Rugby Canada fired Jamie Cudmore, a former star participant in control of creating the following era of expertise, on Friday for a sequence of social media posts belittling the ladies’s sevens group.
His posts took goal on the sevens squad for its disappointing efficiency on the Tokyo Olympics.
A lot had been anticipated of the Canadian girls in Tokyo, given their efficiency in Rio and the actual fact they have been tied with Australia on factors for second within the World Rugby Sevens Collection standings when the pandemic shut down the season final yr.
However the Canadian girls misplaced to Fiji and France after beating Brazil to overlook out on the quarterfinals. Their subsequent sport in Tokyo is for ninth place.
Cudmore, an enforcer within the rugby subject throughout his enjoying days, served as an assistant coach with the Canadian males’s 15s group and ran Rugby Canada’s nationwide improvement academy.
The truth that the feedback got here from inside has added to a yr of turmoil for the governing physique and the sevens girls, who launched a proper criticism in January below Rugby Canada’s bullying and harassment coverage.
Cudmore apologized for the posts however was relieved of his duties quickly after. Rugby Canada known as the posts “unacceptable and in breach of group coverage.”
“It was an emotional occasion for a great buddy and I let that get the higher of me,” Cudmore mentioned on Twitter. “I’ve all the time performed/coached with my coronary heart on my sleeve for this nice nation. I am sorry if I’ve offended anybody.”
The great buddy is former sevens coach John Tait.
Within the wake of the criticism filed by 37 present and former group members, an impartial assessment concluded that whereas the conduct described within the criticism mirrored the experiences of the athletes, it didn’t fall inside Rugby Canada’s coverage’s definition of harassment or bullying.
Tait, whereas sustaining he had carried out nothing flawed, subsequently stepped down.
A former Canadian worldwide, Tait was one in all Rugby Canada’s most profitable coaches, main the sevens group to the bronze medal on the Rio Olympics.
The controversy has divided Rugby Canada, with most of Tait’s employees leaving.
It seems Cudmore couldn’t resist taking a shot on the girls given their Olympic efficiency below interim coach Mick Byrne.
“Karma is a bitch! .Survivorsmyass,” learn a since-deleted Cudmore tweet.
“Rugby Canada stands with our girls’s 7s athletes,” the governing physique mentioned in its preliminary response on social media. “We help the group of their efforts each on and off the rugby pitch and are happy with the best way they’ve represented our nation. Rugby Canada is conscious of latest social media feedback made concerning the group and labored to make sure they have been eliminated as rapidly as potential.
“Our organizational values embrace solidarity and respect, and everybody on our employees is predicted to assist create an inclusive atmosphere for all. We condemn any inappropriate feedback directed on the group and our management shall be assembly to handle this matter instantly.”
Rugby Canada upped the ante hours later, relieving Cudmore of his duties. CEO Allen Vansen mentioned in a sequence of tweets that the group had concluded “that speedy motion should be taken.”
“Rugby Canada’s core values, together with integrity and respect, should be exemplified in all our rugby applications and we’re decided to advertise a wholesome, inclusive tradition now and in future,” Rugby Canada board chair Sally Dennis mentioned within the assertion.
Cudmore gained 43 caps for Canada, enjoying in each the 2003 and 2007 World Cups. The six-foot-five 257-pound lock ahead is one in all Canada’s most well-known exports — a tough man on the rugby pitch who was no stranger to suspensions for taking issues into his personal arms on the sphere.
A number of of Cudmore’s deleted tweets have been captured and posted by sevens participant Charity Williams.
“I wished to take this second to speak about our efficiency and the way proud I’m of this group past any consequence,” Williams wrote on Instagram. “As a result of I’m, and what we completed this yr is way better than one weekend. What this group stands for and who we have now change into signifies that younger feminine athletes throughout Canada can play their sport and really feel protected. I am happy with that.
“However as a substitute I’ve to sit down right here as soon as once more and share what we have been going by way of as a group. The constant hatred we have now obtained from individuals in our personal group. I am solely sharing as a result of that is what we have now been coping with for months. From personal texts, to public stalking on-line and in individual. The bullying and harassment that we have now obtained for coming ahead is outrageous and scary at instances. That is the rationale we known as for an inside investigation as a result of we’ve not been protected.”
Within the wake of that probe, the gamers mentioned that they had been let down by Rugby Canada’s harassment and bullying coverage — which has since been up to date and changed.
Rugby Canada says it plans a “detailed, impartial assessment of all efficiency rugby applications beginning subsequent month with a aim of positioning groups for fulfillment in supportive, inclusive environments.”
Captain Ghislaine Landry additionally took to social media from Tokyo.
“We all the time knew this was about greater than rugby, about a couple of event, even when it is the Olympics. We knew the final 9 months may put our Olympic dream in jeopardy, we had that dialogue as a gaggle, and nonetheless the choice was clear. We have been able to put our goals in danger for change.
“This has not been a distraction but it surely has taken a toll on us. And so, whereas we’re heartbroken to not have been capable of play our greatest, we’re proud and united.”
In an announcement launched April 28, the gamers mentioned their criticism “defined the psychological abuse, harassment and/or bullying these athletes really feel they have been subjected to within the centralized coaching atmosphere.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first printed July 30, 2021.
