As discussions about diversity in sport continue to grow, the Racing Post reports that British broadcaster Rishi Persad has found himself the target of criticism for encouraging racing to do more. Persad gave an interview to friend and fellow broadcaster Josh Apiafi on Sky Sports Racing where he suggested diversity in British racing could be improved.
Persad, who came to England as a teenager from Trinidad, recounted experiences both positive and less positive from his time in racing. He told the Racing Post he felt his interview on Sky Sports wasn't particularly controversial, nor was it intended to be so. Persad is a member of the Diversity in Racing Steering Group, which was formed in 2017. In the Sky Sports interview, Persad characterized racing as “behind the times,” pointing out that while the majority of stable staff in Britain are people of color, “99.9 percent of trainers” are white.
Persad told the Post this week he subsequently experienced pushback from people in the racing industry who seemed to misunderstand his point.
“What I was really trying to say was, if we eliminate all discrimination and make the sport more accessible, we're going to provide two things,” he said. “The moral case is for our own wellbeing, in that we can all benefit from being kinder to each other, and the business case is pretty obvious – the more people we can attract to the sport the more money we can bring into the sport and the more people in the sport will benefit from it. What's bad about that?”
He also emphasized that his interest is not only in improving racial equality in the sport, but also discrimination on the basis of gender and sexual orientation.
Read more at the Racing Post
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