CiderWire Posted October 10, 2020 Share Posted October 10, 2020 Apologies if this has been discussed elsewhere but I just wondered if people who play, played, watch, know and love the sport of Rugby League agree with Jason's train of thought? https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/sport/2020/oct/10/black-people-are-hurting-british-rugby-league-inclusivity-crisis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Futtocks Posted October 10, 2020 Share Posted October 10, 2020 3 minutes ago, CiderWire said: Apologies if this has been discussed elsewhere but I just wondered if people who play, played, watch, know and love the sport of Rugby League agree with Jason's train of thought? https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/sport/2020/oct/10/black-people-are-hurting-british-rugby-league-inclusivity-crisis I haven't seen this posted elsewhere, and it is a talking point we need to address. Let me never fall into the vulgar mistake of dreaming that I am persecuted whenever I am contradicted. Ralph Waldo Emerson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bedford Roughyed Posted October 10, 2020 Share Posted October 10, 2020 There is a great danger that we rely on our great history too much and become complacent/oblivious. History isn't a get out of jail free card, that we can throw out when anything gets uncomfortable. With the best, thats a good bit of PR, though I would say the Bedford team, theres, like, you know, 13 blokes who can get together at the weekend to have a game together, which doesnt point to expansion of the game. Point, yeah go on! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pie tries Posted October 10, 2020 Share Posted October 10, 2020 We have a proud history of inclusivity- long may that continue. Some sound and interesting points. RL been squeezed by football - and we are not awash with dosh. However our ethos remains unchanged and that is a good foundation. However, It is clear - we must do more - far more Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Futtocks Posted October 10, 2020 Share Posted October 10, 2020 2 minutes ago, Celt said: It is not continuing though. That is the point of the article. Black people don't feel included in the sport. The sport has done good things as regards inclusivity. But, according to the article, RL has been resting on its laurels. And in a country that seems to be only getting more and more intolerant and divided, we've fallen behind by (at best) standing still. And, let's face it, every sport needs as many people involved as possible, from armchair fans up to players and administrators, more than ever now. Let me never fall into the vulgar mistake of dreaming that I am persecuted whenever I am contradicted. Ralph Waldo Emerson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sports Prophet Posted October 10, 2020 Share Posted October 10, 2020 The number of minority development officers at the RFL over the past 15 years would be a telling figure. This lack of diversity has long been an issue of the past in Aus RL. The diverse nature of the NRL v SL may we’ll be a telling factor in the continued success of the Kangaroos over England. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris22 Posted October 10, 2020 Share Posted October 10, 2020 An interesting article. I was just thinking the other day that the England squad for next year's World Cup probably won't have any black players at all. Apart from the inclusivity points raised in the article, we as a sport would be stronger by drawing people from different sections of society. Look at the NRL. It's anecdotal, but there seen to be far more Pacific Island heritage players who can be classed as superstars. The NRL and international game both benefit from this. We have such an opportunity next year with Jamaica in the World Cup and playing in Leeds to tap into that community and engage them. I hope we have or are developing a strategy to capitalise on that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RigbyLuger Posted October 10, 2020 Share Posted October 10, 2020 Aside from making a TV show which has used blackface for entertainment, what experience of the hard work club foundations are doing does Simmons have, and what are his real suggestions other than "do more" Are there junior clubs in areas with higher numbers of BAME kids that aren't being helped? We do rely far too much on history though, and those who are racist within the sport don't seem to be dealt with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bedford Roughyed Posted October 10, 2020 Share Posted October 10, 2020 Some of it stems from the typical RL issue of half building something and not seeing it through, or wondering why people didn't jump on board. We were ahead of the game at one point in lots of areas at different times, diversity/inclusion, the women's game, mass participation variation (touch rugby), etc. With the best, thats a good bit of PR, though I would say the Bedford team, theres, like, you know, 13 blokes who can get together at the weekend to have a game together, which doesnt point to expansion of the game. Point, yeah go on! