy with them getting the same racial “banter” from their friends? Of course not.
“There are numerous players in numerous environments who have experienced it. It needs to be spoken about. Maybe it will empower the next generation to call it out and force change.”
Former England and British and Irish Lions wing Ugo Monye is chair of an independent diversity and inclusion advisory group that was established by the RFU last year.
Monye tweeted: “Bravo @lutherburrell couldn’t of been easy for you. Unfortunately a familiar tale with some uncomfortable truths.”
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RFU chief executive Bill Sweeney, meanwhile, said he had spoken with Burrell “to see if we can learn from his experience and possibly work with him as an advocate of change”.
And Premiership Rugby chief executive Simon Massie-Taylor said: “I have spoken with Luther to apologise for what he has experienced and to offer support.
“While there is a lot of positive activity in the area of equality, diversity and inclusion, this is a reminder of how far we still need to go.”
The Rugby Players’ Association also offered support for Burrell in a statement released on behalf of the RPA and RPA diversity and inclusion board.
“We applaud Luther Burrell for his decision to talk out about the racism he has encountered during his playing career,” the statement read.
“We have spoken to him and he knows he has our full support moving forward.
“There is no place for the language used against Luther, and the attitudes that reveals, either in rugby or broader society.
“His honest revelations only highlight the game’s need for meaningful conversations and education on what positive inclusive cultures should be.”
Northampton said they were “saddened and appalled” to read about their former player’s claims, but added he had not experienced any racist abuse during his time at the club.
Saints’ chief executive Mark Darbon said: “Everyone at Northampton Saints was saddened and appalled to read Luther Burrell’s comments published yesterday, detailing the racist abuse he has experienced during his playing career.
“The club condemns all forms of discrimination, and yesterday reached out to Luther to offer our support and applaud his bravery in speaking out.
“We were reassured during our conversation that Luther did not experience any racial abuse during his time at Northampton Saints. The Club will continue its ongoing work to make sure that Franklin’s Gardens remains an inclusive environment for all Northampton players, staff and supporters.”
Saints added they had invited Burrell to return to Franklin’s Gardens “to contribute towards the Diversity and Inclusion projects already being delivered by the club.
Comments on RugbyPass
Dagg is still trying to get enough headlines to make himself relevant enough to get a job. The Crusaders went back to square one at all levels. Shelve this season and nail the next one.
4 Go to commentsHe was in such great form. Sad for him but only a short term injury and it will be great to see him back for the finals.
1 Go to commentsAfter their 5/0 start, I had the Crusaders to finish Top 4 only…they lost the plot in Perth but will reload and back themselves vs 4th placed Rebels…
3 Go to commentsBoth nations missed a great opportunity to book a game that would have had a lot of interest from around the world. I understand these games can’t be organised in 5 minutes but they should have found a way to make it happen. I don’t think Wales are ducking anyone but it’s a bad look haha.
3 Go to commentsIt will be fascinating to see the effect that Jo Yapp has. If they can compete with Canada and give BFs a run for their money that will be progress
1 Go to commentsFollowing his dream and putting in the work. Go well young fella!
3 Go to commentsPerhaps filling Twickenham is one of Mitchell’s KPIs. I doubt whether both September matches will be at Twickenham on consecutive weekends. I would take the BF one to a large provincial stadium so as not to give them the advantage and experience of playing at Twickenham before a large crowd prior to the RWC.
3 Go to commentsvery unfortunate for Kitshoff, but big opportunity potentially for Nché to prove he is genuinely the best loosehead in the world, rather than just a specialist finisher. Presuming that if Kitshoff is out, it will also give Steenekamp a chance to come into the 23? Or are others likely to be ahead of him?
