Speaking Up: The Crucial Role of Whistleblowing in Sports

Sport is a common central pillar of so many communities, whether it be participating or spectating people come together for their favourite competitions. It is therefore extremely harmful when people are excluded from their sport of choice because they have chosen to raise concerns about the conduct of people within the sport itself and receive backlash.

One of the most common issues raised by sporting whistleblowers is concerns around safeguarding. High profile cases such as that of Azeem Rafiq, the British Cricketer who blew the whistle on racism within English Cricket, or the safeguarding scandal within USA Gymnastics, demonstrate the magnitude of the issues which can exist in a sport.

Additionally, the contract model associated with most sports, where players can be fired for DEBATABLE reasons or not have their typically short term contracts renewed, entrenches a strong incentive to stay silent and not be labelled a troublemaker.

Compounding this effect at the top level of many sports is the small amount of ‘places’ available and the close knit community. English professional rugby has only 13 teams to choose from, and there are currently only 20 seats for driving in Formula 1 as the top bracket of open wheeled racing. Such small communities breeds extreme competition, and being labelled as a whistleblower is more than enough to end your career in many cases.

The Whistleblowing Bill aims to expand whistleblower protections to everyone in the UK, including those who are employed in these short term high pressure contracts so commonly found in sport. The Bill also clearly outlines common methods of detriment levelled at whistleblowers, such as blacklisting and workplace bullying, and makes the people inflicting this detriment criminally liable for their behaviour.

We hope that passing this legislation will put an end to this ongoing behaviour in so many sectors, allowing whistleblowers to raise their concerns with confidence.