{"id":4152,"date":"2018-09-25T09:22:08","date_gmt":"2018-09-25T08:22:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.longkeshinsideout.co.uk\/?p=4152"},"modified":"2018-09-25T09:22:08","modified_gmt":"2018-09-25T08:22:08","slug":"lewis-crocker-protestant-boxers-payout-over-discrimination-claim-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.longkeshinsideout.co.uk\/?p=4152","title":{"rendered":"Lewis Crocker: Protestant boxer’s payout over discrimination claim"},"content":{"rendered":"

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A Protestant boxer has received thousands of pounds in settlement of a case brought under fair employment law.<\/p>\n

Lewis Crocker believed he was not picked for the NI Commonwealth Youth Games squad because of his perceived religious belief or political opinion.<\/p>\n

The Ulster Boxing Council (UBC) did not select Mr Crocker despite his recommendation by Irish Amateur Boxing Association’s head coach for Ulster.<\/p>\n

The council settled the case for \u00a38,500 without admitting any liability.<\/p>\n

The boxer’s case was supported by the Equality Commission.<\/p>\n

Mr Crocker, 21, said it was a “real shock” when he was not chosen for the team to take part in the 2015 games in Samoa.<\/p>\n

In a statement, the UBC said it was “very happy this has been brought to a conclusion for Lewis and his family”.<\/p>\n

The boxer, now a professional, was a successful amateur at the time with seven Irish titles to his name.<\/p>\n

He had also competed at the world and European championships.<\/p>\n

Mr Crocker was boxing with the Holy Trinity Boxing Club in Turf Lodge, a predominantly Catholic area of north Belfast, but his community background, which is Protestant, was well known within the boxing community.<\/p>\n

He finished top in tests carried out at a high performance camp at the Sports Institute for Northern Ireland in 2015 and was recommended for selection by the head coach.<\/p>\n

Mr Crocker believes that all those selected for the team were Catholic.<\/p>\n

‘Tremendous loss’<\/h2>\n

The UBC settled the case, which was brought under the Fair Employment and Treatment (Northern Ireland) Order.<\/p>\n

In a statement, the secretary of the Ulster Boxing Council said: “We are very happy that this has been brought to a conclusion for Lewis and his family. We hope that this gives him closure.<\/p>\n

“Lewis has been a tremendous loss to Ulster amateur boxing by turning professional.”<\/p>\n

He added: “Myself and our president Kevin Duffy were elected in October 2017 and we want to help modernise policy, procedures and practices to make sure this doesn’t happen again.”<\/p>\n

Mr Crocker said: “The UBC even refused to hold a box-off to decide who the best boxer was, a process which they have used before.” He added his non-selection had caused “a huge stir within the boxing community.”<\/p>\n

Dr Michael Wardlow, from the Equality Commission, said: “There certainly should never be any suggestion of a person’s religious or community background being a consideration for team selection.”<\/p>\n

He added that since the case was brought the UBC has introduced new policies, practices and procedures to ensure compliance in line with its obligations.<\/p>\n

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