After CBC revealed that a top coach was promoted despite allegations of inappropriate behaviorthen allowed to voluntarily resign after failing to improve that behavior, Canada’s sport minister said Gymnastics Canada wrongly gave the coach “an easy way out”.
On Monday, a CBC News investigation detailed how Gymnastics Canada CEO Ian Moss allegedly learned of concerns about well-known and respected coach Alex Bard before appointing him to lead the country’s women’s artistic gymnastics program.
Bard has been coaching gymnastics in Canada for four decades, but several people say he was also known for alleged inappropriate actions.
Three former Gymnastics Canada staff and coaches confirmed there had been complaints about Bard for several years, long before he rose to the top of the ranks.
The allegations, which were unproven and never led to charges, included abusive behavior towards female coaches and athletes, and kissing, touching and instilling fear in young people gymnasts.
Gymnastics Canada is one of the largest national sport organizations in the country, with over 310,000 registered athletes. It is the main pipeline for the development of Canadian gymnasts who aspire to compete on the world stage, including the Olympic Games.
In a statement to CBC, Federal Sports Minister Pascale St-Onge said “toxic training practices and cultures of silence run deep” within national sports organizations, and that those organizations must change.
“Coaches accused of such behavior should be investigated and not offered an easy way out,” the minister’s statement said.
“All of us – parents, coaches, officials, administrators and volunteers – must have zero tolerance for the abuse and mistreatment of athletes, and I hope that message is clear to everyone.”
Leaders must respond quickly to allegations of abuse, minister says
St-Onge said the responsibility lies with anyone in a position of power within a national sport organization, such as Gymnastics Canada.
“Individuals in leadership positions should act as soon as they become aware of abuse or mistreatment of any kind within their organization, act responsibly and be responsible for change,” the statement said.
“It is a requirement of good governance and management.”
One of Bard’s supervisors at Gymnastics Canada, Karl Balisch, admitted to CBC that concerns had been expressed to him about Bard’s behavior.
Balisch left the organization in 2018 and currently works as Executive Director of Archery Canada.
Yet Bard was promoted the same year Balisch left, and just months after Moss – who was the organization’s high performance director at the time – also acknowledged his concerns about Bard’s behavior, according to one source.
Bard was subsequently expelled in 2019 due to his failure to improve his behavior, according to a letter from Moss to the Gymnastics Canada board.
St-Onge’s office called many of the allegations against Bard “outdated coaching methods.”
Bard allowed to quit
As first reported by TSN, Bard was given the choice of resigning or facing an internal investigation. He told TSN he had “nothing to prove” and left, but he continues to coach young gymnasts across Canada.
Moss told CBC he did his best with the information available when he received the various concerns.
“There were a number of informal concerns that were raised which we dealt with in terms of behavior and then there was a formal complaint about inappropriate behavior in an incident that [had] nothing to do with abuse or mistreatment,” Moss said.
“I treated him accordingly, and I stand by that.”
Gymnastics Canada’s board of directors has also been reshuffled since Bard’s departure, according to current board chair Jeff Thomson.
Amid calls for an independent third-party investigation, Gymnastics Canada hired McLaren Global Sport Solutions this summer to help design a review of the organization’s culture and analyze its national safe sport policies and procedures. McLaren is expected to release a public report in January 2023.
The organization has also recently signed up to access the services of the new Office of the Sports Integrity Commissioner (OSIC), which has been set up to provide a single, fully independent complaints investigator. He will be an official member no later than December 2.
The St-Onge office has funding suspended at Gymnastics Canadapending confirmation that the organization has joined the OSIC.
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