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Lad Posted October 11, 2020 Share Posted October 11, 2020 We could always do more to reach out to minority communities, that being said at the end of the day the best players should always be the ones that make it into the team, Whether it be club or international. I would hate to see a quota system in rugby league. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cake Tiger Posted October 11, 2020 Share Posted October 11, 2020 Yes, this topic does need addressing. I would like to think that Jason Robinson would use his high profile as a black dual code international to help rugby league solve this problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eddie Posted October 11, 2020 Share Posted October 11, 2020 If you look at where the majority of players come from west of the Pennines (Wigan, St Helens, Warrington), they aren’t areas with high ethnic minority populations so it’s no surprise that most players coming through are white. I’ve only been to Hull a couple of times but I think the situation is (to a lesser extent maybe) similar there? West Yorkshire yes agreed, though there have been a number of black players come through from West Yorks to play professionally. However are many parts of West Yorks where RL is popular (Castleford, Wakefield, Featherstone etc) also areas with high ethnic minority populations? (this is a genuine question, I don’t know the area especially well, eg in Leeds are the areas where the Rhinos are popular also areas with high levels of ethnic minority population or not?). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cerulean Posted October 11, 2020 Share Posted October 11, 2020 9 hours ago, Celt said: There are a small number of Rugby League clubs where any ethnic minorities are likely to be put off ever returning, due to the behaviour/attitudes of said clubs' fans. It has been alluded to in this forum before, but the issue quickly gets suppressed on here as the majority are unwilling to face up to it, and one of the offending clubs seems to have some kind of special protected status on here. Having seen the racial abuse visiting French fans received at one Championship club, it doesn't surprise me in the slightest that virtually no black people want to be involved in the game. As the Leon Pryce says in the article: You don't need an opinion, the facts speak for themselves. The article and the figures specifically reference the top of the sport - Great Britain, England and Super League. To turn it into an attack on targets in the Championship is odd, and probably unwise. It’s Super League which has the profile, exposure, and money to control and direct recruitment, and if there is a diversity problem, it lies with the top few clubs. Which is really what the article states. The three lower division clubs I know well all welcome, enthusiastically and utterly without prejudice, anyone with talent or interest, to play or be involved. I doubt if the lower divisions have any different diversity issues from the top division, possibly less so, because Super League’s lack of diversity is masked at the moment by its financial ability to recruit Australians and Pacific Islanders. An important article: who the game attracts, and why, is very much worth examination. And without prejudice of any kind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JM2010 Posted October 11, 2020 Share Posted October 11, 2020 I really hope the RFL take this opportunity to get into different communities. So much untapped talent being missed. It could also be an opportunity to attract kids from cities such as Manchester, Liverpool and London as they have such diverse populations. If Jason Robinson is on board then hopefully his profile can help the RFL get into these communities Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PREPOSTEROUS Posted October 11, 2020 Share Posted October 11, 2020 Generally, I would say Leeds and Huddersfield have a larger black population which would derive black players of the game. Bradford, Halifax, Dewsbury and to a lesser extent Wakefield have a larger Asian population which should derive players from such backgrounds. Belle Vue itself is in the centre of a very multicultural area of the city but I suspect we have very little engagement with these communities. Whether it's a lack of effort from the club or lack of interest from the population or maybe a bit of both. Cas and Featherstone are youre typical ex mining towns which are very white. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Number 16 Posted October 11, 2020 Share Posted October 11, 2020 Maybe it's simply that black kids choose soccer, basketball and athletics over Rugby League, ice hockey and swimming. Only 3% of the UK's population is black, though a slightly higher percentage in England, however, many RL towns have a low black population - Warrington, St Helens, Wigan, Castleford, Wakefield, Hull, Widnes, West Cumbria, Leigh, York and others. I want more of everyone playing and watching RL, and whilst I acknowledge that there are the occasional unacceptable acts (which, short of Pol Pot-style measures, will never be eradicated) I don't believe our sport has a major problem in this regard. Go enjoy your bout of self-flagellation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rupert Prince Posted October 11, 2020 Share Posted October 11, 2020 White players mingle and play with and against fellow black players regularly so i do not see any racism there. I can agree that some fans will give racial abuse, but i would say its a small ignorant minority. Its not for RL to put the world to rights ... or RU for that matter ... I dont believe our game or indeed our country is racist. From what I see I do not see Asian footballers or swimmers or rugby players. Or golfers. Or tennis players. We might expect them in squash and badminton and hockey and cricket. Why should we in the RL community beat ourselves up thanks to an inevitable Guardian article. