AOC staff email fuels John Coates fight

John Coates was warned almost 10 years ago that alleged inappro­priate behaviour had triggered a resignation.

Emails reveal an apparent casual response by John Coates towards serious allegations of workplace misconduct.

Olympics boss John Coates was warned almost 10 years ago that an alleged pattern of inappro­priate behaviour towards staff by his media director, Mike Tancred, had triggered the resignation of at least one valued employee and reportedly caused others to feel uncomfortable about working at Australia’s peak Olympic body.

A new email exchange obtained by The Australian about a complaint lodged by an Australian Olympic Committee employee against Mr Tancred shortly after the Beijing Olympics in 2008 reveals an apparent casual response by Mr Coates towards serious allegations of workplace misconduct.

The fierce battle for control of the AOC raged on yesterday as Swimming Australia president John Bertrand said the organisation appeared to be wracked with “cultural values that are counter to all our Olympic ideals”.

The former America’s Cup-winning skipper announced that Swimming Australia was formally backing former Hockeyroo Danielle Roche to replace Mr Coates as AOC president.

Federal Sports Minister Greg Hunt also criticised Mr Coates, describing his use of the phrase “sheltered workshop’’ as “utterly inappropriate’’.

Mr Coates apologised yesterday for using the phrase, which is considered demeaning to people with disabilities.

The 2008 email, sent to Mr Coates’s personal assistant and the AOC’s then human relations manager Kylie Algie refers to a complaint the employee had lodged with Ms Algie against Mr Tancred, who stepped down this week until bullying alle­gations against him are independently ­investigated.

“Please note that my complaint against Mike Tancred is not an isolated incident,’’ the email reads.

“He often behaves inappropriately — he swears in the office, speaks of other staff in a derogatory nature …

“He has made me feel very uncomfortable and I know he has made other staff feel the same way. I have been quite stressed over this incident as well as my past encounters with Mike Tancred, and I know this move is a positive change for me.’’

“I have very much enjoyed working with you and wish you all the very best in your future endeavours. And in that regard, I just do not believe that Mike would slander you to anyone, so rest easy.’’

Mike Tancred. Picture: AAP

The Australian last night provided Mr Coates with a series of questions about what steps he took to assure himself that the ­allegations against Mr Tancred and his alleged treatment of staff were addressed. At the time of publication, he had not responded.

Mr Tancred has denied that a formal complaint was made against him. He stood down this week over a bullying complaint lodged against him in December by former AOC chief executive Fiona de Jong.

Mr Bertrand, a two-time Olympic yachtsman, said a May 6 ballot to determine whether Mr Coates extended his 26-year ­tenure and the make-up of the AOC board until the 2020 Tokyo Games was an opportunity to usher in a new era in Olympic sport.

‘A new, exciting vision’: Danielle Roche yesterday. Picture: Nicki Connolly

In a statement issued to The Australian after Ms Roche detailed her reform agenda to the Swimming Australia board — and Mr Coates cancelled a meeting to present his case for re-election — Mr Bertrand described Ms Roche as a change agent, “something the AOC now needs’’.

“Danni Roche is a seasoned sports director, businesswoman and Olympic gold medallist,’’ Mr Bertrand said. “She offers a new, exciting vision and governance structure which we believe is ­fundamental to the future wellbeing of the Australian Olympic movement. “Unfortunately, the media … has exposed cultural ­values that are counter to all our Olympic ideals.

“In my 30 years of international sporting competition … I have never seen such behaviour as that currently operating from within the AOC. This has to change. No high-performance organisation can expect to operate within this environment.’’

Mr Coates’s comment about sheltered workshops was in documents released by Ms de Jong that detail a pattern of alleged bullying inside the Sydney headquarters of the Olympic body.

The documents list a dozen complaints, some formal and some informal, and investi­gations into the behaviour of AOC employees stretching back to 2004. Most of them deal with incidents alleged to have occurred between the London and Rio Olympics. Seven of the complaints relate to Mr Tancred.

The documents place Mr Coates at the centre of an AOC culture that has resulted in an ­exodus of staff. In an email exchange with Ms de Jong and other senior AOC employees and board members in January 2016, Mr Coates was scathing of the performance of a relatively young, female employee.

“If she’s offended, it’s probably time for her to go get out in the real world,’’ he wrote. “Ours is not a sheltered workshop.’’

The employee, who was undergoing treatment for leukaemia while working at the AOC, quit her job shortly after the email was sent.

Mr Hunt yesterday took aim at Mr Coates’s use of the offensive phrase, which was condemned by the Australian Paralympic Committee.

“I want to make it absolutely clear that language which flippantly casts aspersions on those with disabilities is not ­appropriate and has no place in Australian public or private discourse,’’ he said.

Mr Coates apologised in a statement issued last night.

“Of course, it was the wrong choice of words,” he said. “I got the email wrong, and apologise.’’

The presidency of the AOC will be decided by 33 sports that are part of the Tokyo Olympic program and seven Winter Olympic sports, all of which will cast two votes in a secret ballot.