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news
Shane Sutton (picture source Team Sky 2013)Jess Varnish "shocked and upset" as it emerges British Cycling investigation cleared Shane Sutton on eight out of nine charges
British Cycling upheld just one of nine charges relating to allegations made by track sprinter Jess Varnish against former Great Britain Cycling Team technical director Shane Sutton, it has emerged.
Varnish, who competed at the London 2012 Olympics in the team sprint with Victoria Pendleton – the pair won world championship silver in the event in 2011 – has said she is “shocked and upset” at the news, which she has described as “heart breaking,”
In October, the governing body upheld Varnish’s complaint against the Australian, saying he had “used inappropriate and discriminatory language,” and expressed its “sincere regret that this happened.”
> British Cycling upholds Jessica Varnish’s allegation of discrimination against Shane Sutton
But according to a letter obtained by BBC Sport’s Dan Roan, just one of the nine charges laid against Sutton – namely, that he used the word “bitches” – was upheld.
The charges against the 59-year-old, who has previously said he plans to appeal against the decision, fall under two broad headings – allegations of discriminatory conduct, and bullying.
The letter obtained by BBC Sport, reveals he faced three charges of having used “derogatory and offensive language” – namely, “bitches,” “Sheilas,” and “use of the c word’.” Only the first was upheld.
Also under the heading of alleged discriminatory conduct were “alleged discriminatory conduct” about Varnish’s age and gender. Those were that he told her to go and have a baby, and that he branded women as being difficult. Neither was upheld.
Two other charges fell under that heading – that equipment was not distributed equally among male and female riders, and that there was discrimination in terms of careers after a rider left the Olympic Podium Programme. Again, Sutton was cleared on both.
The other two charges related to alleged bullying by Sutton, one in relation to Varnish’s body weight, the other to the decision to end her participation in the Olympic Podium Programme. Neither was upheld.
All of which begs the question why British Cycling announced last month, without qualification, that it had upheld Varnish’s complaint, especially since the separate UK Sport-ordered investigation which was due to report in October is still ongoing.
Certainly, Varnish, who turned 26 last month but is no longer on the Great Britain Cycling Team squad of funded athletes, was taken aback by the news that Sutton had been cleared of all but one of the charges.
The Worcestershire-born rider told BBC Sport: “I am shocked and upset by this latest news and have instructed my solicitors to appeal the findings of the internal investigation on my behalf.
“Having provided substantial evidence to back up my complaints, to now learn that the majority were not upheld, is heart breaking. I know what was said, and I know I’ve told the truth.”
She added: “I have requested from British Cycling the full investigation report to understand why the weight of evidence presented by me and others wasn’t sufficient for the board to uphold my complaints.”
Her lawyer, Simon Fenton, insisted that the way British Cycling had conducted its investigation had harmed both parties.
He said: “Jess Varnish is demanding to see the report produced by British Cycling which they are releasing in dribs and drabs.
"They have managed to satisfy neither Jess nor Shane Sutton and to embarrass themselves in the process.
"Everyone needs to see the full report to understand how they came to their conclusions and to challenge them if appropriate."
While some of Team GB’s gold-medal winning cyclists at the Rio Olympics, including Ed Clancy and Joanna Rowsell-Shand, have backed Sutton, British Cycling’s decision in October suggested there was no way back for him.
Sutton is understood to be on a shortlist of seven people for the vacant role of High Performance Director at Cycling Australia.
> Sutton shortlisted for Australian performance director role
Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.
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48 comments
He said 'snowflake', instantly marking himself out as an alt-right loon.
indeed, the comsopolitan elite would obviously have called her a provincial snowflake
To be absolutely accurate we can't even say that he called any one "bitches" Just that he used the word. We don't even know the context of the way that he used that word.
The chances are they upheld 1 of the charges just for show but the way that they worded the finding seems to muddy the waters as to whether he used it perjoratively.
They have left enough wiggle room for Jess Varnish to wiggle out of it all without being found to be an outright liar. She appears to not want to take that exit.
Charming.
It's all her fault, is it?
That Sutton was 'cleared' does not mean he's innocent. If you read some comments from others involved at a high level in the BC Olympic setup you'll know that he was a loose cannon and tolerated while 'on the leash' in a strict coaching role. The controls weren't present when he replaced Brailsford in a job to which he appears to be wholly unsuited.
If you know anything about workplace politics / dynamics in a pressurised environment you'd realise that the language he was accused of, whether heat-of-the-moment frustration or a regular part of his vernacular, is not acceptable to most people in 21st century and would certainly not be the best way to communicate with young athletes.
Your subsequent response to larrydavid was deliberately insulting and unnecessarily rude, which suggests that you are simply can't or won't communicate intelligently with anyone who doesn't share your view. If so then I'd stay off the internet if I were you.
Yeah... it's all about the medals and nothing to do with the values isn't it? Silly bitches.
Bollocks.
Surely in world we now inhabit this verdict gives him a platform to run for a higher office than that. Australia's next Prime Minister, maybe?
Nobody comes out of this glowing in glory - not Sutton, Varnish or British Cycling. Their combined actions are bringing our sport into disrepute.
I don't think it is. Dirty laundry is never nice to see but has to be done if those involved are to move forwards. Although in this case it appears that BC have not really addressed the issues satisfactorily, which must be very disappointing for some athletes.
It indicates to me that the so-called 'medal factory' (at a cost of £4.1 million per medal) is not as great a place to be as one might like to think.
I suspect it is like that in a lot of sports. Something which should be amateur, self-organized and done for the love of it has been turned into an industry with quasi-religious aspects. The corporate structures necessary for this industry open up the usual paths of abuse.
Ironically many of the values which are lightly touted as arising from sport seem to be destroyed once it becomes professionalized. I certainly don't want any of my kids getting involved beyond a certain point.
I wasn't under the apprehension that all would be sweetness and light there. It's very high stakes. Riders have to be on their best as do the whole team. Very high pressures. And yes medals cost a lot. But hey look at how much we are p*ssing away on Brexit - its small change.
Well that's just simplified business cases up and down the country.
Is it as much as Brexit? Y/N
what a shock the man who knows all the dirty secrets was basically cleared. Come on Jess, fight for this allthe way
Strewth mate, what's the world coming to when you can't call Sheilas 'bitches' anymore. Better off heading back home, where you can't ride without being harassed by the fuzz or critters, but you can still go raging at the Geiger Counter in your ute.
makes me proud to be British - where carry on films look like a more sensible version of reality
Wow, really thought more of the charges would have held, given the number of riders who agreed with Jess.
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