Australian boxing coach Jamie Pittman has withdrawn from the Paris 2024 Olympics following an investigation into allegations of misconduct.
Pittman, himself a former Olympian and world title challenger, didn't contest the findings, admitting to a raft of code-of-conduct breaches, including sexually inappropriate comments and behaviour.
Acting on behalf of several unnamed members of the Australian national boxing setup, CombatAus brought forward a host of allegations which complainants had described as “disgusting”, “offensive”, “gross” and “made me feel uncomfortable to be in his presence.”
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What did Jamie Pittman do?
Outlined in the findings following a hearing convened by the National Sports Tribunal are multiple specific instances of misconduct involving Pittman.
These include:
- Telling a male member of the team: “You need to f*** more women to become more of man”
- Taking a photo of a member of the team while she bent over and later showing the picture to another athlete
- While at a training camp in Italy, Pittman said, “how f***ing hot are some of the girls here”
- Saying, “Yummy, yes please” within earshot of a female member of the Italian team
- In response to a mother walking past with a baby, saying, “Oh how good is the life of a child, I wish I was that age again... get pushed around in a pram all day and suck t***ies”
- Suggestively move in the style of a “lap dance” in front of an athlete working out on stationary machine, saying, “Sexual activity improves performance”
What sanctions did Jamie Pittman receive?
Pittman, who headed up the national Futures program, didn't contest the findings relating to his conduct but did make submissions regarding the nature of any sanctions.
CombatAus originally suggested an 18-month/9-month suspended suspension, as well as 20 days community service.
Pittman pointed to his otherwise good record and standing over multiple decades in the sport, his overall contributions to Australian sport and the Indigenous community and the potential sanction's impact on his ability to maintain employment and support his wife and two young children.
In the end, Pittman was handed a six-month suspension from all CombatAus activites, given a reprimand, made to submit written apologies to impacted parties and complete counselling and courses on on anti-discrimination, anti-harassment, anti-bullying and anti-sexual misconduct.
Pittman, 42, had already withdrawn his application for Paris 2024 as he "didn’t want to cause any further stress or anxiety to the athletes who were preparing for the upcoming Olympic Games", while he's also stepped down from the Australian Olympic Committee Indigenous advisory committee.
