Redemption starts with reflection

On Bev Priestman's return to football

Photo by david henrichs on Unsplash

In a past life, I worked in the criminal justice system as a youth jail guard. That experience shaped my worldview in ways that are difficult to summarize easily. That’s especially the case in a 500-word soccer blog.

I’ll try now, though. Just be aware that there might be some nuance lost in translation here. That’s Ok. It’s a soccer blog, after all.

A question you might be having now is what the hell does Duane’s worldview have to do with soccer and why should I care enough to continue to read this? It’s a fair question. I could have written about Toronto FC selling a player it never owned to keep things on a firm stick-to-sports basis. Not sure I could have squeezed 500 words out of that - that article is just “MLS is gonna MLS” and a shrug emoji. Also, there’s another move coming that will require some writing, so you’ll get your scoreboard coverage soon enough.

Anyway, where was I? Oh, yeah. Worldview. Jail guard. That.

Here’s what I learned during the three years I was protecting you from the hardened teenage criminals of Norwood, Ontario, and surrounding area:

That when it comes to crime and punishment and issues of redemption and rehabilitation, there is very little that is black and white. That no one is ever as bad as they are thought to be and that no crime is ever committed in a bubble. There are factors and circumstances that can lead to poor choices being made and that everyone deserves a second (or third or even 10th) chance at becoming a better person. Your worst moments do not have to define you as a person.

That’s one side of the equation. The one I had when I entered the field. My experience made me believe it even more strongly than I had prior to the first time I set foot in the jail. However, my time inside those walls also made me reconsider my position on the other side of the conversation. Namely, what punishments are appropriate and, especially, on the importance of taking personal responsibility for your actions.

There is no redemption or rehabilitation without that. It’s the key to everything and, when embraced, can be liberating.

The truth will set you free, or something.

So, this is a soccer blog. What the hell does any of this have to do with sports? Again, fair question.

Bev Priestman is back in soccer after serving her year suspension for her part in the drone scandal at the Olympics — a scandal that very nearly got Canada thrown out of the Olympics and tarnished this country’s greatest football achievement this century (and, probably, ever). That’s what.

Most people reading this will recall how the sorry affair played out, so there is little need to rehash it here. However, the Coles Notes are this: New Zealand saw a drone filming its practice sessions. They blamed Canada. The authorities proved them right and arrested — literally arrested — the drone pilot, Joseph Lombardi, and also pointed the finger at a young assistant called Jasmine Mander, who was sent home.

Also nearly sent home was the team, but instead they were just all-but eliminated from the tournament with a 6-point deduction. Remarkably, the women overcame it and qualified for the knock-out round, but finally ran out of magic in the quarterfinals, ending their defence of their Tokyo gold medal.

Had they been the top seed out of the group…well, it seems likely that they might have been in a better position to win a fourth straight Olympic medal, now doesn’t it?.

They weren’t in that position, though, because Bev Preistman decided to cheat. To beat New Zealand. A team they were heavily favoured to defeat anyway. You can pass the blame on to others — her coaching mentor, John Herdman, in particular — but ultimately that’s a copout. It was Preistman’s team. She was responsible.

Which makes her choices after getting caught particularly difficult to come to grips with. Namely, she lied through her teeth and threw the two assistants under a bus, derailing their careers in doing so.

There was no great option on the table for her, but the actions she took were literally the least ethical and most unforgivable possible.

Nothing she has said or done since has convinced me that she learned anything, either. At no point have I heard her truly take responsibility for what happened and for the damage her choices caused the program, the players and the two other coaches. That includes her words at her introductory press conference when she was named head coach of the A-League’s Wellington Phoenix last week.

There, she flipped the focus away from what she did to what was allegedly done to her. She claimed she felt unsafe in Canada (without offering a concrete example of when her safety was in question). Other than a brief mention of her judgment being “clouded in the moment,” there wasn’t much reflection or self-evaluation on display.

I’ll let you decide whether it’s ironic that she is getting her second chance in the country that she got caught cheating against, but I will say that she should be very thankful that she is getting this opportunity. Coaching is about leadership and she was proven wanting on that front in Paris.

Wellington is taking a big risk. That’s their prerogative, of course. I suspect Mr. Herdman will also convince someone to get him back into coaching soon enough too.

It may surprise you, dear reader, that I don’t have a problem with it. I won’t be cheering for either to succeed (because as a Canadian soccer fan I haven’t forgiven them for their ethical failings here), but I remain true to my belief that people deserve second opportunities, after they have done their time.

Whether the punishment was strong enough is a debate that’s time has passed. Preistman is eligible to coach and she has been given a chance to do so. Up to her now to prove that the experience taught her something.

I have doubts, but I’ve been wrong before.