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AOC President John Coates Hits Back At 'Vindictive' Campaign

Australian Olympic Committee President John Coates said that he is "victim of a vindictive campaign to oust him" as AOC president, according to the AAP. Ahead of a May 6 vote for the presidency, when Coates will be challenged by Olympian Danni Roche, he said that the campaign against him is "malicious" and also "rejects claims of bullying in the AOC." Coates "defended" himself and the organization in a letter to the AOC exec and national sporting organizations, which will vote on the presidency. Coates wrote, "There is clearly a coordinated and sadly vindictive campaign to damage me personally, and to tarnish all that has been achieved at the AOC. This campaign is as disappointing as it is unfounded." Coates' letter comes "amid claims of bullying" within the AOC from former staff including former CEO Fiona de Jong. The allegations center on long-time AOC Media Dir Mike Tancred. Coates said that the bullying claims were defamatory, false and "maliciously" published. De Jong said that she "lodged a formal and confidential complaint about Tancred but had heard nothing about the matter for four months." But Coates, in his letter, "denied any lack of action." He wrote, "Specifically regarding the complaint made by Fiona De Jong, I assure you due process has been followed and followed with urgency" (AAP, 4/25). ABC's Matt Peacock reported Roche said that rumors of bullying within the AOC are "cause for concern and have been around for some time." She said, "I have heard rumors, but it wouldn't be appropriate for me to comment on the allegations." Last week, Tancred, who is "loyal to Coates," said that Roche was "only putting herself forward for the role of AOC president at the behest" of Australian Sports Commission Chair John Wylie. Roche denied the allegation, and "insisted she was not a stalking horse" for Wylie. She said, "I am my own person, and I would very much like to see the Australian Olympic Committee serve athletes in our country to reach their potential." She said that to do that "there needed to be generational change at the top of the AOC" (ABC, 4/24). REUTERS' Peter Rutherford reported former AOC staffer Ryan Wells detailed a "separate allegation of bullying against Tancred" when working in the media department in '04. Tancred "declined to comment" about the allegations. Coates said that an AOC exec meeting that has been called for this week would be a "sensible discussion" about the issues (REUTERS, 4/25). 

LOSING ITS VOICE: In Sydney, Roy Masters opined Roche hopes to "do a Donald Trump, riding the wave of change, hoping it sweeps her from the board of Hockey Australia to the top Australian job." Yet, "just as Trump has found, international experience is critical if you are seeking to wage war or win votes." Coates' management style has been criticized, but he "must surely be a Coates of many colours, given the persuasive diplomacy he adopts outside Australia and the regard in which he is held." Coates, as IOC VP and chair of the coordination committee of the 2020 Tokyo Games, is, right now, the "most important world figure in Olympic sports." The int'l federations of these sports have "applied for 68 different event changes for the Tokyo Olympics." The proposed changes "will first be studied" by the Tokyo coordination committee, then the IOC program committee, then the IOC exec board in July. Coates "sits on all three bodies." If he loses to Roche on May 6, he "immediately surrenders his roles." Ironically, the sports that have indicated they will vote for Roche "need Coates' support" (SYDNEY MORNING HERALD, 4/25).

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