John Coates was trying to help Annastacia Palaszczuk, not bully her

John Coates and Annastacia Palaszczuk with IOC boss Thomas Bach

John Coates, the IOC vice-chairman who sat next to Annastacia Palaszczuk, both buoyed after securing the Brisbane 2032 Olympic Games, has been accused of bullying, mansplaining, or worse.

Which indirectly positions Palaszczuk, a premier and an artful negotiator, as somehow frail, or incapable of speaking out, or a victim. Which we all know is not true.

I was in that press conference on the sixth floor of the Main Press Centre in Tokyo and my immediate impressions, which I noted at the time, were not about any sexist bullying, but this:

“AP is failing to stand up and tell us what her position is. Is she going to the opening ceremony or not. To sit there like a stunned mullet, when the issue had been ricocheting between her office and Tokyo for 24 hours is bizarre.”

For those basing their opinions on edited grabs, the context of the press conference was this: a jocular tone (and you can hear the laughter in the room) which hardened towards the end with questions about Palaszczuk quarantining in a hotel.

The relationship between Coates and Palaszczuk is close: she has known him for more than six years and she often asks his advice.

Coates’s comments, his “demand’’ she attend the opening ceremony in order to understand its complexity and protocols, given that Queensland will spend upwards of $100 million for a 2032 extravaganza, were actually sensible. Why sit in a hotel when she could be learning more about the Olympics that her government is half bankrolling?

Coates could have presented it better, but he was creating a political foil for the Premier to allow her to accept the still-open invitation from Tokyo Olympic organisers to be one of the select few in the stadium.

The Premier was asked immediately after that exchange if she wanted to answer, but she declined. Later on she said she didn’t want to offend anyone.

Palaszczuk said she wasn’t offended by Coates’s comments. If she had been, she had many chances to say so. She has a voice and has spoken. Those outraged on her behalf should not assume that being a woman means you are useless and can’t defend yourself.