Shocking whistleblower claims prompt integrity probe into Basketball Victoria

A whistleblower claims Basketball Victoria’s process of team selection is being influenced by nepotism and cronyism.

Basketball Australia is ­exploring allegations of nepotism, favouritism, conflict of ­interest and lack of transparency in Victorian teams.

Basketball Australia is ­exploring allegations of nepotism, favouritism, conflict of ­interest and lack of transparency in Victorian teams.

A whistleblower with more than 40 years of experience in the game raised serious claims about Victoria’s peak basketball association in a letter to the national body last week.

The allegations centre on Basketball Victoria’s processes of team selection, appointment of coaches, operation of talent programs and acceptance of sponsorship money.

Basketball Victoria is the peak body for more than 160 associations, with thousands of players from suburban kids’ teams to state representatives.

The organisation received more than $10m in revenue in 2021, including almost $5m in fees paid by parents.

Basketball Australia’s integrity unit is looking into the claims, which centre on “potential nepotism and cronyism and the potential for bribery and influence peddling in the selection process of junior talent programs and state teams”.

The whistleblower – who has asked to remain anonymous – said the system in Victoria was “vulnerable to being gamed and corrupted”.

He alleges “children of those with connections” get preferential treatment. Further, he says, teams are selected ahead of tryouts and coaches are choosing players they have previously coached for state teams and high-performance pathways.

The whistleblower said the system in Victoria was “vulnerable to being gamed and corrupted”.

“Players selected to state teams have the potential for AIS (Australian Institute of Sport) scholarships and US college scholarships worth $500,000 as well as professional careers,” he said.

“There needs to be a level playing field for all talented young juniors, boys and girls, who try out for talent programs and state team selections run by Basketball Victoria.”

He said one state coach picked his sons for the team, describing it as “a perfect ­example of nepotism”.

Other claims centred on coaches who also sponsored teams.

“Nothing has been done to address this,” he said. “It needs to be done now as basketball has grown into a huge and ­lucrative sport in Australia and overseas, which makes it more vulnerable than it has ever been to the risks of corruption, bribery, cronyism and nepotism.”

The letter asks Basketball Australia to appoint an integrity expert to audit the state team and talent pathway selection processes in Victoria.

A Basketball Australia spokeswoman said its integrity unit had “reached out to the complainant” to go through the ­allegations.

Basketball Victoria said it was “aware of a complaint to Basketball Australia regarding integrity in relation to recent state team selections”.

“With an unparalleled history of successful programs, athletes and coaches and the most revered high-performance program in the country, we are proud of the pathway, framework and transparent processes we have in place to ensure the best athletes are ­selected to represent Victoria,” a spokesman said.