A Blue day for Priestman
Bev Priestman's Olympics are over before they began
Citing “additional information (that) has come to our attention regarding previous drone use against opponents, predating the Paris 2024 Olympic Games,” Canada Soccer CEO and general secretary Kevin Blue announced that CanWNT head coach Bev Priestman has been suspended for the remainder of the Paris 2024 Olympic Summer Games.
That’s the official line here, anyway. What’s more likely happening is that they are giving the lawyers time to make the case for firing her with cause.
Make no mistake, it’s a safe bet that Priestman has coached her last game for Canada. Bluntly, how she handles things from here will go a long way to determining whether she coaches another game, anywhere, ever again.
As I wrote in yesterday’s article it was an open secret in Canadian soccer circles that Priestman was willing to look for “marginal gains” in ways that some might suggest were pushing the boundaries of what most would call ethical. That “more information” has come out is not surprising because the way this has played out is not sitting well with anyone.
The unfortunate truth is that a team that captured Canadian hearts over the last three Olympics has had its reputation tarnished. They won today, but no one is talking about it. That’s on Priestman and it’s why she needs to walk off the plane that she’s coming home on and then straight down the plank. There is no way back for her here. All she can do is try and help the players by putting the attention and blame entirely on her.
If she does that — and takes the proper amount of time away — then maybe she can salvage her coaching career. Just not in Canada.
If she doesn’t do that, then Blue will be left with no choice but to get rid of her and to do it openly and forcefully to ensure that Canada Soccer and the CanWNT are as distanced from her as possible. There will be no room for a “we thank her for her service” press release. Rather, a “her actions do not reflect the values of Canada Soccer,” kind of message will be warranted.
If that fails to happen, there’s a legitimate risk that sponsors will walk away from the program. If you think money is tight now…
So far, in his time in charge, Blue has impressed people with his professional and pragmatic approach. With this scandal, we will really learn whether he represents a new way forward for Canada Soccer.
The early returns are promising. The action was quick, but not rash. Let’s hope that continues in the days ahead.
Notes: As for the game, it was a necessary three points and, if I look at it in isolation from the scandal, it was a good effort to recover after allowing an early goal. The Cloé Lacasse goal was beautifully worked and Evelyne Viens continues to make a case for getting the start every time she sees the field.
Both France and Colombia will offer a much harder test, so the result needed to go the way it did.
I think it’s noteworthy that both Lacasse and Viens are players that were passed over on selection for a long time as the core from the Herdman years continued to get rolled out. There’s some symbolism here about how this program might need to look to move beyond the old guard in the search for the next head coach, which should happen in about three weeks.
Let me get ahead of things on that front: No to Rhian Wilkinson. New voices only, SVP.