Time to end relationship’s downhill slide
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 20/09/2019 (2185 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
When a marriage breaks down, divorce is often the best option for both parties.
That appears to be the most practical solution to the bitter, public feud between Canadian Olympic bobsled champion Kaillie Humphries and her sport’s governing body.
Their war of words made headlines on Tuesday when a judge in Calgary rejected the two-time Olympic gold medallist’s request for an injunction that would have forced Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton to release her to compete for the United States.
The judge ruled Bobsleigh Canada has the power to decide whether an athlete is allowed to leave to compete for another country. It has justified blocking the 34-year-old Calgarian’s release on the grounds athletes shouldn’t be able to take advantage of years of training supplied by one country and go compete for another.
Bobsleigh Canada say it still wants Ms. Humphries in its program, but she is adamant about competing for the U.S., where she now lives after marrying a former American bobsledder.
“I will not be returning to Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton with the administration as it exists at this point,” Ms. Humphries told The Canadian Press in an email Wednesday. “It’s been made very clear I am not wanted by them, and I do not feel safe psychologically and physically.”
The acrimonious dispute has been rife with unsubstantiated allegations, but one thing is abundantly clear — the marriage between Ms. Humphries and Bobsleigh Canada is broken and can only go downhill from here.
In a lawsuit against the sport’s governing body, she has said she can no longer compete for the Canadian team after, she alleges, head coach Todd Hays verbally abused her and treated her unfairly and Bobsleigh Canada did nothing about it.
The organization has countered that it hired an independent investigator to review Ms. Humphries’ complaints, and the report found “there was not sufficient evidence to substantiate the allegations.”
When a marriage breaks down, it is not always of paramount importance to identify which party is to blame for the failure of a tempestuous relationship. What is important is to recognize when irreconcilable differences mean the only viable option is for the warring parties to go their separate ways.
There have been reports suggesting the sledder is a big part of the problem. Sportsnet.ca has quoted sources saying Ms. Humphries is selfish, doesn’t work with other pilots and the national team would be better off without her — from a morale standpoint, at least.
But that is irrelevant. When a marriage breaks down, it is not always of paramount importance to identify which party is to blame for the failure of a tempestuous relationship. What is important is to recognize when irreconcilable differences mean the only viable option is for the warring parties to go their separate ways.
Ms. Humphries needs both a letter of release from Bobsleigh Canada and a letter of acceptance from USA Bobsled by Sept. 30 in order to race in the 2019-20 season.
There is nothing to be gained by forcing an athlete to continue competing for a country for which she no longer wishes to compete. Through her lawyer, Ms. Humphries has vowed to continue to fight for her release — a clear signal this relationship cannot be repaired.
It’s true she received substantial public support — a reported $270,000 over her 15 years on the national team from Sport Canada — but fans on this side of the border have been amply repaid by her Olympic medal count: two gold and a bronze.
It’s time for Bobsleigh Canada to do the sporting thing — admit the marriage is over, thank Ms. Humphries for her service, write a letter of release and perhaps even wish her well in the future. The rest of us can be thankful there isn’t an additional squabble over who gets custody of the kids.