1 Go to commentsA long held question in popular culture asks if art imitates life or does the latter influence the former? Over this 6 nations I can ask the same question of the media influencing the thoughts of its audience or vice versa. Nobody wants to see cricket scores in rugby, as a spectacle it is not sustainable. With so many articles about England’s procession and lack of competition it feeds the epicaricacy of many looking for an opportunity to pounce. England are not the first team to dominate nor does it happen only in rugby, think Federer, Nadal, Red Bull or Mercedes, Manchester Utd, Australia in tests and World Cups. Instead of celebrating the achievements why find reasons to falsify it pointing towards larger playing pool, professional for a longer period or mitigate with the lack of growth in other nations. Can we not enjoy it while it is here and know that it won’t last for ever, others coveting what England have will soon take the crown, ask the aforementioned?
6 Go to commentsShame he won’t turn out for the Netherlands now they’re improving. U20s are Euro champs and in the U20 Trophy this year. The senior sides gets better every year too.
3 Go to commentsWill rugbypass tv be showing these games?
1 Go to commentsWell where do you start, the fact that England have a professional domestic league and Ireland’s is fully amatuer, that they have fully seperated professional squads at Fifteens and Sevens (7’s thinly disguised as GB), and Ireland have fully pro Sevens squad who loan some players back to the Semi-Professional Fifteens squad (moved from amateur for only a year or so) for a few games at 6N & RWC’s. The Women’s games is a shambles, and is at risk of killing itself by pushing for professionalism when the market isn’t really there to support it outside one or two countnries..
6 Go to commentsWayne Smith's input didn't have as much impact on the last final as Davison's red card for Thompson. England were 14 points up and flying when that happened.
6 Go to commentsBilly's been playing consistently well for 2 - 3 seasons now and deserves a look in at the top level. Ioane and ALB are still first choice but there needs to be injury cover and succession. His partnership with Jordie gives him first dibs you'd think. Go the Hurricanes.
3 Go to commentsIt’s not up to Wales to support Georgian Rugby. That’s up to International Rugby and Georgia. I sympathise with Georgia’s decent attempt to create this fixture. But for Wales the proposed match up is just a potential stick to beat them with and a potential big psychological blow that young Welsh team doesn’t need. (I’m Irish BTW.)
3 Go to commentsCale certainly looks great in space, but as you say, he has struggled in contact. At 23 years old, turning 24 this year, he should be close to full physical maturity and yet there exists a considerable gap in the power and physicality required for international rugby. Weight doesn’t automatically equate to power and physicality either. Can he go from a player who’s being physically dominated in Super rugby to physically dominating in international rugby in 1 or 2 years? That’s a big ask but he may end up being a late bloomer.
37 Go to commentsIf rugby wants to remain interesting in the AI era then it will need to work on changing the rules. AI will reduce the tactical advantage of smart game plans, will neutralize primary attacking weapons, and will move rugby from a being a game of inches to a game of millimetres. It will be about sheer athleticism and technique,about avoiding mistakes, and about referees. Many fans will find that boring. The answer is to add creative degrees of freedom to the game. The 50-22 is an example. But we can have fun inventing others, like the right to add more players for X minutes per game, or the equivalent of the 2-point conversion in American football, the ability to call a 12-player scrum, etc. Not saying these are great ideas, but making the point that the more of these alternatives you allow, the less AI will be able to lock down high-probability strategies. This is not because AI does not have the compute power, but because it has more choices and has less data, or less-specific data. That will take time and debate, but big, positive and immediate impact could be in the area of ref/TMO assistance. The technology is easily good enough today to detect forward passes, not-straight lineouts, offside at breakdown/scrum/lineout, obstruction, early/late tackles, and a lot of other things. WR should be ultra aggressive in doing this, as it will really help in an area in which the game is really struggling. In the long run there needs to be substantial creativity applied to the rules. Without that AI (along with all of the pro innovations) will turn rugby into a bash fest.
24 Go to commentsSouth Africa rarely play Ireland and France on these tours. Mostly, England, Scotland and Wales. I wonder why
2 Go to commentsIt was a let’s-see-what-you're-made-of type of a game. The Bulls do look good when the opposition allows them to, but Munster shut them down, and they could not find a way through. Jake should be very worried about their chances in the competition.
2 Go to commentsHats off to Fabian for a very impressive journey to date. Is it as ‘uniquely unlikely’ as Rugby Pass suggests, given Anton Segner’s journey at the Blues?
3 Go to comments