Botched handling of Shayna Jack case proves Swimming Australia has lost its moral compass
Forced to suffer in silence because she was told to keep her failed drugs test a secret, Shayna Jack has been thrown under the bus by an organisation that has completely lost its moral compass, writes JULIAN LINDEN.
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Swimming Australia’s cynical attempt to wash its hands of any responsibility in the botched handling of Shayna Jack’s positive drug test marks a new low in Australian sports administration.
The problem with trying to spin your way out of trouble is that no-one ever believes anything you say again. Swimming Australia has been exposed, meaning heads have to roll if the sport wants to regain the trust of the Australian public.
Forced to suffer in silence because she was told to keep her failed drugs test a secret, Jack has been thrown under the bus by an organisation that not only lacks strong leadership, but has lost its moral compass.
Jack has enough to worry about right now.
The doping charges against her are serious and carry heavy penalties.
She’s facing a long and difficult battle to try and prove her innocence.
But the 20-year-old Queenslander does not deserve to be made the scapegoat for the grown-ups at Swimming Australia who failed to make the tough call when it was needed. Had they, it would have prevented Mack Horton from being labelled a hypocrite when he should be applauded for his strong stance against doping.
Despite the PR spin that everything is rosy and Swimming Australia is in safe hands, the swimming community — from grassroots to the elite level — is fuming.
The News Corp has spoken to several key stakeholders who are incensed at their governing body’s actions. So much so, that they are prepared for mutiny, unless immediate changes are made at the very top.
Some of that anger surrounds the false claims that none of the swimmers knew why Jack had mysteriously left the team.
This storm has been brewing for a while now.
Late last year, Swimming Australia abruptly shut down the National Training Centre Transition Program in Canberra, sacking highly respected head coach Tracey Menzies.
A few weeks later, Optus announced it was ending its sponsorship deal with Swimming Australia just three years into an eight-year contract.
Australian families missed out on watching last week’s world championships on television because no broadcast deal was secured.
Throughout it all, Swimming Australia president John Bertrand has been nowhere to be seen and chief executive Leigh Russell didn’t even go to South Korea, even when it was clear a public disaster was looming.
Shamefully, when The Sunday Telegraph broke the news that Jack had been sent home for a positive dope test, Russell refused to let head coach Jacco Verhaeren front the media, so consulted with her head of communications Kate Hutchison before letting Cate Campbell face the music.
The vile smear campaign to blame Jack for the cover up is the final straw for a sport that has been plunged into crisis.
Now it’s time for the ringleaders to go.
Originally published as Botched handling of Shayna Jack case proves Swimming Australia has lost its moral compass
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