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Bob Birarda done as Womens Whitecaps/ CSA Womens U-20 Gaffer

Canucks4Ever

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Interesting statement.

I have to say the silence was starting to become deafening on this issue. No one was jumping in on the record either for or against the allegations.

On the face of it this statement strikes me as just more hearsay when it comes to "Coach Billy" and his alleged actions. Again, no first hand accounts of incidents that occurred, in fact this is almost third hand at this point. That does not make the allegations any less true, but the more links in the chain, the more opportunity for rumour, etc., to infiltrate the information that is being passed on. It also strikes me as a bit of a targeted swipe at Coastal for what feels like might be personal reasons. That certainly does not invalidate the statement, but it does perhaps colour it somewhat.

It seems to shift things back towards the sexual allegations as opposed to the bullying/systemic cultural allegations. Again, there is mention that "Coach Billy" is an "excellent coach" and there is no criticism in this statement, at least as I read it, of there being any issues with the way he coaches. Sounds like Coastal certainly felt that way about his coaching methods, as it does not seem like there was any hesitation in hiring him for his coaching ability.

Rumours swirling "in the soccer community" are not proof of anything. Definitely some thing you talk about as a risk assessment (ie is hiring this person going to damage our brand or promote it?), but there was nothing on the record. Specifically there was no police investigation or charges. Drawing the conclusion that he would not have left the Whitecaps/CSA if there was not a sinister reason for him to do so is false logic. It is an explanation, but not the only, definitive explanation. To put it in other terms, it is certainly not the reason beyond a reasonable doubt why he left. In fact, I would venture that it is touch and go to say it was the reason he left on a balance of probabilities based on the evidence currently available to the public (and it seems there was even less evidence made public at the time).

That being said, it does put Coastal in the awkward position of having the statement put out by CM saying that this is "all new to them" appear to be, at best, a mischaracterization of the facts. CM has responded to Reddy's comments by saying the club will not have any further comment until there is "new information." As I stated previously, knowing who was part of Coastal/Peace Arch/South Fraser/Semiahmoo at the time, I have difficulty believing that, with all their Whitecaps connections and contacts, they would not have heard the rumours. Again though, as there was nothing on the record, it would seem difficult to condemn them entirely for opting to hire what was, on the face of it, basically an overqualified coach who could be a major contributor getting HPL off the ground.

If it comes out that the Whitecaps did bury tangible evidence of inappropriate behaviour then there should be hell to pay. If they did have proof of these allegations it means either they lied to Coastal or Coastal was a party to disregarding it.

Otherwise this is all starting to drift towards soccer politics and away from the real issue IMO.
 

dezza

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1) The Police were in fact contacted in 2008, however there were no charges against the coach.

I have heard this from a reliable source. What wasn't revealed is the reason why he was not charged. It's possible the complainant decided they did not want to go through the court system. It's also possible that the crown just decided there wasn't enough evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he was guilty. Again, those are just 2 of many possible reasons. I have no insight into the investigation/decision other than knowing the police were involved.


2) As part of the agreement between Whitecaps/CSA and Coach Billy it seems that there was a Non Disclosure Agreement.

I've heard this mentioned a couple times now by JJ Adams, and other media folk. I don't have any further detail on that, but it would explain why the organizations are so reluctant to talk more about the issue.
 

GoF

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Yup, I've been told the NDA is being used by a few people in terms of what they are willing to now say on record on this.

Was also told that a couple of people would be coming forward this week to speak on the Ciara side of things. So Reddy could be the first of a couple or a few.
 

mtkb

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Jack Reddy must not live in a glass house; he was certainly at Coastal at the time, but was busy being paid to coach both a u17 and u18 team on the boys side, despite clearly not having enough players signed to justify having two teams. I know, because I was assisting on one of the Mountain teams at that age grouping at the time, and u17/u18 was a combined schedule back then (BCSPL doesn't have u18 anymore). Facing a Coastal team with 8 kids showing up wasn't a good look for the (then) fledgling league.

Jack eventually packed up and moved on to a competitor club. For him to throw stones now, well.... grain of salt please...

As for what Coastal knew or didn't know, I've never been part of the club and can't say. However, if you ask about rumours and innuendo, and no one is prepared to tell you anything about said rumours and innuendo, what are you to do as a club? You've got this brilliant coach that's fallen into your lap, with a ready made team he's bringing along, and you're supposed to turn him down because of completely unsubstantiated allegations? Assuming that's what happened, I can't say I'd have done anything differently in Coastal's shoes.

For what it's worth, I was on the BCSPL board at the time, and BB's hiring was mentioned. There was nothing said that gave any of us any concern at the time. Keep in mind that there's a Technical Committee involving (at the time) Michael Findlay and all the club TD's, so I have a hard time believing that someone knew something and snowed absolutely everybody else.

The potential exception to that, of course, is the Whitecaps, since they operate one level "up" from that group...
 

STD

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I think if I had a young daughter getting coached by someone who had these rumors going around about him I would want to know. I get the legal aspect of proof and innocent until proven guilty but that's the reason a lot of people get away with these things for so long. If there are rumors they need to be looked at thoroughly. As a coach his relationship should begin and end on the field. He should not be texting girls in his and their private time and if a girls are flirting with him he should let them know its not appropriate and end it there.
 

bulljive

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Jack Reddys statements definitely smell of some sort of personal vendetta. Coastal knew of the rumours, I told them. My only thought about this is not even directed just at Coastal but youth clubs in general. Why would you hire someone with any such allegations of this nature surrounding them? Why would you take risks with children? Would you hire this guy if he wasn’t this big name in the girls game but just some name with the same accreditation. Of course not.

