Basketball coach Shane Heal battles bullying claims in court showdown

The owner of a WNBL club claims he never wanted an investigation to find an Australian basketball legend bullied staff, a court has been told.

The owner of the Sydney Flames has vehemently denied he wanted an investigation into Australian basketball great Shane Heal to have “adverse findings” so he could stand him down, a court has been told.

Mr Heal is suing the Women’s National Basketball League club in the Federal Court, seeking penalties and orders preventing his termination

The 52-year-old accuses the Flames of breaching employment law and is seeking orders blocking the club from sacking him as well as financial penalties.

Sydney Flames claims the club launched an investigation earlier this year into Mr Heal’s conduct after players approached management with bullying complaints.

The Flames suspended Mr Heal and commissioned an independent investigation into the allegations, while his daughter and star player Shyla left the club to join rival team Townsville Fire.

Shane Heal is suing the Sydney Flames in the Federal Court. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Simon Bullard

Mr Heal is accused of asking a player “what the f**k she was doing” twice at training and once at a game.

He is also accused of lashing out at another player and singling out players in video sessions, telling them they had “stuffed up” in front of the entire team. Mr Heal denies any wrongdoing.

Sitting in the back of the court with a black suit and blue tie on Tuesday, Mr Heal listened as Hoops Capital owner Paul Smith, took to the witness stand.

Hoops Capital owns both the Sydney Kings and Sydney Flames.

Under cross-examination from Mr Heal’s barrister Glenn Fredericks, Mr Smith was grilled on why he conducted the investigation.

He denies having any “predetermined outcome”, telling the court he hired a third-party service to conduct the investigation so he could stay at “arm’s length”.

When the allegations of bullying against Mr Heal came to light, the court was told the coach had also put forward claims of bullying that he had endured.

The court was told Mr Heal claimed a Flames co-owner had made “derogatory comments about middle-aged men working in women’s sports”.

He is seeking orders blocking the club from sacking him. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Simon Bullard

Mr Smith told the court he was “surprised” to hear Mr Heal’s bullying claim and said he didn’t investigate the matter as Mr Heal had already launched a Fair Work Commission application.

“Clearly, Mr Heal had made some allegations post our suspending him, he then immediately commenced a Fair Work commission process,” Mr Smith told the court.

“(Investigating) just wasn’t a consideration at the time.”

In regards to the investigation into Mr Heal, Mr Smith said he wanted to ensure there was an “arm’s length” between himself and the findings.

“Your Honour, the point I’m making is that I wanted to ensure there was an arm’s length process, I didn’t want any sense of directing traffic or determining anything,” Mr Smith said.

“I didn’t want to get involved, I wanted to ensure there was a level of independence about this in my role.”

Mr Fredericks accused the Hoops owner of failing to investigate Mr Heal’s claims because he wanted a “report that was adverse” to the coach.

Mr Smith slammed the claim as “absolutely untrue”.

It’s almost time. I hope the court is full of reporters ready to hear the facts and report on them so everyone finally hears and knows the truth. 💯👀

— Shane Heal (@ShaneHeal) June 15, 2023

The barrister continued to push: “You didn’t care whether it was conducted properly”, but Mr Smith denied the claim.

The court was also told an investigation had been made into claims Mr Heal’s daughter was “manhandled” by a member of coaching staff, who was allowed to continue to work despite the allegation.

Mr Fredericks told the court a staff member had “treated her poorly” by “aggressively” grabbing her left shoulder and turning her around.

“Unlike Mr Heal, where you suspended him when the allegations were made, that difference in treatment were because of the complaints Mr Heal made, that’s why you suspended him,” the barrister said.

“Unlike Mr Heal you were happy to have (the other staffer) stay around.”

But Mr Smith said he was “unaware” of any complaints made by Mr Heal at the time and dealt with the matters “circumstantially”.

Mr Heal has denied any wrongdoing, saying in a statement earlier in the year: “I deny that I have at any stage acted in a manner to risk the health and safety of any person or player.”

He also raised questions about the nature and timing of the allegations and what he described as deficiencies in the investigation.

Mr Heal was granted an injunction from being sacked while the legal process was ongoing.

Witnesses during the trial include former Flames assistant coach Shelley Gorman, the current assistant coach William Granger and Mr Heal’s agent, David Wolf.

Witnesses on behalf of the Sydney Flames include Mr Paul Smith, Sydney Flames president Victoria Denholm, communications manager Julian O‘Brien and a former player.

The trial continues before Justice John Halley.

Originally published as Basketball coach Shane Heal battles bullying claims in court showdown