Sporting Equals

From Devon's legal battle to challenge racial bias in cricket, to Michelle calling out unconscious bias on behalf of her daughter at English Schools - and her unflinching question to a charity board that had never employed a Black person in fifty years - this conversation is honest, warm, and full of insight for anyone working to advance EDI in sport and physical activity.

Together, Michelle and Devon offer perspective that athletes, coaches, parents, and governing bodies can't afford to ignore:

You can't be what you can't see: Representation in coaching, officiating, and leadership isn't a nice-to-have. It's the difference between a young person staying in sport or walking away from it.

Diversity at the table changes everything: If the same people keep making decisions, you'll keep getting the same results. Boards, clubs, and governing bodies need diverse voices not just to reflect communities, but to understand them.

Sport is a foundation, not a ceiling: Both Michelle and Devon made a point of raising children with choices beyond sport. The goal of inclusion in physical activity is to open doors, not to funnel people through the same narrow ones.

Use your voice - especially when it costs you something: Devon risked his house and his career to challenge racism in cricket. Michelle took on an institution to protect her daughter. Equity doesn't advance without people willing to push back.

Give something back: Nelson Mandela called Devon after the 1994 South Africa test to tell him how fast sport reaches young people. Decades later, he's still putting that reach to work.

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That’s why Age UK launched Act Now, Age Better. We see every day the challenges that getting older can bring, particularly around health and wellbeing. We want to get people in mid-life (aged 50-65) thinking, talking and taking actions that are going to be help them in their years to come.

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