Sport Integrity Australia Chief Executive says sporting leaders need to drive cultural reform

Sport Integrity Australia Chief Executive David Sharpe has called on leaders in sport to use the power of their brands to drive cultural reform in Australian sport.

Speaking yesterday, Sharpe (pictured) said that while he wished that sporting headlines should focus on the performances of athletes, instead they are being dominated by cultural problems in sport, including allegations of racism.

While critical of the downplaying of these issues by influential people in Australian sport, Sharpe stated “attitudes won’t change until the narrative changes.

“Sport and sponsors’ brands are being aligned with poor behaviours yet these brands have the power to drive a cultural shift to eradicate these poor behaviours.”

Explaining that commentary attempting to normalise or justify these behaviours needs to be called out by leaders in Australian sport, Sharpe noted “it is 2024, not 1924, and there must be zero-tolerance when it comes to racism in sport.

“Any inappropriate comments, whatever they are in nature, are not just a bit of ‘banter’ or ‘just fun and games on the field’.

“There are no excuses for slurs that could be interpreted as racist in nature. If the comments cause hurt, then intent is irrelevant. If the comments offend an individual, they also offend their families, their countries, their culture.”

Former champion sprinter and Sport Integrity Australia’s Culture and Safety Advisor, Patrick Johnson, said there’s no place for racism in Australian society, adding “sport brings people together and it needs to reflect and mirror our actions, values and aspiration as a society and country.

“We need to draw a clear line in the sand.

“We are all responsible to call out racism, we do not tolerate it in our sport now or in the future, our kids deserve better as this doesn’t represent our Australian way of life.”

Urging everyone involved in sport to call out poor behaviour, Sharpe went on to say “we see strong messages sent to fans and crowds found guilty of racist slurs with lengthy penalties.

“These same sanctions need to apply to athletes. Australian sports leaders and sponsors must send a message to the world in the lead up to the 2032 Brisbane Olympic and Paralympic Games. The world is watching. Eradicating racism in sport is the legacy we could be proud of.”