‘Asians cannot wear turbans in the scrum’:
explorations of racist discourse within
professional rugby league
JONATHAN LONG, BEN CARRINGTON and KARL SPRACKLEN
School of Leisure and Sports Studies, Leeds Metropolitan University, Beckett Park, Leeds
LS6 3QS UK
Since sport is accorded such a signiŽcant position within national popular culture, it
assumes corresponding importance in producing, reproducing and challenging racial
myths. This paper explores how dominant notions of black physicality are embedded
in sports practice and how such assumptions may be challenged. To do this we shall
offer a critique of existing literature and, importantly, draw on empirical evidence
from a recent study of the nature and extent of racism in rugby league. Together
these allow us to explore tacit racism, that which is hidden and normalized by
language and culture. At the heart of this are stereotypes of ‘race’ and racial qualities,
created by white hegemonic culture with their signiŽcance perpetuated by society,
including the people who experience the stereotyping. These cultural productions
maintain inequalities even after the caricatures they portray may have changed. We
examine how these historically speciŽc images are formed and justiŽed (and thereby
normalized) and how they have material effects through the actions of coaches,
managers, chairmen and players. Finally, we shall review how the sports arena can be
used to challenge racist stereotypes to offer necessary, though not sufŽcient,
conditions to begin to change social relations more generally.
Introduction
A succession of recent, high proŽle events have once again drawn attention to
the sensitive issue of racism in sport, which otherwise seeks to present itself as
the arena of fair play. An article by Robert Henderson (1995) in Wisden
Cricket Monthly suggesting that black players were psychologically inhibited
from giving of their best when playing for England was soon followed by
Roger Bannister’s thesis on genetic superiority (Connor, 1995), England and
Australia traded accusations over racial abuse on the pitch during the rugby
league world cup, and then Devon Malcolm reacted angrily to the abuse he
received from Raymond Illingworth. More positively the Let’s Kick Racism
Out of Football campaign periodically manages to command attention,
though never of the same intensity as the more acrimonious issues.
The most blatant examples of institutional racism have been banished from
sport and contemporary expressions of racism are now more likely to be
justiŽed in terms of ‘common sense’ or ‘natural’ attributes. Even those
incidents that seem to be clearest examples of racist behaviour are explained
Leisure Studies 16 (1997) 249–259 0261–4367
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by some as having ‘just cause’. We are concerned here to disentangle some of
the less obvious aspects of racism.1 Here we supplement our critique of other
research with data from a study conducted on behalf of the Rugby Football
League, the Commission for Racial Equality and Leeds City Council (Long et
al., 1995), and further work in the Želd by the authors. Although we
concluded that overt expression of racism is less of a problem that in some
sports, there is still cause for concern.
On racism in sport: born to win, forced to win
Although most of the genetic arguments regarding racial predisposition to
success in sport were countered 20 years ago (e.g. Edwards, 1973; Phillips,
1976), their popularity persists; indeed, there was not a lot new in Bannister’s
treatise. The resilience of such rationalizations in the face of compelling
argument suggests that they must appeal at a deep psychological level to
many people or, alternatively, are convenient to many (sometimes including
black athletes themselves).
Much of the earlier research into racism within sports tended to focus on
the effects of school teachers stereotyping young Asian and black children.
Carrington (1983), for example, found that there was evidence of teachers
‘channelling’ young black children into sports at school, at the expense of
their academic studies, as they saw black children as having ‘skills of the body
rather than skills of the mind’ (p. 61). Conversely, Asian pupils have been
seen as biologically ‘unsuited’ to physical education and the competitive
demands of contact sports. Fleming (1995, p. 99) suggests that the stereotype
of the ‘racket-sport South Asian’ has emerged, arguing that the only sports
which Asians can play, and to which they are naturally suited, are sports such
as hockey or badminton.
A number of studies have also shown that racist practices are evident
within elite-level sport in Britain. Overt racism, in the form of abuse, has been
documented against black sportsmen and there is further evidence of
discrimination in the treatment of black players by coaches and managers
(e.g. the recent complaints against Bobby Gould, manager of the Wales soccer
team). Many black athletes have complained of how they have had to be
‘twice as good’ as white players in order to be selected for teams (see
Cashmore, 1982). Black people are also notably absent from positions of
power within sports governing bodies, as administrators, managerial and
coaching staff, even when there are signiŽcant numbers of black players in the
particular sport. Among others, Maguire (1991) found evidence of ‘stacking’
(the disproportionate allocation of black and ethnic minorities players to
particular positions and almost complete lack of representation in others
because of perceived racial attributes) in both rugby union and association
football. He also identiŽed stereotyped attitudes held by managers and
coaches concerning the physical and mental abilities of black players.
