Former NZ hockey player Amelia Gibson during the Rio 2016 Olympics.GETTY IMAGES
New Zealand field hockey execs and its players' association will meet on Monday to "try and resolve problems" around the women's Black Sticks "in the wake of a damaging email critical of players before the World Cup last month," according to David Leggat of the NEW ZEALAND HERALD. Hockey NZ moved to "shut the issue down" after longtime coach Mark Hager wrote an email which was negative toward three players before the World Cup. But instead of sending it to its "one intended recipient, a member of his coaching/support staff, he inadvertently sent it to all his players." Hager apologized in person to the group and each player individually, but "rather than die away the matter is simmering." Former goalkeeper Amelia Gibson spoke out, "detailing the reasons she walked away from the game." She said that "fear kept her quiet." Gibson: "You want to be treated with integrity, you want to be able to play to the best of your ability, but if you're in a negative environment it's not possible to perform. It becomes pretty real when you're at home crying most days." She raised her concerns with HNZ, which acknowledged it received a complaint from a third party but felt it did not "require further action at the time." That view is "being revisited" (NZ HERALD, 8/16).
