WARNING: This story contains graphic and vulgar language.
A B.C. water polo coach has been banned from the sport’s national organization after some of his teen athletes came forward with allegations of sexual harassment and abusive coaching.
Justin Mitchell, a co-founder and former head coach of the Fraser Valley Water Polo Club, used “sexualized, negative, abusive, and sometimes aggressive behaviour and language” towards players he coached, according to a disciplinary decision released by Water Polo Canada on Tuesday.
The decision to ban Mitchell was based on complaints filed by three unnamed female players and one male player who came forward in 2016 and 2017, launching a two-year investigation.
Mitchell, who did not take part in the disciplinary hearings beyond a preliminary process, has denied all the allegations and refused to co-operate in the investigation. None of the allegations have been proven in court.
He’s been banned from coaching for, or gaining membership with, any organization affiliated with Water Polo Canada, the organization said in a statement.
Attempts by Global News to contact Mitchell and the Fraser Valley Water Polo Club for comment were not returned.
Pattern of behaviour
According to the evidence presented in the decision, Mitchell established a pattern of making sexual remarks to teenage girls on his team, including comments about their breasts and other body parts.
One witness, who joined the team in 2013 when she was 12 and left in 2016, said Mitchell would tell the girls to “get their tits out of the water” or “tits to the ground” while doing exercises.
Another female, who played between the ages of 14 and 17 during the same time period, testified Mitchell suggested she was giving the adult men in the pool area “hard-ons” while exiting a hot tub, and made regular comments about her body and appearance.
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He would also regularly used alcohol as a reward for winning competitions — at one point promising “a bathtub full of alcohol” — and used vulgar and offensive language while coaching.
The witnesses, who came forward as young adults to describe their experiences as teen players, said Mitchell also tried to involve himself in his players’ social lives, which some of the teens considered invasive.
One female witness said Mitchell used social media to pursue a social relationship with her, with calls and messages increasing to at least once a week.
The witnesses said Mitchell also made inappropriate comments about players’ parents, including sexual comments about mothers he found attractive.
All the witnesses gave similar testimony that Mitchell’s behaviour made them depressed and hateful of the sport, with one witness saying she “dreaded” going to practice.
Opportunity for education
Martin Goulet, executive director of Water Polo Canada, said the decision to release the decision publicly is meant to send a message to the organization’s members and other sports clubs.
“We wanted to make sure these things never happen again,” he told Global News Friday.
WATCH: (Aired Feb. 15, 2018) Fraser Valley coach facing sexual misconduct allegations
“This is an opportunity for education and to make people understand how serious this is and hopefully parents and other organizations can learn from this.”
The decision also said it found “a remarkable thread” of other adults connected to Mitchell and Fraser Valley Water Polo turning a blind eye to the players’ complaints, with many of them refusing to corroborate the witnesses’ testimony.
Goulet said he hoped the release of the decision would also spur more adults and parents to speak up and keep an eye out for inappropriate behaviour.
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“It’s terrible these teens, these players had to step forward and say something after adults did nothing,” he said. “We admire their courage, but we want adults to step up in the future and report what they see. We need to change the culture.”
Water Polo Canada is continuing to review its hiring practices and policies in the wake of the decision, Goulet said, pointing to future summits with organizations across the country that will be used as education opportunities.
“We already have many steps in place to prevent this type of behaviour, but we still need to align ourselves with the best in the business and learn from them,” Goulet said.
Water Polo Canada disciplinary decision on Justin Mitchell by Sean Boynton on Scribd
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