Similarly, Holland (1995) has shown the large degree to which racism, or
more precisely racial abuse, is commonplace in football grounds, affecting
Racist discourse within rugby league
251
those few black spectators that do go to games, black players themselves, and
members of ethnic minorities living close to the grounds.
Although there are fewer Asians playing elite-level sports in Britain there is
still ample evidence that overt and individual racism is prevalent, and that
racist views towards Asians are present in many sports (see Long et al., 1995,
and Fleming, 1995).
Rugby league and black involvement
In this country rugby league is played predominantly in parts of the industrial
north of England, and is associated with the working class (Moorhouse,
1989). Contrary to the opinion of rugby union commentators, rugby league
is not ‘the professional code’ of the game of (until recently) amateur rugby
union. Besides the fact that the games are different, rugby league is
predominantly amateur, with over 1400 amateur teams as opposed to the 35
clubs of the professional Rugby Football League (Moorhouse, 1995). Until
the advent of the Super League, only the top three clubs in the RFL were
professional full time. In this country the game’s roots in the industrial parts
of the north have given it a parochial, alien identity in the sporting culture of
the nation, although it is arguably one of the most popular sports in Australia
and the South PaciŽc, and the national sport of Papua New Guinea.
Like many other sports, rugby league can trace black involvement on the
pitches to its early years. However, it was not until the 1950s that black
players became more than just an ‘exotic’ footnote in history. Part of this
involvement was due to black Welshmen, such as the famous Billy Boston of
Wigan, following the ‘trail up north’ because of discrimination in Welsh
rugby union. But other black players were drawn from the local communities
in the north, players like Roy Francis and Cec Thompson (the Žrst black
player to represent Great Britain in 1951) who both went on to become
coaches of professional clubs.
This precedent of famous black players in rugby league, and their
involvement at international level, came long before black soccer players put
on England shirts. Rugby league provided Great Britain sport with its Žrst
black captain, when Clive Sullivan (another Welsh exile) captained the World
Cup side in 1972. In the late seventies, Hunslet led the way again with an
Asian player called Gurdip Singh, the Žrst and only Asian rugby league
professional until the Butt brothers signed for Leeds. Both Singh and a black
team-mate, Francis Jarvis, have gone on to become coaches and organizers of
amateur rugby league teams.
In recent years black players in rugby league have been given even more
prominence. Rugby league’s biggest two stars of the eighties and nineties have
been Ellery Hanley and Martin OfŽah. Hanley is acknowledged as one of the
best players of all time, a captain and coach at both domestic and
international level, and on the Želd played in the central positions of stand off
and loose forward, though he started, as most black players start, on the
wing. More recently, Ikram Butt became the Žrst Asian to represent England
at rugby league. Ironically, it is the very success of these sporting heroes that
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allows racism to exist behind the mask with protestations that there is no
racism in ‘our’ game.
An analysis of professional players and their ethnic origin provides clear
evidence that stacking is occurring in rugby league. Such trends pose many
troublesome questions, particularly about access, coaching beliefs and
societal assumptions about physical attributes of players who are not ‘white’.
Selecting two weekends of Žxtures, we examined the teams recorded in the
newspaper. Our Žrst analysis was on a weekend in September during the
1994/5 Rugby Football League season. At the time, the Žrst division
contained 16 teams, four of which had no players from UK ethnic minorities
playing that day. In our analysis we were interested in identifying the UK
Asian and black players, so we distinguished these from players of Polynesian
origin and white players from other nations. Although the Žgure of 8.3% UK
Asian and black players gives no indication of under-representation, only one
out of 240 Žrst division players was Asian. The Žgure from the second
division, of 7.9%, hides the fact that Žve out of 16 of the second division
clubs had no black players, and there were no Asian players at any club. We
found clear evidence of stacking towards the running positions in the game:
the wing, the rest of the back line and the second row. Of the UK Asian and
black players in the Žrst division, 65% were wingers and a further 10%
played elsewhere in the back line; only Žve were forwards. Crucially, none of
the players were in the controlling positions of scrum half or stand off, and
only one was in the ‘dummy half’ role.
