The CSA's choice

The CSA will pick Nick Bontis' replacement this week. Will they choose wisely?

Photo by Arnaud Jaegers on Unsplash

It’s not often that a CSA election will generate attention outside of the soccer community. By “not often” I mean “ever,” of course. Sure, there’s been some well contested fights over the years that were closely followed by those of us inside the soccer bubble, but it’s never broken through to the mainstream.

That’s different this time. The high profile fight with the players — in particular the female players — and the Bob Birarda scandal has made this a vote that will generate attention that goes beyond the soccer community.

This is all in context, of course. It’s not like the race to replace Nick Bontis is generating headlines and debate across Canada. We can barely get people to engage in federal and provincial politics, let alone sport management elections. However, like the higher profile elections, lots of people are going to have a strong opinion after the fact, and will also be picking sides in the lead up to the vote.

Those sides will be loosely defined as the “outsiders” versus the “insiders,” with most hopeful that the Old Boys/Girls Network gets put in its place. Certainly, there is a strong argument for the idea that a fresh perspective is needed right now. I have made that very argument, in fact.

So, what are the choices then?

One of Charmaine Crooks or Rob Newman will be the new president at this time next week. In terms of what camp they represent, Crooks is being viewed by many as the establishment candidate, based on the fact that she was named the Interim President when Bontis stepped down.

The Canadian women immediately attacked that decision, claiming that she was part of the Old Girls Network. I’ll evaluate that in a bit, but for now let’s look at the other person in this equation — a person that is being presented as the outsider candidate and therefore, according to those that I have spoken to today, the preferred winner by the Diana Matheson and the women’s team.

Here’s the thing though: Newman’s not an outsider. At all. In fact, he was on the CSA’s board of directors for 10 years from 2002 to 2012.

Importantly, that time covers 2008. Why is that year relevant now? It was when the Biradra scandal was happening. Actually, Newman was the governance chair of the CSA board when all that was going down. Also, the aughts were truly dark days in CSA leadership. Newman previously ran for president in 2012, which was fought on a reform versus status quo basis. He wasn’t the reform candidate. The winner, Victor Montagliani, was.

So, forgive me, but how does someone that was in that kind of position when that was happening get positioned as a reform candidate?

According to the people I spoke to, the likely answer to that is that “he’d rip up the CSB deal.”

So, that’s what this is really about. The anti-CSB candidate, versus the one who is going to work within the framework that is in place now.

To be clear, we don’t know if you can “rip up” the CSB deal. I would expect the owners of CSB would have something to say about it. To suggest that the CanPL would be at risk if it was “ripped up” is not hyperbole either.

Would it not be better if a consensus builder was in charge? Someone who understands that there is a contract in place and would work to get everyone pulling in the same direction.

Also, as far as the CSB deal goes, wouldn’t a consensus building approach be more likely to result in a better deal for the players than a conflictual one? Especially, if that conflict resulted in a prolonged legal battle.

Finally, how in hell is Crooks an insider? Even beyond the fact that she is a woman of colour who did not play the sport, her work history shows someone who has long been on the right side of issues. She was a popular athlete among her peers — an Olympic flag bearer, in fact — and has long fought for athlete’s interests within the IOC.

She was a founding member of the IOC Ethics Commission, for goodness sake. This is no one’s lacky. Bluntly, when the women’s team suggested she was compromised and that they were not interested in working with her they were betraying their own ignorance.

If they support a man who was at the CSA when sexual abuse went unnoticed instead…what are they even doing?

Truthfully, the soccer community is lucky that Crooks is even interested in the job. There is no choice this weekend. Voters should back an actual outsider with the ability (and track record) to make us believe that they can bring about true change.

That candidate is Charmaine Crooks.

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