My feeling is ever since money entered the game “clubs” have been so concerned with their brand and which names they have attached to their club. Trying to make themselves more prestigious then the next. Ex pro this and ex whitecap that. As a parent it has started to feel like more about justifying why it costs my child this much to play more then his/her actual development. Which is one of the reasons I feel, using the recent North Shore Winter Club etc, it becomes more about protecting the “club or brand” then protecting the kids when an incident actually happens.
 

Canucks4Ever

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If there is an NDA, as we assumed there might be as part of a quid pro quo for his departure from WFC/CSA (and now it seems that we are getting confirmation), then Coastal was in a bit of a bind. The Whitecaps could not legally disclose any of the details and Coastal could not legally act on any "rumours" they may have heard. Again, with the amount of Whtiecaps connections on the board at CFC they surely would have heard the rumours if not more of the story. However, if "Coach Billy" could prove that they were not offering him (or perhaps even rescinding an offer of) a job because of information in the NDA then there are further legal issues.

Again, this makes it very difficult to ascertain just exactly how much Coastal knew and when and even if they could have acted on it officially. Once more I think it is important to consider the landscape in 2008-2011; rightly or wrongly, there certainly was not the kind of public conversation and disclosure for these types of incidents as is becoming more common today. The Whitecaps/CSA got what they wanted with him leaving without a major media circus/damage to the brand. In exchange they agreed not to ruin his career.

My feeling is ever since money entered the game “clubs” have been so concerned with their brand and which names they have attached to their club. Trying to make themselves more prestigious then the next. Ex pro this and ex whitecap that. As a parent it has started to feel like more about justifying why it costs my child this much to play more then his/her actual development. Which is one of the reasons I feel, using the recent North Shore Winter Club etc, it becomes more about protecting the “club or brand” then protecting the kids when an incident actually happens.

Nail on the head here IMO.
 

Canucks4Ever

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Embers of this story still flickering. Andrea Neil out with a statement today:

https://www.andreaneil.ca/blog/a-game-of-two-halves

She was not on any team with the coach in question but was tangentially involved with the investigation. From her perspective investigation was not thorough and sound like just a box to be ticked on the road to parting ways with the coach.

One interesting quote:
In a world where non-disclosure agreements and fear of lawsuits silences people from speaking their truth and protecting the vulnerable, I support Ciara for taking the risk in speaking about what she has experienced and seen.

Still no first hand accounts of what exactly was "experienced and seen" by anyone directly involved...
 

thrillerds

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Embers of this story still flickering. Andrea Neil out with a statement today:

https://www.andreaneil.ca/blog/a-game-of-two-halves

She was not on any team with the coach in question but was tangentially involved with the investigation. From her perspective investigation was not thorough and sound like just a box to be ticked on the road to parting ways with the coach.

One interesting quote:
In a world where non-disclosure agreements and fear of lawsuits silences people from speaking their truth and protecting the vulnerable, I support Ciara for taking the risk in speaking about what she has experienced and seen.

Still no first hand accounts of what exactly was "experienced and seen" by anyone directly involved...


Sounds like more accounts are on the way.
 

mtkb

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there's no speaking "their truth". there's fact, and then there's opinion. fcuk me that drives me bonkers...
 

Dude

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Wow.

Really, this is so bad, how can it possibly be fabricated?

My only "issue" with this is the signature: Twelve players from the 2008 U20 Women’s National Team player pool and team.

And, I don't know so much that I have an issue with it, but I hope the ladies have the courage to come out of the shadows. In this day and age, we need to welcome open dialogue. I can only imagine the anxiety and fear that goes along with putting your name behind the claims, but I do hope they reveal themselves.
 

Canucks4Ever

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The anonymity does suck a bit of the credence out of the statement, but there is still certainly plenty of damning content. Good to be given specific examples of the content of the complaints.

Time for some transparency from the Caps and CSA about what was in that original investigation. Obviously legal issues with NDAs etc., but, IMO it is time for those organizations to address this issues head on. If they want to come out and say this is all hearsay, or our investigation concluded these allegations were not credible, etc. then so be it. We can all then assess whether we feel that is a legitimate response or not.

It is time for some answers though, I think.
 

Dude

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I'm sure there are members of TTP whom have had their girls involved in that program or even members of that program. Those are some very, very disturbing allegations...and you can't help but ask if there is actually something worse out there we don't know about.
 

freddy

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Aside from obviously being a coach that used some tactics with players that were marginal and possibly illegal, is anyone going to step forward and charge him with a crime?

Everything discussed seems to be on the topic that he is a shity person/coach; the Whitecaps, CSA and others should have communicated that he was a shity person/coach, but were afraid to because of legal fallout. That said, the latter has a big implication on coaches and youth sports. How can you get sporting organizations to call out the crap on these kind of coaches? I bet hockey and the subsequent victims would have liked to have had Graham James called out before he did continued damage/rape to more players (and how on earth did he then coach minor hockey in Spain after he got out of prison? And, how did he make it out of prison alive?)
 

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