The three experienced Olympians took a photograph of the drunk teammate sitting on the toilet in a prank at a social function late last week before circulating it to other teammates.
.....New Zealand were rocked in the closing stages of the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games by an alcohol-fuelled incident involving cyclists Tim Gudsell, Marc Ryan and Liz Williams.
Gudsell and Ryan were later found to have breached their Cycling New Zealand athlete's agreement and ordered to seek professional help to avoid a repeat."
For the full story, please go here
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Gary comments:
What a difference when the athletes are no longer needed! Contrast this firm action with the other incident that is referred to in the article above.
I was with the Cook Islands Team at the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games and learned first hand from the Games Village Police what happened that night by the Duck Pond between the two male cyclists and their unfortunate female team mate. It was disgusting to say the least. Everybody in the Games Village knew the truth; but the public showcase was carefully stage managed. Damage control ruled and no charges were laid.
What was even more disgusting was the actions of the management upon return to New Zealand who, it appears, concluded the male cyclists more essential for future campaigns than the female. While Liz Williams stayed relatively quiet, her mother sure was not; but was quickly put in her place and she shut up. Having a couple of daughters about Liz's age and seriously into cycling I was very interested to see how this business was going to be handled.
Gudsell and Ryan were sent to some counselling course and have continued their international cycling with various successes. Liz? We have no idea what was offered to help this young woman.
Did she get any support?
"Silly question, Gary - She's a girl and she was probably asking for it!"
As predicted at the time of the incident, she has disappeared off the NZ cycling scene.
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2 comments:
sad thing is, this sort of aggressive behaviour goes on at all levels in a lot of sport. from teenage sports up, there was another article commenting about the sex in the olympic village and the writer made the comment of a different set of rules apply when away from home. some people suspend their normal restraint and freely engage in aggressive behaviour like its a joke. "what happens on tour, stays on tour"
then they get what amounts to a slap on teh wrist and the nation if not the world sees this,
dont a lot of people wear it as a badge of honour to "get away with something" a bigger badge of honour to get caught and come through reltively unscathed.
these athlets must make public apologies for their actions if not be prosecuted by the law and or suspended from their sport to send a message to future sports people, this is not a joke. a lot of us have done silly things when we were drunk, but theres a limit to how much you take advantage of someones intoxication.
"she got what seh deserved"
teasing people never deserves denigration in return, and denigration should never be put up with. "getting treatment " is a cop out, does that tell us we are all entitled to behave in an aggressive manner to other people and get away with it at least once in our lives if we are found out?
i recall a prominent NZ olympic gold medal kayaker was once publicly outed for gross sexual harrassment, but it never came to much.
theres an element of "you can behave any way you like" in some sports "social environments", normal rules don't aply.
the primal condoning of excessive consumption of drugs legal or illegal, aggressive behaviour and sexual objectification of the opposite sex. a amoral environment is temporarily condoned by people who would otherwise like to be considered as moral.
While at the C'Games I saw no evidence at all of sexual shennaningans - of the consensual kind.
There was an incident involving a member of the Indian Team Management and a cleaner. He was up before the courts the next day, convicted and off home in disgrace.
I wonder whether that article about all the shagging at the Games is an attention-seeking effort of fantasy.
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