Show Racism the Red Card
Yesterday afternoon, I joined with colleagues and campaigners to celebrate the good work of Show Racism the Red Card and community organisations like Citizens UK in tackling racism in our sports and the need for anti-racism to be incorporated into the national school curriculum.
It was encouraging to listen to former England rugby player, Luther Burrell, talk about his personal experience of racism in the game during the meeting of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for 'Show Racism the Red Card'. I recall speaking to him last year about his experiences at the club level and the levels of (or lack of) support he gained from those in powers of authority within the Rugby Football Union.
It is clear that on occasions, our sporting leaders have failed to tackle racism with the seriousness it needs, but I do not think we should point the finger at just one club or just one sport.
We should be asking where discrimination, inequality and barriers to access exist in other sports and in other parts of life. We should be addressing the systemic issues not just on a case-by-case basis.
Let us work together to tackle racism and discrimination at all levels and across all varieties of sport.