On the second weekend (4 December in the 1995/6 Centenary Season) the
clubs of the top division were similarly analysed. Because of the structural
change in the league there were only 11 teams, ten of which played that
weekend (the other team had only one UK black player in its squad). Of 170
players (13 on the Želd plus four substitutes, a new rule), only ten were UK
Asian and black (5.3%), nine black players and a solitary Asian. Of the ten,
seven were wingers, one other back and one second row forward. Apart from
a utility forward substitute, every UK Asian and black player was in a
running position. Rather than ameliorating, the situation seems to have
worsened, though one cannot draw Žrm conclusions from this alone.
Meanwhile on the terraces there is still a marked absence of spectators
from these communities. During our match day surveys the survey team
recorded only 24 black (in the widest sense of the term) fans among total
crowds of over 31 000. Even if we failed to record several times that number
of black supporters, it represents a very small proportion of the spectators.
This is not unlike other sports. It may be that spectating at elite sports
matches is just not a part of the leisure lifestyles of people from Asian and
black communities, but why should that be? Three plausible explanations
suggest themselves:
c
historical development – rugby league is not established as an integral
part of black and ethnic minority communities where soccer and
basketball are more appealing. That may be true, but there are few
black spectators at those events either.
Racist discourse within rugby league
c
c
253
avoiding confrontation – if people expect racist abuse they are unlikely
to put themselves in circumstances where they may well attract it.
Having to jostle in a crowd and risk blocking someone’s view may invite
abuse.
white culture – quite simply the rugby league terraces represent alien
territory.2
Incorporating stereotypes
Gilman (1985) suggests that stereotypes are a necessary, and in a way
inevitable, part of social interaction, as they help us make sense of the world
from earliest childhood. However, it should be remembered that stereotypes
are not neutral, we attach inferior and superior values to them and they are
historical formations which have an inherent power dimension linked to
questions of control. As Fiske (1993, p. 623) argues:
Stereotypes control people, which is one reason why they are so aversive. No one
wants to be stereotyped. Stereotypes reinforce one group’s or individual’s power
over another by limiting the options of the stereotyped group, so in this way
stereotypes maintain power. People with power do not have to put up with them,
but people without power are victims. Power is control, and stereotypes are one
way to exert control, both social and personal.
Because of asymmetrical power relations, the ability of those being stereotyped to deŽne themselves is constrained by the dominant discourse (see,
for example, Miles, 1993). When dominant groups make use of racist
stereotypes that are inherently negative, those subordinated groups can be
removed from the moral and social space that the racist actor inhabits
(Opotow, 1990). In other words, if the ‘other’ becomes so far removed from
the self, then violent actions towards that group can be condoned. As
stereotypes are historical formations, they are not rigid and closed categories,
but are exible constructions that change according to the speciŽc time and
place of their articulation. While we may see the Other in extreme terms, a
central feature of stereotyping is ‘ambivalence’ (Bhabha, 1994; Mercer,
1994), such that we can move from fearing to glorifying the Other (Gilman,
1985). We would argue that the incorporation of stereotypes represents tacit
racism. Judgements are made about people’s superior credentials for certain
roles on the basis of some spurious distinction. The interest in stacking is
precisely because this reects the prevalence of stereotypes in sport.
The role of sport, and physicality more generally, has been central to the
historical process of constructing dominant notions of ‘blackness’ through
stereotyping. The love/hate dichotomy in relation to the Other that Gilman
described is also played out within the white popular imagination regarding
black athletes in particular. As Mercer (1994, p. 178–9) notes:
. . . sport is a key site of white male ambivalence, fear and fantasy. The spectacle
of black bodies triumphant in rituals of masculine competition reinforces the Žxed
idea that black men are ‘all brawn and no brains’, and yet because the white man
is beaten at his own game – football, boxing, cricket, athletics – the Other is
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idolized to the point of envy . . . In front page headlines black males become
highly visible as a threat to white society as muggers, rapists, terrorists and
guerillas . . . But turn to the back pages, the sports pages, and the black man’s
body is heroized and lionized; any hint of antagonism is contained by the
paternalistic infantilization of Frank Bruno and Daley Thompson to the status of
national mascots and adopted pets – they’re not Other, they’re OK because they’re
‘our boys’.
