The 2023-2024 Season And Beyond: What Can Sport Learn From Recent Failings?

• Published date: 23 October 2023
• Subject Matter: Employment and HR, Consumer Protection, Media, Telecoms, IT, Entertainment, Discrimination, Disability & Sexual Harassment, Employee Benefits & Compensation, Education, Sport
• Law Firm: Norton Rose Fulbright Hong Kong
• Author: Pamela Reddy and Naomi Miles

Between 2021-2023, a number of high profile inquiries examined the conduct and culture of different sports, including football, gymnastics and cricket. As one review noted, "[s]port should be a positive and safe experience, regardless of age and ability. It should not involve conduct or practices that cause emotional or sexual harm. It should not cause physical harm beyond unavoidable hazards. Keeping participants safe requires everyone engaging in sport to maintain appropriate standards of behaviour. Where there are concerns that standards of behaviour have been breached, individuals should feel able to make disclosures to this effect [...] and [their] concerns taken seriously and managed fairly."

Despite these observations, common failings were detailed in all three subsequent reports, including discrimination, poor standards of safeguarding, and lack of clear and effective governance. Individually and collectively, these failings ensure a detrimental experience for many players and fans of sports: young, vulnerable players are treated unfairly and the lack of governance means that both fans' and players' interests are not prioritised. Whilst some of the recommendations made are specific to the particular sport under inquiry, a number have wider application and should not be overlooked by other sports.

This article, the latest in our regulation and investigations series, considers the background to these issues and what proactive steps organisations can take to improve.

What happened in cricket?

"[E]vidence shows that elitism alongside deeply rooted and widespread forms of structural and institutional racism, sexism and class-based discrimination continue to exist across [cricket in England and Wales]."

Holding Up A Mirror To Cricket, June 2023

On 27 June 2023, the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket (the ICEC) published its report Holding Up A Mirror To Cricket (the Cricket Report). The ICEC's findings were "wide-ranging" and "unmistakable": it made clear that "deeply rooted and widespread forms of structural and institutional racism continue to exist across the game."

Examining the history of cricket in detail, the ICEC pointed to the "struggles" of inequality "dating from the age of the British slave trade and imperialism but resonating far beyond, into the postcolonial age", making clear that the sport's history continues to perpetuate these "deep rooted" racial and social disparities. The ICEC found that these instances of racism are "entrenched" in the culture of cricket. Reflecting the personal experiences of players, it noted that "racism in cricket is not confined to 'pockets' or 'a few bad apples', nor is it limited to individual incidents of misconduct"; there is a "high prevalence" of racism in the game. Accordingly, the ICEC was critical of the institutions of cricket for poorly investigating complaints of racism and creating an environment where players "suffer[ed] in silence" thinking that no action would be taken if they reported abuse.

The ICEC was also critical of the sport's approach to women's cricket, saying that women's cricket is still "an 'add on' to" the men's game and "women continue to be treated as subordinate to men within, and at all levels of, cricket." It noted that women receive an "embarrassingly small amount" in terms of pay and investment compared to men. For example, credible evidence indicated that the average salary for England Women is 20.6% that of the average salary of England Men and the total investments of funding for boys' Academies alone was equivalent to 40% of the total funding for the entire Women's Regional Structure. Furthermore, the ICEC noted that women are marginalised, routinely...