Four former members of Canada’s national water polo team program have filed a $5.5 million lawsuit against the federation, alleging its executives, coaches and support staff fostered a toxic culture during more than a decade.
According to the lawsuit, the athletes were sexually harassed, encouraged to make sexual, racist and homophobic jokes, threatened by a coach who told them they would be shot or beaten with a baseball bat if they played poorly, criticized and made fun of for their physical appearance, and repeatedly warned to honor the organization’s “circle of trust”.
A 38-page statement was filed in the Ontario Superior Court on April 29 and served today on Water Polo Canada. The plaintiffs, Sophie Baron La Salle, Katrina Monton, Stephanie Valin, and an athlete referred to in court documents as “AA”, were members of the junior and senior women’s national teams between 2004 and 2016.
The plaintiffs sought $1 million in general and aggravated damages for breach of fiduciary duty, breach of contract and vicarious liability for physical, psychological and emotional abuse and sexual harassment. They also sought $4 million for past and future economic losses, special damages including the cost of past and future care, and $500,000 in punitive damages.
Water Polo Canada, based in Ottawa, is a not-for-profit organization that receives funding from the federal government. In 2021-22, WPC received $2.2 million from Sport Canada while its carded athletes received $684,130, according to government records.
The plaintiffs claim that the actions of federation staff – some of whom they say participated in the alleged abuse, others choosing to ignore it – caused them emotional, physical and psychological harm, anxiety and depression, personal shame and self-blame, suicidal ideation, PTSD, memory difficulties, panic attacks, alcohol abuse and deep trust issues.
The allegations have not been tested in court and Water Polo Canada has not filed a defence.
Former national team members are the latest in a string of Canadian athletes to come forward with allegations of widespread misconduct within their federation. Gymnastics Canada, Alpine Canada, Rowing Canada, Canada Soccer and Hockey Canada have all gone through crises in recent years amid allegations of misconduct.
Although not listed as defendants in the suit, the lawsuit makes a series of allegations against national team coaches and staff, including Baher El Sakkary, who coached the women’s junior national team of 2004 to 2005; Daniel Berthelette, who was technical advisor and assistant coach for the senior women’s national team from 2007 to 2011; Pat Oaten, who coached the Senior Women’s National Team from 2002 to 2012; and Guy Baker, who coached the Senior Women’s National Team from 2012 to 2014.
“Baher, Dan, Pat and Guy together fostered a toxic culture at WPC throughout the plaintiffs’ many years on the Women’s National Team,” the lawsuit states. “It was a culture marked by anger, violence, bullying, sexual harassment, body shaming, pressure for underage drinking and binge drinking… Every male coach adult took advantage of the power imbalance between himself and the young female athletes he cared for in an attempt to achieve high performance results at the expense of the athletes’ physical, psychological and emotional well-being.
The lawsuit alleges that El Sakkary bullied athletes, calling them demeaning names such as “stupid”, “kids” and “a bunch of princesses” and telling them they were “chubby” and “unattractive”.
“Baher was also sexually inappropriate with the athletes,” the claim reads. “On several occasions, he met athletes, including AA, Katrina and Steph, in his hotel room wearing only his underwear. During these meetings, he sometimes held a whiteboard to his genitals and forced athletes staring at the whiteboard while he ostensibly talked about games.
In October 2004, Monton and Valin’s parents complained to Oaten about Baher’s behavior and filed complaints with then-WPC chief executive Heather Kaulbach, but nothing changed, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit also details how Berthelette was fired by the organization in 2001 in response to complaints from athletes and an external investigation into her behavior, then rehired two years later to coach the junior women’s team. In 2007, Berthelette was hired as a technical advisor and assistant coach for the senior women’s national team.
“Dan threatened violence against the athletes and their loved ones,” the lawsuit states. “When athletes were performing poorly, he would warn them that he would bring a shotgun or a baseball bat to the pool to shoot or beat them. During practices, Dan threatened to hurt the athletes’ families if they did not behave in a satisfactory manner.