However, even the apparent ‘positive’ stereotype of natural black athleticism
is not simply admiration of the Other. As Shohat and Stam (1994) point out,
‘the adulation of Black physical agility has as its tacit corollary a presumed
mental incapacity. The lauding of ‘‘natural’’ talent in performance implies that
Black achievements have nothing to do with work or discipline’ (p. 21).
These processes of course work differently in relation to other racialized
ethnic groups. Asians have historically been constructed as an essentially
timid and weak ‘race’ and have not been subject to the same processes of
‘eroticization’ and ‘exoticization’ that blacks have. Contemporary stereotypes
of Asians are more likely to portray a backward ‘fundamentalist’ and hyperreligious culture that is at odds with ‘pluralistic English society’.
On the basis of our research we tried to identify the kind of descriptive and
prescriptive stereotypes that Fiske (1993) has argued restrict and constrain
the behaviour of people. One of the populist assertions in sport has been that
black athletes are lazy, poor trainers with a low work rate during games. Our
data suggest that this belief has been largely dispelled among rugby league
fans (only 2% agreed, while 90% disagreed). Indeed, asking this question
attracted a number of suggestions from respondents that we were ourselves
racist. Slightly fewer disagreed with the proposition that Asians are unsuited
to playing rugby league (85%), yet in our analysis there was only one Asian
player in the Žrst teams of the clubs in the three divisions of the Rugby
League.
Given the signiŽcance of power allied with racism, the views of club
ofŽcials are especially important and revealed quite clear differences in how
Asians and blacks were viewed. As many as 41% did feel that black players
have physical characteristics suiting them to rugby league, and were more
likely to attribute negative rather than positive characteristics to Asians.
Phrases like ‘natural athletes’, ‘pace’, ‘strong upper body’, ‘elusive runners’,
‘speed and suppleness’, were used to describe these ‘special characteristics’
that apparently suited blacks to rugby league. Some ofŽcials also maintained
that the handling skills of black players were not as good as their white
counterparts. Conversely, the limitations of Asians were attributed to their
‘lower pain tolerance’, being ‘culturally non-violent’ people, not being as
‘aggressively competitive’ as whites, generally being ‘small in stature’, and
their apparent dislike of the ‘physical intensity of rugby league’.
A closer examination revealed that chairmen (for they were all men) were
far more likely than other club ofŽcials to hold stereotypical beliefs about the
physical and cultural characteristics of Asian and black players. This was
expressed in terms which questioned black players’ cognitive and motivational abilities. One chairman remarked, ‘Some tend to be lazy and Žnd it
Racist discourse within rugby league
255
difŽcult to focus’. Chairmen also seemed to be more sure than other ofŽcials
that black players were suited to particular playing positions, i.e. the wing
and back positions (44% of chairmen compared to 25% of all ofŽcials). The
chairmen were also twice as likely as the other ofŽcials to see Asians as being
unsuited to playing rugby league, the most common reason given was the
belief that Asians lacked the physical strength and courage to play rugby
league. Some also suggested cultural and religious factors preventing Asians
from playing the game: ‘Asians cannot wear turbans in the scrum’! As
chairmen are in a position to affect the club as a whole, any racist stereotypes
they might hold cannot be dismissed as the (unimportant) views of an
individual.
Subjected to abuse and stereotyped it is hardly surprising that many black
athletes should be prepared to accept the more positive aspects of some
stereotypes that suggest that they are ‘naturally’ quick or powerful, as that
implies at least some measure of superiority. Most of the black players
interviewed assumed, albeit with some qualiŽcation, that certain racialized
ethnic groups had particular physical attributes. One black player thought
that it was ‘60/40 true’ that blacks were naturally athletic, and felt that
‘various races have various builds – Asians do tend to be a lot skinnier; blacks
to a percentage are more athletic.’
The prevalence of stereotypes is still a signiŽcant factor in explaining the
performance of, and opportunities available to, Asian and black athletes.
Some may choose to follow in the footsteps of role models, while others will
have the choices made for them. Although some stereotypes will eventually
fall in the face of undeniable achievements, they will be replaced by others.
The stereotype is merely adapted or, in the case of black physical inferiority,
inverted to produce a new racial rationalization to explain the latest
occurrence, but still based on existing power relations. Thus black athletes
become endowed with natural grace and ability, able to ‘run like the wind’,
but crucially lacking the cognitive abilities to catch a ball and run straight
without the guidance of a signiŽcant (white) other.
