Langford-based Rugby sa国际传媒 responded Thursday to the continuing fallout it faces from its third-party investigation into harassment and bullying complaints levied by Canadian women鈥檚 Olympic sevens team players against former head coach John Tait of Mill Bay.
The report cleared Tait but 37 players issued a statement subsequently expressing dissatisfaction over its findings.
鈥淭his is a very difficult time for our women鈥檚 sevens program, particularly for the athletes and staff, past and present, who were involved in the recent complaint process,鈥� said Rugby sa国际传媒 CEO Allen Vansen, in a statement.
鈥淥ur immediate priority is providing support for the mental health and well-being of everyone directly impacted by the investigation, as well as the physical health of those affected by the recent positive COVID tests.鈥�
Rugby sa国际传媒 said it can鈥檛 release the report due to confidentiality guidelines.
鈥淲e feel this process failed to protect us and did not acknowledge the abuse and harassment that we believe we suffered,鈥� said a statement, released on team captain Ghislaine Landry鈥檚 twitter account last month.
The organization addressed the players鈥� reaction to the independent report conducted by Win Win HR Solutions Inc.
鈥淲e understand the desire to debate, discuss and in some cases, look to assign blame,鈥� said Tim Powers, Rugby sa国际传媒 board chair.
鈥淔or the well-being of all involved in this process, we encourage reasonable, compassionate and respectful engagement now more than ever.鈥�
Rugby sa国际传媒 added it will conduct an 鈥渋nclusive and transparent鈥� review of all its national-team programs in Langford following the Tokyo Olympics.
With the situation clearly untenable, Tait stepped down, despite the report鈥檚 findings. Mick Byrne, a consultant to the national team since 2012, will guide the world No. 3-ranked Canadian women鈥檚 sevens team at the Tokyo Olympics this summer.
鈥淚 was not surprised that the investigation, which I had requested to be initiated, concluded that the complaints were all unfounded and did not breach any of Rugby sa国际传媒 policies,鈥� Tait said in an emailed response to the sa国际传媒, following the report.
鈥淩egardless, I no longer desire to continue as the national team head coach. This entire experience has been extremely difficult and stressful for my family and I.鈥�
Tait coached the women鈥檚 team to the bronze medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics, to gold medals in the 2015 Toronto and 2019 Lima Pan Am Games, and to the bronze-medal game of the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games. Under Tait鈥檚 mentorship, the national side also won a World Cup silver medal and was a consistent top-three nation in the annual World Series circuit.
