Ashton Hewitt: Dragons rugby star pens open letter on racism

Dragons rugby star Ashton Hewitt has written an open letter inviting others who have been affected by racism in sport to share their experiences as part of the #TellYourStory campaign.

The former Cross Keys winger – who was recently targeted in a string of vile racist tweets after a New Year’s defeat to the Scarlets – wants others to join him in contributing their views to the pioneering project which is looking to bring about meaningful change and stamp out racial inequalities once and for all.

For the past two months, the #TellYourStory campaign has been offering people a safe space to tell their lived experiences of racial inequalities and racism in sport, whether as participants, athletes, coaches, volunteers, employees or parents.

Mohammad Asghar MS: “I would have expected and hoped the world had moved on from the days of direct and violent racism, and it saddens me to say, this is not the case”

A series of online forums and interviews have been conducted, and the website storiesmatter.co.uk is being used to upload written stories or videos so that participation barriers within sport, as well as career progression barriers for those wanting to work in sport, can be better understood.

The website will close at the end of January, and Hewitt is urging others not to miss out on the opportunity to highlight their experiences.

The research has been commissioned by Sport Wales and the other home nation sport councils in hope that it will provide a level of insight that has never before been available, allowing a more informed and sustainable effort in tackling racism head on.

Around 300 protesters attend anti-racism demo at Caerphilly Castle

In his open letter, Hewitt said: “As somebody who has experienced racism throughout my life, within the sport I’ve always played, I want to do what I can to ensure that younger people don’t have to experience some of the things that I did and feel the way I have felt.

“I wasn’t always confident enough to speak up on issues around racism out of fear of ‘rocking the boat’ and raising an issue that nobody else around me would understand.

“This allowed racism to continue unchecked. I also recognised that the number of role models to look up to in my sport weren’t plentiful and as I get older and look past the team, there are a lack of role models throughout entire organisations. This is something I believe must change.”

Dragons Rugby