In the hard world of professional rugby league at least, the desire to win
may become more signiŽcant than underlying prejudices. However, even if the
claims that ‘we only select players on the basis of their ability – if they’re good
enough they’re in the side, black or white’, are justiŽed that does not
necessarily mean that there is no racism in the club.
The language of abuse
If people do not contest racism when they encounter it, the racist position is
strengthened; repetition and acceptance allow the attitudes to be normalized
and reproduced. Although 87% of supporters thought that it was never
acceptable to abuse players because of the colour of their skin, only 16% of
those who had heard such abuse complained directly to the people chanting
and only 6% complained to stewards. Even these reactions are probably a
mix of what actually happened and what was seen to be a proper response to
the question. Replies were largely unaffected by the type of group the
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respondent was with, though those with their family were slightly more likely
to complain directly to the chanters. It is interesting that what should be the
easier option was taken less frequently, presumably because of the lack of
immediate availability of stewards. The signiŽcance of the Let’s Kick Racism
Out of Football campaign is that it has encouraged fans to counter racism on
the terraces to show that it is unacceptable and try to challenge its
normalization in the culture surrounding the game.
The lack of challenge to racism may also arise from a denial of its presence,
or a displacement of it to somewhere/one else. For some reason the ofŽcials
were rather less aware than their supporters of chanting against black players
at their grounds (33% – it was the chairmen and coaches who were least
aware). On the other hand, when asked if their ethnic minority players were
picked on at some clubs they visited, over half reported that happening and
less than a third disagreed. Similarly, over half the club ofŽcials (52%) had
witnessed racist behaviour at some clubs. Although this may be a property of
probability (the more clubs you visit, the more chance you have of witnessing
racist behaviour) it seems that club ofŽcials are more ready to recognize
aspects of racism elsewhere than at home.
Explanations for what is seen to be unpleasant are also commonly
externalized. The reason or rationalization is attributed to some characteristic
of the ethnic minority in question. So, for example, the reason that Asians do
not play rugby is because of some presumed physical, psychological, social or
cultural attribute rather than that they may not be encouraged or made
welcome in rugby. Several clubs would protest on the basis that they have
tried all sorts of initiatives (even giving tickets away) to attract Asians to the
game. Yet no one who has seen the eyes of the youngsters Ikram Butt works
with could maintain that there is no interest.
If all the players, half the club ofŽcials and almost half the fans revealed
that they had witnessed some form of racism, how is it possible for there to
be so many protestations that there is no racism in the game? One of the
coaches aggressively asserted that the research was a waste of time: ‘I don’t
know what you’re bothering for, there’s no racism in rugby league.’ Yet
earlier that afternoon we had received what people thought were formal
complaints (they assumed we were from the RFL) because:
Every time
gets the ball this woman behind us SCREAMS, ‘You f****
black twat’ or ‘Kill that black twat’.
And from Želd notes of another game his team played:
Stood behind the posts at the western end – mix of supporters in the Žrst half,
almost all from
in the second. Lots of denim jackets – amused myself
with the idea that they were Take That fans. Quite a lot of racist comments – too
far away for me to do anything about – e.g. ‘Hanley, you black bastard, I’m f****
your girlfriend’. Even [black player on their own team] not immune.
And each of the players (black and white) interviewed from that club was
able to cite evidence of racism in the sport. It is perhaps unfortunate that the
culture of sport does not require a coach to talk with ‘his’ players. The denial
Racist discourse within rugby league
257
of racism is itself a product of the normalization of racist attitudes, the
inevitable outcome is its continued reproduction.
One rationalization of racial abuse is that it can be legitimized on the
grounds that other players are abused because they are short, fat, bald or old:
‘That’s how people express themselves when they get emotional’. In any case,
‘it’s just a part of the game; they’re tough, they can take it’. Moreover, in the
hard men’s world of rugby league abuse is often used by coaches as a
motivational ploy.
Racial abuse is qualitatively different from those other forms of abuse
because it is associated with a whole suite of repressive social relations, even
Žre-bombing and calls for compulsory repatriation. Moreover, work by
Holland (1995)3 at football grounds has demonstrated that there is a
quantitative difference too. Quite apart from racist abuse, he found that black
players suffered more abuse of all kinds from the fans. This happened to such
an extent that opposition white players were less burdened with abuse than
black players of the home team. Thus they suffer what he refers to as a
‘double burden’ of abuse, sometimes identiŽed within rugby league by Shaun
Edwards when speaking at the press launch for our report on racism in the
game (Long et al., 1995).
