President’s man Mike Tancred falls on sword over email revelations
MIKE Tancred did what he had to do if his boss John Coates is to have the best chance of surviving the campaign to unseat him from Australia’s Olympic throne, writes Leo Schlink.
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MIKE Tancred did what he had to do if his boss John Coates is to have the best chance of surviving the campaign to unseat him from Australia’s Olympic throne.
Tancred had been the subject of seven separate bullying complaints or probes, according to former Australian Olympic Committee chief executive Fiona de Jong.
De Jong, who has filed a complaint against Tancred, on Wednesday rejected president John Coates’ claims that bullying was not rife at the AOC.
Outlining 12 separate cases from 2004 to 2016 — a period in which Australia’s Olympic performance declined substantially — de Jong said she was personally aware of all of them.
De Jong resigned from her $450,000 post in December, claiming Tancred warned he would “bury” her and issued a highly detailed and personal threat unless she withdrew her complaint.
Tancred stood down on Wednesday after de Jong sent a letter and copies of damning emails to the AOC executive portraying a toxic and fearful culture within the organisation’s management.
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De Jong was alarmed by a letter Coates had sent to national sporting federations rejecting allegations of rampant bullying within the AOC.
She said “several inaccurate and misleading accusations have been made” by Coates to all the national sporting federations regarding her complaint against Tancred.
De Jong panned Coates for rejecting “the suggestion of a culture of bullying at the AOC” and his assertion that “the current AOC processes for responding to complaints are impartial and rigorous”.
“Regrettably that has not been my experience, nor the experience of other former AOC employees who have lodged complaints, formally or informally, regarding inappropriate behaviour or bullying at the AOC,” she said.
She alleges Tancred had been involved in four instances alone between 2015-16, when his pay was increased by almost $39,000 to $330,000 a year. Former AOC employee Ryan Wells claims Tancred threatened to “kill” him in 2004.
Fairfax journalist Dan Silkstone said Tancred, upset over a story he had written, “found me at my desk put his face right in mine and shouted, ‘I will end you, c---. Nobody here will speak to you now’.”
Silkstone’s allegation is not among those tabled by de Jong on Wednesday.
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De Jong, who worked on 10 Olympic Games and built a reputation for professionalism, said she felt it “important” to share information “in order for you (the AOC executive, or board members) to have a more informed view of the culture within the AOC”.
Referencing Coates’ expletive-laden attack on Australian Sports Commission chairman John Wylie at a Melbourne athletics meeting in February, de Jong said she felt compelled to act.
“Until today any comments I’ve made have been limited to my complaint against Mr Tancred,” she said.
“But following the reporting of Mr John Coates’ public offensive language at the Nitro event, his public rejection of a culture of ‘bullying”, and by imputation, an attempt to discredit my complaint and me, it induced me to share correspondence relating to an alleged incident involving Mr John Coates himself.”
The alleged incident centres around emails Coates sent to senior management about a young AOC solicitor battling cancer.
De Jong provided copies of emails sent by Coates savaging the unnamed woman, including making reference to a “sheltered workshop”.
Australian Paralympic Committee president Glenn Tasker said Coates’ comments were discussed at board level on Wednesday. He said: “We found the language negative and disrespectful and we object to that. Many of our athletes face hardship in the workplace.”
The AOC, Coates and Tancred did not respond to Herald Sun requests for comments.
JOHN COATES TIMELINE
Elected to a (now defunct) position of Honorary Secretary of Australian Amateur Rowing Council (now known as Rowing Australia).
Becomes a member of the AOC
Becomes president of Australian Amateur Rowing Council (now known as Rowing Australia).
Australia’s Deputy Chef De Mission for Los Angeles Games
Becomes vice president of the AOC
Australia’s Chef de Mission at Seoul, Barcelona (’92), Atlanta (’96), Sydney (’00), Athens (’04) and Beijing (’08).
A year after being made a member of the Order of Australia, Coates is voted in a president of the AOC
Council member of the World Rowing Federation (FISA)
Becomes a member of the International Council of Arbitration for Sport
In the same year as becoming an Officer of the Order of Australia, Coates becomes vice president of the International Council of Arbitration for Sport
Senior Vice-President of the Organising Committee for the Olympic Games Sydney in 2000. A year later he becomes a member of the IOC
Coordination for the Games of the XXX Olympiad London 2012
Elected as a member of the executive board of the IOC (until 2013)
Becomes president of the International Council of Arbitration for Sport
Elected vice president of the IOC
Chair of the following Commissions: Coordination for the Games of the XXXII Olympiad Tokyo 2020
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