BREWERS full-back Damien McCrory and goalkeeper Stephen Bywater have appeared at an anti-racism workshop, run in partnership with a local secondary school.
In a joint venture by the Burton Albion Community Trust (BACT) and the Show Racism the Red Card (SRtRC) campaign, youngsters from the Pingle Academy, Swadlincote, joined the players to discuss the negative impact racism and hate crime has on society as a whole.
Burton Albion have worked with the SRtRC campaign and the Kick It Out campaigns consistently over many years to educate about racism and to promote positive behaviour at a young age.
The SRtRC organisation, which delivers training to more than 50,000 people every year, aims to utilise the high-profile world of football and its players to tackle racism in daily life - using the popularity of football as a draw to events such as these.
The panel fielded a range of questions from the young audience about how to counteract acts of racism and to encourage others to treat everyone fairly in society. The panel also featured former Republic of Ireland international footballer David Kelly who is also part of the SRtRC’s Hall of Fame.
Paul Gaskin, Inclusive Sport Project Lead, said: “For BACT, any campaign that helps to spread the message of kicking out racism is one that we’re happy to help.
“The Show Racism the Red Card movement is one which is designed to encapsulate the influence a football club can have on conveying such an important message to young people about racism.
“We’re really grateful to the two players for joining us on the day and for answering some fantastic questions in such a professional and inspiring manner.”