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poower Lad Posted October 11, 2020 Share Posted October 11, 2020 What no one ever seems to say in these arguments , and I’m just pointing out is that not reflective of the percentage of black people in the UK . And also is there not onus on communities to involve themselves in activities , The sports there the teams are there get involved No ones stopping anyone in this day and age , why does a special case always need to be made Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HawkMan Posted October 11, 2020 Share Posted October 11, 2020 Black kids like any kids usually are attracted to a sport because they want to emulate their heroes. RL has few black players and of course is less fashionable than say soccer. In fact I could name an England soccer XI that had ten black outfield players and would be pretty good IMO but more interestingly, one with household names, though obviously most on this forum won't know them. But trust me they're well known. I couldn't come up with a black goalkeeper, so apart from Nick Pope, the rest are black and good and Premier League players. We need more black players in TGG. 1 .NICK POPE 2. TRENT ALEXANDER-ARNOLD 3.KYLE WALKER 4.JOE GOMEZ 5. TYRONE MINGS 6. ASHLEY MAITLAND NILES 7. KALVIN PHILLIPS 8. JADON SANCHO 9. DOMINIC CALVIN LEWIN 10. MARCUS RASHFORD 11. RAHEEM STERLING Subs. Mason Greenwood, Tammy Abraham, Reece James, Callum Hudson Odoi, Bukayo Saka. BTW, when typing this the predictive text beat me almost every time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blind side johnny Posted October 11, 2020 Share Posted October 11, 2020 In a way there is too much focus upon players and their recruitment. Where are the role models in management, refereeing, administrators and boardrooms? Please don't tell me that "they" aren't interested in these type of positions. Sport, amongst other things, is a dream-world offering escape from harsh reality and the disturbing prospect of change. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poower Lad Posted October 11, 2020 Share Posted October 11, 2020 Quick point , is Jason going to be using his profile and money to do anything about the problem that he says there is Jason Robinson running coaching sess. RFL air got a pot to ###### in so if he feels something should be done crack on pal . Incidentally I coach kids , I coach whoever turns up equally . Jason Robinson running coaching sessions is going to pull a damn sight more folks in than me . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blind side johnny Posted October 11, 2020 Share Posted October 11, 2020 55 minutes ago, Rupert Prince said: White players mingle and play with and against fellow black players regularly so i do not see any racism there. I can agree that some fans will give racial abuse, but i would say its a small ignorant minority. Its not for RL to put the world to rights ... or RU for that matter ... I dont believe our game or indeed our country is racist. From what I see I do not see Asian footballers or swimmers or rugby players. Or golfers. Or tennis players. We might expect them in squash and badminton and hockey and cricket. Why should we in the RL community beat ourselves up thanks to an inevitable Guardian article. Ignorant, definitely; minority, hopefully; small, not as small as some would like us to believe. I don't include you in this group RP but your generalisation about sports that such minorities might favour is actually symptomatic of the problem. Sport, amongst other things, is a dream-world offering escape from harsh reality and the disturbing prospect of change. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poower Lad Posted October 11, 2020 Share Posted October 11, 2020 No ones stopping anyone in this day and age , crack on but don’t blame your race or sexuality if you fail . I fail all the time it’s ok . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poower Lad Posted October 11, 2020 Share Posted October 11, 2020 Like I say Crack on Jason come up with a plan don’t just say “they should be doing more “ it starts with yourself Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poower Lad Posted October 11, 2020 Share Posted October 11, 2020 5 minutes ago, Blind side johnny said: In a way there is too much focus upon players and their recruitment. Where are the role models in management, refereeing, administrators and boardrooms? Please don't tell me that "they" aren't interested in these type of positions. No ones stopping anyone in this day and age pal . I’m in two boards of directors , we just want the best candidate could give a shiny about there creed colour or sexuality . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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