Especially when national pride is associated with triumphing over the
opposition, using racial abuse as ‘sledging’ (the deliberate use of comments
designed to distract a player and put them off their game) seems to have
become accepted as a legitimate tactic. After a recent incident in the Halifax
Rugby League Centenary World Cup, the England coach simply said, ‘It’s just
a part of the international game and players have to learn to accept it.’ Some
of the players interviewed in our survey recognized that they had to learn to
deal with it, but were not prepared to accept it.
Conclusion
AfŽrmation of identity is clearly central to involvement in sport. Chants of
‘Yorkshire, Yorkshire’ can be heard at most matches on this side of the
Pennines when clubs visit from Lancashire (and vice versa). In classic
hegemonic terms it is not merely a site of subjugation. There are, however,
important differences associated with certain ethnic divisions and while such
differences are unaddressed, it is in the nature of systems that inequalities are
likely to increase. For example, it became clear from our interviews with
players that, almost without exception, the white players had found their way
into the sport through family networks (it truly is a family game) that
included someone who had introduced them to a rugby league club. Not a
part of the same local networks, the Asians and black players had to Žnd
other routes into the game. It was partly because of this that the players were
united in their call for black and ethnic minority development workers to
carry rugby league to those who might otherwise be lost to the game.
It should be remembered that this study was of a largely male sporting
culture. We thus recognize that, like the bulk of studies in sport, the position
of women has for the most part been overlooked in our work.4 However, the
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gender dimension is clearly evident in the signiŽcance attached to particular
masculinities, especially with regard to sexuality and sexual prowess (Spracklen, 1996). The extent to which gender and sexuality act as the modality
through which notions of masculinity and ‘race’ are constructed also requires
further examination. The ‘dressing room banter’ of white players that focuses
on the power of the black phallus (though not described in those terms) and
the associated white male envy are clearly important. The abuse directed at
Ellery Hanley (quoted above) can perhaps be understood as an attempt to
challenge the myth of black male sexuality by reconstructing the notion of
white masculine superiority.
One respondent suggested that some black players take the opportunity to
get their own back on white people: ‘You couldn’t do it on the street, but you
can do it on the pitch’. At a very personal level rugby league offered a way of
resisting and challenging racism from ‘white society’. Obviously such a ‘site
of resistance’ is limited and we do not wish to make too many claims for this
form of action. Nevertheless it does raise interesting social-psychological
questions about the role of sports for Asian and black people in responding to
racism in their everyday lives. It may also help us to begin to understand more
fully the underlying drives behind the formation of ‘all-Asian’, or black
sporting teams, which perhaps offer a more coherent, community-based,
articulation of the problems faced by these groups.
We have shown that racial stereotypes persist among players, supporters
and club ofŽcials in rugby league. It is only by examining their articulation
and challenging them at every possible opportunity that progressive steps will
be made to eliminate harmful stereotypes and to improve social relations
more generally. Although exposing such views will not, in itself, lead to the
elimination of racism from society, the central role of sport in constructing a
sense of communal identity (be that gendered, racial or national) means that
these issues cannot be ignored. At the symbolic level at least, the increased
participation of, for example, Asian players in the ‘hard white working class
culture’ of rugby league would make the stereotyped claims about Asian
passiveness and fragility all the more difŽcult to maintain.
In this sense we would agree with Pieterse’s (1995, p. 13) qualiŽed
endorsement of the effects of combating stereotypes when he says, ‘stereotypes are but one link in the multiple chains of social hierarchy. Decoding
social representations is a necessary but not sufŽcient condition for improving
the position of stereotyped groups.’
Notes
1. In doing so we recognize the lack of scientiŽc validity of racial typologies
founded on biological criteria, but follow the position of writers like
Anthias and Yuval-Davis (1993), Gilroy (1987) and Mason (1994)
afŽrming from different standpoints that it is an important sociological
concept.
2. One of the black players suggested it was seen as an ‘old fashioned game
for white men’. The image of pits and pubs and pit bulls is off-putting to
Racist discourse within rugby league
259
southerners too, but as administrators try to change this perception of the
game many of its supporters encourage it as it helps to deŽne their
identity.
3. See also elsewhere in this issue.
4. We know from the fans’ survey that women were less likely to be aware of
racism, but more likely to act if they did hear racist chanting.
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