#playtrue

The Power of Sport 2022

The Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport and True Sport have published our report on the social, health, and economic implications of the Canadian sport system.

"Community sport is not broken, but if we want sport to live up to its true potential, we need to be intentional about ensuring that it reflects our shared values and that everyone has a chance to partici­pate."

Will WADA live up to the ideals of sport and ban Russia from the Olympics?

My past article in the Globe and Mail argued for the imperative for the World Anti-Doping Agency to impose meaningful consequences for the Russian state-sponsored sport doping crisis.

In the end, Russian athletes were authorised to compete at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympics, but as "Olympic Athletes from Russia" instead of as "Russia's Olympic Athletes".

I suspect Vladimir Putin will survive the grief of this punishment.

At the Anti-Doping Symposium

I have seen sport drive social change, transforming private hearts and public attitudes with a power legislation can not equal.

But if the World Anti-Doping Agency’s governance system leaves it unable to protect sport integrity, that dream will perish.

Governance in Anti-Doping

The Russian state-sponsored doping crisis revealed corruption at the highest levels of government and sport.

Can the World Anti-Doping Agency summon the independence and strength necessary to repel those forces, or will its governance system be captured by them?

19 May 2021, 13h00 UTC (09h00 EDT) Attendance is free, with advance registration.

Duty of Care in Sport

I enjoyed speaking with Susan Guého, in support of her work on a potential Ombudsman over the British sport system.

National team officers always wield tremendous power over athletes, and sport federations are frequently beset by endemic conflicts of interest.  Athletes deserve to have their rights protected by a genuinely independent authority.

I volunteer as a Director of the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport. We have published our 2019 Annual Report, to maintain transparency and accountability to Canadians.

High performance sport is sometimes sordid and venal, but it can still inspire us to our better angels: fair play; equality of opportunity in the pursuit of excellence; humility in victory and grace in defeat. It can take bitter enemies and bring them together as peers around a shared passion.

Representing Canada as an equestrian athlete was one of the great honours of my life. I serve with the CCES to try to ensure that no athlete need compromise honour for career.