“To cement his authority and reinforce the athletes’ belief that he would carry out these threats, Dan told the team graphic stories about his past violence and affiliations with the Mafia, the Hell’s Angels and dangerous gangster friends.
Berthelette, according to the lawsuit, told the athletes he wanted to have sex with them so he could “tell whether they were lesbians or not,” and stood in a dining hall during a tournament in Portugal in 2007 to announce which athletes were allowed to have dessert.
“On at least one occasion, he spiked an athlete’s drink with vodka,” the lawsuit said.
Berthelette was asked to leave the organization for the second time in 2011, according to the lawsuit.
Oaten, who is now the current senior men’s national team coach, reportedly pressured La Salle, then a member of the senior women’s national team, to attend practice in a loud and bright pool environment. after suffering a concussion. The claim also details an incident during a training session in Hawaii after members of the national team called for a break in the water.
“He refused, saying, ‘There is water all around you,’ and motioning that athletes could drink the pool water if they were thirsty,” the lawsuit states, adding that Oaten has openly discussed her sex life and described her beauty standards with the national team. members.
Baker is said to have openly belittled and criticized athletes in front of others.
“He lined up athletes in bathing suits and ranked them in front of everyone based on their value to him and to the team,” the lawsuit states. “He reminded some athletes of their subordinate positions and openly warned them that they were about to be kicked out of the team.”
In 2013, a year into Baker’s start as a senior women’s national team coach, team physiotherapist Marie-Pier Fafard began taking notes on Baker’s training.
“The guy called [Fafard] a traitor and told the athletes if they were in the Wild West we would settle this with guns,” the lawsuit said. “Marie-Pier’s note-taking caught Guy’s attention through an athlete, whom Guy praised for her loyalty. Guy told the team that the athlete was a team player and he thanked her for having his back. He then said that Marie-Pier could no longer be trusted…”
Fafard left the organization because of Baker’s alleged abusive practices, as did team psychologist Dr. Shaunna Taylor, assistant coach Johanne Begin and some athletes, according to the suit.
After WPC hired sports psychologist and former Canadian Olympian Dr. Penny Werthner in 2013 to investigate allegations of misconduct against Baker, the coach reportedly learned of the investigation, met with the athletes individually and encouraged them to lying about the team’s training environment.
“Guy warned the athletes, including the plaintiffs, that they shared a ‘circle of trust’ and if anyone broke it, they would know…” the lawsuit said.
“Although Dr. Werthner recommended that WPC take action regarding the Guy complaint, WPC did not follow Dr. Werthner’s recommendations,” the lawsuit said. Instead, the team was forced to continue traveling and training with Guy for several months after Dr. Werthner submitted his report to WPC.
A year later, in the summer of 2014, WPC told athletes that Baker would not be returning as a coach, but offered no details. After the athletes demanded to see Werthner’s report, WPC chief executive Martin Goulet refused, saying it was confidential.
WPC President Kathleen Dawson announced on October 14 that Goulet was leaving the organization.
“With a strong sense of ethics, diligence and constancy, [Goulet] guided the organization for nearly a decade and leaves behind an impressive legacy,” Dawson wrote in a statement at the time.
The lawsuit also examines the behavior of some national team support staff.
In 2013, Valin confided in WPC support staff Danièle Sauvageau, former head coach of the Canadian Olympic women’s hockey team, about Baker’s volatile outbursts and bullying, according to the lawsuit. .
“Steph told Danièle that she hoped to be seriously injured so that she would not have to train with Guy,” the lawsuit states. “Danièle did not intervene to protect Steph, nor put Steph in touch with psychological support to fulfill Steph’s desire to be hurt.”
The claim also states that Senior Women’s National Team strength and conditioning coach Alain Delorme actively contributed to a toxic training environment by promoting “No Filter Fridays”, during which he made sexual comments about the women on the team and encouraged team members to make sexual, racist, and homophobic statements.
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