The University of Guelph track and field team says the culture around the team has changed since its long time coach was fired.
An email from team member Graham Pitfield, speaking on behalf of his teammates, was sent out Thursday addressing the recent changes and challenges the program has faced since longtime coach Dave Scott-Thomas was fired.
It also addresses the recent Globe and Mail article detailing an inappropriate sexual relationship Scott-Thomas had with then 17-year-old student/athlete Megan Brown in 2006.
"This has been a difficult year for our team, our coaches and the Guelph Track and Field community as a whole. Since October, our team has worked through uncertainty and frustrations, in turn yielding to shock, anger and most of all sadness. Although individuals have been affected differently, no team member has emerged unscathed," said the statement.
"The recent Globe and Mail article detailing the actions of our former coach, Dave Scott-Thomas, was deeply troubling and impactful upon us; as community members, as students and as athletes. The conduct of our former coach was abhorrent and inexcusable, as were the failings of multiple institutions to protect athletes. That so many details outlined in the article were unknown to so many of us only makes it worse."
The email said that while a win-at-all-cost mentality was experienced by many team members under Scott-Thomas, "it is equally true that such a mentality is not representative of the current team culture or leadership."
They also praised the support the team has received from the school's current Athletic Department, while recognizing the "outrage over the ineffectiveness of the 2006 investigation."
"The effort made this year to ensure the safety and well- being of team members, past and present, has been evident and genuine. Likewise, the transparency provided to us by Scott McRoberts and the Athletic Department has made clear that the current institution is not the same as it was in 2006."
"There is no question that this team does not belong to the legacy of our former coach. Our team is not imploding .... This season marks the beginning of a new era for Guelph Track and Field, and our best is yet to come."
In related news, Queen's university has fired its track and field coach following comments he made about the handling of the Scott-Thomas affair.
The school said in a statement to the Globe and Mail that that Steve Boyd's comments " do not reflect the values expected by representatives of Queen’s University."
Samantha Beattie, a former member of the U of G track and field team and now a reporter with the Huffington Post, said on Twitter that Boyd made comments on Facebook that compared Gryphon athletes on teams coached by Scott-Thomas to collaborators in POW camps.
She also showed screen shots of the Queen's coach comparing the role athletes played to those of an abused spouse whose partner is also abusing their children.
"Like the abused spouse who hides the partner's abuse against the kids, the behaviour of Guelph athletes who either said nothing or who actively recruited high schoolers with the knowledge that they too might end up being abused is understandable in many ways, it still does play a role in continuing the situation," Boyd said.
