England and Lions star Maro Itoje says he will no longer sing "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot", which regularly rings out in the stands at Twickenham. The song, which was written in the 1860s, has links to the American slave trade.
During an interview with French newspaper L’Equipe, Saracens second row Itoje confirmed he wouldn’t be singing along to the words in future, but said he didn’t want to see it banned from matches.
“I’m not going to tell people what they should or shouldn’t do but, personally, I won’t sing this song anymore," he said. "I sang it before when I was naive and didn’t know its origins but, knowing now the context in the creation of Swing Low, Sweet Chariot, it’s not an anthem that I’m going to repeat anymore."
