The more letters of condemnation are accumulated, the clearer the Canadian sport system is seriously ill.
Last Sunday, Boxing Canada’s high -performance director, Daniel Trépanier, submitted his resignation.
Four days earlier, 121 athletes (current and former), coaches, officials and members of provincial federations had published an open letter in which they demanded the resignation of Daniel Trépanier. They also called for an investigation into Boxing Canada’s inability to govern itself acceptably.
The plaintiffs, whose testimonies were carefully collected, resulted in a toxic culture as well as a climate of fear and silence. Cases of harassment and favoritism were also raised.
Last Friday, two days after the publication of the open letter, Canadian boxing rose to prominence on the international scene when the International Amateur Boxing Federation removed Daniel Trépanier of his accreditation for the Women’s World Championships, which began 48 hours later. it’s too late.
And, given the serious allegations made by the signatories to the letter, the International Federation has indicated that it will be particularly interested in the way in which the follow-up of this file will be done by Canadian sports authorities.
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When Daniel Trépanier resigned, Boxing Canada is now looking to the future. The Canadian federation has indicated that a search committee will be formed in the coming weeks, in collaboration with provincial federations, to find another high performance director.
However, it would be very easy if we wiped the slate so easily and if Boxing Canada could start operating again as if nothing had happened.
You can’t easily turn the page in an episode that lasted 12 years. Moreover, the many who signed the letter, let us remember, not only requested Trépanier’s departure, they also wanted to have an investigation to reveal why their federation had become dysfunctional.
And that’s the killer question.
The board of Boxing Canada said it commissioned an external report in March. The federation, he said, wants to do a comprehensive cultural review of its high -performance program and ensure that Canadian boxers can be formed in an optimal environment.
But this work was done six years ago. In 2016, a report was made by Gary Keegan, an Irish boxing expert who is also director of the Irish Institute of Sport.
Keegan, whose credibility rating is very high in the industry, has personally observed the functioning of the Canadian boxing program. He invited members of the federation to respond to a survey and, second, he conducted interviews with people working at all levels within Boxing Canada.
At the end of the fiscal year, the report Keegan filed was very bad. At the beginning of the document, the three findings that summarize its approach are:
- There are no clear mandates, established policies or infrastructure that allow Boxing Canada to operate in a high -performance environment;
- The training, development system and support structures surrounding senior athletes lag behind what should be the environment of a world-class athlete;
- The application of training, management, science, medicine, lifestyle and environmental expertise that motivates individuals and promotes performance is in dire need of improvement.
Put yourself in the position of a less serious administrator. You have read this and the report has not yet begun. For me you will immediately tell yourself that the house is on fire and that there is a serious repair to be done.
The report is also full of fairly clear sentences such as Former athletes in the program have a low level of trust in Boxing Canada’s staff and board . The author also stressed that coaches do not make cases of serious shortcomings in the preparation of athletes, such as lack of training partners or international opponents. Gary Keegan also noted the lack of performance metrics, the overall lack of the talent recognition process, the lack of resources, and so on.
You read this and you will tell yourself that the members of Boxing Canada are very patient before preparing their open letter. Too patient, because the pot was supposed to jump a few years ago. And more importantly, what this report tells us is that if competent administrators were in place, athletes would have been protected and house cleaning would have been done quickly at Boxing Canada since 2016.
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Therefore, it is for this reason that the Minister of Sport, Pascale St-Onge, should ensure that an independent investigation is conducted. Not to identify the culprits, but above all to ensure that high -level Canadian athletes are no longer exposed to similar situations in their pursuit of excellence.
Wearing Canadian colors in international competition should be one of the greatest achievements in an athlete’s life. This is certainly not the kind of test that is being attacked and described by more and more athletes from a growing number of sporting disciplines.
Just last March, 80 athletes from the Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation demanded the resignation of two top leaders of the national federation. They were allegedly safety issues, a flawed culture, a lack of transparency and arbitrary decisions.
Also last March, 71 gymnasts (including 10 Olympians) published an open letter protesting a toxic culture and abusive practices within their sports community.
In April 2021, before the Tokyo Games, 37 female rugby players denounced the psychological violence, harassment and intimidation they claimed were victims.
And in September 2020, 18 athletes from the national artistic swimming team filed a complaint. They said they trained in a bad climate marked by harassment and abuse. However, their complaints were not accepted and, four months later, five former swimmers filed class action against their federation for psychological abuse, as well as sexual and racial harassment.
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If Sports Canada and Minister St-Onge do not see an alarming number of cases that require a very strong response, what will be needed?
It is absolutely necessary that serious investigations be made to find the common root, if any, that has made it possible for such rotten climates to develop and become embedded within the sports programs that are supposed to be flagships of Canada.
And while waiting for the abscess to break, let’s hope that if other federations are plagued by the same evil, their athletes in turn will have the courage to stand up and denounce the situation.
Noticing all the support they enjoy today, Canadian boxers must be deeply sorry to have waited so long to act.
Source: Radio-Canada
