CoRe’s first Speaker Series event of 2014 on January 24th was a wide-ranging discussion of sports disputes at all levels of play by panelists who all bring dispute resolution expertise and sporting experience to bear on the topic. John Sanderson, QC (marathoner), Kyra Hudson (former varsity volleyball athlete), and Patrick Poyner (former professional baseball player) have all seen a wide range of disputes arise in the sporting context. A common factor in these disputes is often the involvement of highly competitive personalities within a culture in which intense competition is not just normalized, but considered a necessary attribute for success. It was encouraging, then, to hear all three speak about the considerable growth of dispute resolution processes, policies and preventative tools within all levels of sport in the last decade.
John Sanderson, QC kicked off the discussion with a fascinating, behind-the-scenes description of the development of the Sports Dispute Resolution Centre of Canada (the “SDRCC”). Back in 2001, John was one of the original designers of the processes for resolving disputes for national athletes, be they doping charges, team selection disputes, carding issues, or any of the multitude of other disputes that can emerge from what John emphasized is the “human” side of sport. As John noted, “In addition to the semi-criminal doping cases, there are a range of behavioural, human disputes that arise in sports.”
With the range of potential disputes running the gamut from the semi-criminal through relationships within teams, between coaches and athletes, and within organizations, John was a strong advocate from the beginning for a flexible dispute resolution process that included not just arbitration and mediation, but also a flexible “midrange” process in which a “resolution manager” works with the parties directly to discuss not just the issues in dispute, but also the process for resolving the issues.
John has been a member of the panel of neutrals for SDRCC since its inception and spoke highly of recent efforts by the SDRCC to share resources it has developed over the past decade with provincial and community sports organizations and to educate all sports bodies regarding tools for dispute prevention and resolution. John shared two publications with the group that are available from the SDRCC: Guide to Administrative Fair Play and a Resolution Facilitation leaflet. Additional resources are available on the SDRCC website.
Patrick Poyner contributed many observations about community sports and Provincial Sport Organizations (PSOs) that aligned well with John’s discussion of national approaches. As a Board Member with Baseball BC, Patrick was able to describe the ways in which that particular PSO was addressing its mandate to ensure effective dispute prevention, and to provide a clear and accessible dispute resolution process from the youngest ages.
Patrick pointed out that in baseball, as in so many sports these days, a critical point for disputes to become heated and to have a long lasting impact on athletes, is at the stage of first dividing players into “rep” teams and “rec” teams. For baseball, the stakes may seem incredibly high as the Little League “World Series” involves 11 and 12 year olds! Most sports, however, similarly begin to stream athletes around the age of 10, and it can be extremely difficult for a late developer to get on the rep track if they have not had the advantages of additional training, more intense competition, and so on that comes with early streaming. For parents, this can represent so much more than a single season of play, and may become instead a question of whether or not their child will be in a position to compete for athletic scholarships, make high school teams (in some sports), or be considered for provincial and national teams. Combine parental perceptions that one’s child is being disadvantaged with the fact that most coaches have a child on the team and hence an automatic appearance of bias; then add in the power imbalance in any dispute between a player and the coach or club, and it is not surprising that serious disputes arise at a very young age.
Patrick noted that while many sports disputes lend themselves to mediation, team selection is a particularly tough topic to mediate because any resolution that involved adding a child to a roster would typically mean dropping another child. The dispute rapidly becomes very multi-party, and very complex. Instead, organizations are seeking to prevent disputes from arising by developing positions such as baseball’s “player agent”. Patrick acts as a “player agent” in his own community and participates in team selections that do not involve his children. He also serves as a first point of communication when there is a concern or complaint which allows the board to respond proactively from a very early stage in any dispute, possibly even preventing a dispute from developing. Similarly, Patrick noted the work that many PSOs have undertaken to ensure that all members have access to clear information on dispute resolution to encourage early discussions, before escalation.
Kyra Hudson often acted as a facilitator for the discussion, drawing comments and stories from members of the audience and underscoring the common practices described by John and Patrick. As well, she offered insights into the commonalities between many of the sports disputes and workplace or other organization dispute resolution. In both settings, a key component of dispute management is education and skills development amongst board members, coaches, “player agents” and others. Similarly, Kyra noted the common element of culture change so essential in both sports disputes and other forms of organizational dispute. Just as some workplaces struggle with toxic environments, some sports communities have a culture of intensely adversarial blaming that undermines all efforts to discuss problems and blocks resolution. Such organizational culture can be challenging to address, but it was encouraging to hear about the various steps taken to date in developing educational materials that might support the work required.
The common messages from the panel were ones that would be familiar to dispute resolution professionals from other contexts:
- Prevention through the development of clear, accessible policies within an organization are key to reducing, and responding effectively to, any disputes that arise;
- Process flexibility is important. Disputes in this area arise in many different ways and may benefit from very different approaches to resolution; and
- The roles that neutrals play may vary considerably depending on party needs: ranging from player agents in minor league ball through resolution managers for national athlete disputes, flexible and skilled practitioners allow for the necessary speed of process to address disputes that may well need immediate response.
UPCOMING EVENTS:
Save the date for CoRe’s next two Speaker Series events! On Thursday, February 13, Wendy Lakusta and Sharon Sutherland will present More than Guilty Pleasures: How Reality TV Teaches Conflict Resolution Skills.
On Thursday, March 6th, we are delighted to have Gary Harper join us to discuss Narrative Light: Working with the Drama of Conflict.
As well, we look forward to upcoming sessions from Gordon C. White, Preston I. Parsons, and Jean Greatbatch. Details and dates to follow soon! Be sure you receive information on all events by becoming a member or subscribe to this blog for regular updates.
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