‘They’re trying to silence me’: pole vault sex abuse whistleblower Paul Burgess hits back
The Western Australian Institute of Sport has sent a legal letter to the coach who exposed shocking sexual abuse of athletes, including Olympic champion Nina Kennedy, demanding an end to its non-disparagement agreement.
The Western Australian Institute of Sport stands accused of trying to silence the coach who exposed shocking sexual abuse of athletes, after it sent the whistleblower an extraordinary letter – two days before Christmas – demanding an end to its non-disparagement agreement.
The legal letter, sent to Paul Burgess on December 23, also seeks to release WAIS from confidentiality and nondisclosure clauses in a deed of settlement signed by both parties in 2024 after Mr Burgess was forced to resign his position as head pole vault coach.
WAIS said in a statement that “given the repeated breaches” by Mr Burgess in raising matters with The Australian, the institute had “acted appropriately in requesting that such conduct cease immediately.”
“I feel like they are trying to silence me,” Mr Burgess said.
In December The Australian revealed how Mr Burgess was instrumental in exposing the behaviour of former WAIS pole vault coach Alex Parnov, who groomed, propositioned, sexually harassed and inappropriately touched a succession of vulnerable girls and young women in his care.
The investigation revealed how Mr Burgess had made complaints about Parnov’s behaviour, beginning in 2016 when he saw a video that showed the Russian-born coach running his hand down the back and across the bottom of up-and-coming star Nina Kennedy, who was then just 18.
Mr Burgess was told that then-WAIS chief executive Steve Lawrence had “decided not to go through formal channels for the incident” but would instead “speak to Parnov off the record and give him a strong, unofficial warning”.
Mr Burgess continued to push for an investigation of abuse allegations until Parnov was quietly sacked in 2019, with no details made public.
Kennedy told The Australian WAIS had failed to protect her and other athletes and that she did not believe the repercussions of the 2019 investigation “accurately matched the severity of the allegations and findings”.
WA Police are now assessing “potential criminal conduct” by Parnov, as WAIS and other sporting bodies scramble to deal with evidence that his predatory behaviour was ignored and then kept secret by WAIS for more than 15 years.
At a snap press conference the day after The Australian’s revelations, WAIS chairman Neale Fong acknowledged that Mr Burgess was “impacted significantly by the behaviour of Parnov and potentially by the organisation’s failure to deal with that” and was “very deeply hopeful that we could bring some closure to his issues as well”.
WAIS chief executive Matt Fulton released a statement acknowledging that as well as the devastating effect on athletes, Mr Burgess “was also significantly impacted by the behaviour of Mr Parnov and the organisation’s failure to respond appropriately at the time”.
But just over a week later, WAIS lawyers Mills Oakley wrote to Mr Burgess noting “recent breaches” of the deed he signed, apparently a reference to the coach’s statements to The Australian.
The WAIS lawyers sought “written consent” from Mr Burgess “to agree to mutually release both parties” from the non-disparagement, confidentiality and nondisclosure clauses of the deed, with confirmation required by December 27.
“WAIS, including on behalf of its employees, reserves all of its rights,” the lawyers noted.
Mr Burgess told The Australian he was left “shattered” by the legal letter.
“I just wanted transparency and the truth to come out the whole time and I just feel like I have been punished all along for wanting this,” he said.
“After receiving this, two days out from Christmas, I felt shattered and was left distraught.”
It is understood Mr Burgess’s new legal team has not yet responded to the letter.
Mr Fulton told The Australian that WAIS had “no intention” of deliberately disparaging Mr Burgess but instead sought to “set the record straight to enable the dialogue to refocus on all of the alleged victims of Alex Parnov”.
“Mr Burgess has acted despite his lawful obligations under the settlement deed in raising the matters he has raised,” Mr Fulton said, in a written statement from himself and Dr Fong.
“Given the repeated breaches of Mr Burgess, WAIS has acted appropriately in requesting that such conduct cease immediately.
“Neither Mr Burgess or his lawyers have agreed to allow WAIS to openly respond to the matters raised.
“WAIS’s overriding concern … is on the athletes who have allegedly suffered harm and trauma by Alex Parnov, which athletes have courageously and bravely come forward to say what their personal experiences have been.”
The statement did not address questions from The Australian asking how the legal letter would bring “some closure” for Mr Burgess, as Dr Fong had earlier claimed to desire.
In the days after The Australian’s revelations, both Mr Fulton and Dr Fong sought to distance themselves from the scandal, repeatedly emphasising that the failure to deal with Parnov’s misconduct had occurred under WAIS’s previous management and board.
But Mr Burgess says he was forced to resign – just months out from the Paris Olympics at which his star athlete, Nina Kennedy, was to compete – under the newly installed management and board.
When he arrived at the WAIS grounds on April 2, 2024, he was stopped by security guards and forcibly barred from the premises.
Later, he says, they wanted him to resign: “They said I’d broken the code of conduct, but they wanted to offer me a chance to resign and to save my family from humiliation.”
Mr Fulton has previously declined to answer questions about the meeting, telling The Australian it would “not make public comments on individuals’ employment matters including those related to Mr Burgess’s resignation from WAIS”.
Mr Burgess acknowledges that the strain of the past few years has had a profound emotional impact on him, and that he has at times made inappropriate comments to his bosses and become highly upset, sometimes breaking down in tears.
But he does not believe he has done anything to warrant being forced to resign, or to leave Kennedy without her coach in the crucial final lead-up to the Paris Olympic Games.
Mr Burgess ultimately was able to continue coaching Kennedy through to the Olympics on a short-term contract from Athletics Australia.
Kennedy memorably won gold in Paris, the only WAIS Athletics athlete to do so.
After the triumphant win, Mr Burgess’s emotion spilled over and he was captured on camera giving “the bird” to those in authority.
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