Please give support to this petition asking the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) to fund the case of Isaac Stoute v LTA Operations Ltd t/a Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) (2IR74042) and stop the racial discrimination in British tennis.  The Commission’s mandate is to challenge discrimination, and to protect and promote human rights.

Isaac Stoute a tennis player that should be at the pinnacle of the sport in the UK, and has been for the last nine years, but has been denied LTA support. 

He is currently the top-rated under-18 player in Kent (2.2 see ratings bands), but his path to a national stage is being blocked.  White players with lower rankings are being favoured over him for funding, training opportunities, tournament selection, and publicity by the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA).

Isaac Stoute is one of the best junior tennis players in Britain. His junior career has been destroyed and his professional career will go the same way if the racial discrimination he has suffered from the LTA is allowed to continue.

For the past nine years he has demonstrated his potential to be among one of the world elite tennis players. He has won tournaments at national, European , and world level competing with some of the world elite junior tennis players.

What makes this achievement so remarkable? This level of consistency has been achieved against a back drop of nine years of direct racial discrimination of which four years has been extreme victimisation from the governing body of the sport in the UK the  LTA.

 

Abuse 

The LTA have systematically abused this child and have abused their position within the sport. The LTA accused of racial discrimination have abused its financial position and have been allowed to take advantage of the courts to frustrate and try to dismiss the claim to avoid the consequences of their actions .

It cannot be equitable or in the public interest for this case to be dismissed through the back door, where the victims have no further recourse, and where the governing body the LTA refuse to deal with valid complaints, and where they ignore the rules which are not in their favour or to their liking.

It is no coincidence that when actions taken by the LTA which disadvantaged this child was bought to the attention of the LTA by interested third parties, the then LTA CEO tried to keep these actions hidden by making misleading statements to our local MP. It is also no coincidence that their current Legal Director in a desperate attempt to get a life time ban from the sport, lied in order to bring disciplinary charges against this child.

This is a case with far reaching consequences for ethnic minority tennis players and it is obscene that the LTA can so totally take advantage of this child then be reliant on mistakes by the courts to avoid consequences for these acts.

The EHRC whose ethos is ‘Creating a fairer Britain’ has a duty to tackle racism they have so far failed in their duty towards those whose future as elite tennis players will now be non-existent.

The LTA, without the intervention of the EHRC, will continue to abuse their position and potentially the children they have been charged with developing. The future of these children should not be dependent on the outcome of a landmark case bought by a child as a litigant in person.

The EHRC should fulfil their mandate ‘Creating a fairer Britain’ by taking on the funding of case 2IR74042 and give these children the chance they deserve and have worked so hard to acheive.  Please sign this petition in order to encourage them to do so.

The BBC are following this story. 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-27641196