Wiebe and teammates appeal to Duncan for an independent body for safe sport
TORONTO — Erica Wiebe knows how Olympic dreams can be threatened with a complaint to the wrong person.
The Olympic wrestling gold medallist said is lucky to have had “amazing coaches and amazing experiences” in her sport, but has seen teammates struggle around safe sport issues.
Canadian wrestlers are appealing to Kirsty Duncan to establish a third-party body to handle cases of harassment and abuse, and on Monday sent an open letter to Canada’s Minister of Science, Sport and People with Disabilities claiming conflict of interest and inconsistency in the current system have created an environment of fear and mistrust.
“Sometimes when you have a problem with your boss, it’s really awkward to go to your boss and complain about it,” Wiebe said. “And so, if you’re having an issue with your coach, and your coach is employed by your CEO, we’ve seen it so many times where organizations are protecting the coaches, they’re protecting their employees rather than their athletes.