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news
Sir Dave Brailsford (BBC via iPlayer).jpgBrailsford says elite teams need to guard against getting "too fluffy" and "too PC"
Speaking in the wake of Team Sky’s fifth Tour de France win in six years, and alluding to the fallout following accusations of bullying at British Cycling, Sir Dave Brailsford has warned against British teams becoming “too fluffy” and “too PC”.
Speaking to The Mirror, the Team Sky principal said: “I don’t think we should soften our stance too much. I think we should still be a nation that wants to win and do what it takes to win. You have got to be fair, you can’t have personal bias or discriminate, but lots of people who look in the mirror lie about what they see back.
“Some of them need someone to give them a tap on the shoulder and say ‘Come on’ – we all need that now and again. I am still a big believer in the carrot and the stick. That’s the way to get great success.”
The former British Cycling performance director has previously characterised his management approach as “uncompromising” and described that organisation’s culture under his watch as ‘medallist’ not sexist.
However, an internal British Cycling report carried out by Peter King in 2012 made explicit reference to “a culture of fear and bullying” and an “autocratic leadership style.”
Brailsford says that he is “all for athlete welfare” but clearly harbours concerns that an elite sports team’s edge could be blunted.
“Winning is a brutal game at times and the whole journey was built on that. We should be really careful not to get too PC about it to the point where coaches – a bit like teachers in the classroom – can’t do anything. They will have to tread carefully or someone will complain.
“Yes, I am all for athlete welfare. But there might be two tiers of winning now – winning with welfare is what we want, but winning hard is not acceptable. I don’t think the fans care either way – they want to see us win. Let’s not go too far in the other direction or we will lose the very essence of what it took to win in the first place.
“Elite sport is not about taking part – elite sport is about winning. If we get too fluffy, then we might as well accept that we just go for participation rather than out-and-out winning.”
Alex has written for more cricket publications than the rest of the road.cc team combined. Despite the apparent evidence of this picture, he doesn't especially like cake.
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16 comments
@Crampy: possibly, but it's not unreasonable to expect your performance director not to use terms like 'gimps' and 'wobblies', is it?
Not meaning to sound like a broken record, but doesnt that really depend on the individuals involved? I mean, isnt it up to the persons involved to decide if they are offended ir not? Third parties to the occurance should mind their own, no?
You can think of plenty of insults that, were you to hear them in your workplace, you'd think that wasn't on. Some, maybe to do with sex, race, or disability, obviously cross the line.
I'm a white, able-bodied man. I wouldn't personally be insulted by the meaning of the vast majority of sexist, racist or, hmmm, 'disablist?!' slurs, but I can know when they're over the line. Given that the vast majority of UK rules, legislation and mores over the past, well, forever, have been decided by white, able-bodied men, there would have been zero progress on discrimination if the view had been taken that 'third parties to the occurance should mind their own' - if none of the (white, able-bodied, male) decision makers were offended, why do anything about ANY discrimination?
'Gimps' and 'wobblies': not on. So is this (paraphrased, just a tad) exchange:
Coach: you didn't make the team.
Female rider: arses. why not?
Coach: all the answers you could possibly need are in the performance data.
Female rider: can I see the data?
Coach: no. Go and have a baby.
@JeevesBath: I get your point, but I think it's the debate/theme here that is conflating the two.
Brailsford doesn't really have a case to answer as far as bullying goes, himself. Nobody has railed against 'firm but fair'. The accusations of bullying have been mainly levelled at a former head coach who's been accused of stepping too far over the line - being sexist, and inappropriate towards the paras. That led to a wider complaint about the governance and culture allowing that stuff to happen - and it seems that the performance management and its communication has been inadequate at times. *Some* of that *might* land at Brailsford's door.
But in terms of this being a picnic - Varnish et al haven't said that's what they were expecting. They're not complaining about whether they were allowed ice cream or to stay up late to watch telly. As such, this conversation's theme that it could be a tough environment isn't even a debate, is it? It's whether jibes and insults that go beyond that should be tolerated that's the issue, and nothing Brailsford says here addresses that. This is a non-story.
It is strange that the likes of Hoy, Wiggins, Thomas, Cavendish, Armistead, Storey, Kenny, Trott, er Kenny, Kenny... don't say anything. As they not suffering under this oppressive system?
Okay Ed Clancey wasn't always a happy boy, but maybe the latest Gold medal perked him up.
This all sounds like an attempt to waterdown a winning mentality. We need Sir Alex to come in and start launching teacups. DB is a teddybear. Look he has Jedi powers "You will cycle faster." ~wiggles fingers~
...or you can realise it isn't a case of black or white and choosing camps. Davey Boy isn't even addressing any of the key points here - this is just beige.
We can listen to the guy who has transformed British cycling into a dominant world force, or we can listen to someone who didn't get selected for the team. I know which camp I am in.
While I agree that it's not a school sports day scenario, and elite sport is a pretty ruthless place, there has to be a line beyond which 'harsh truths' become uneccessary bullying. I don't think there's many athletes who would object to a kick up the arse as a part of their training, but I think a lot of it is context and the wider picture.
I think I'd still prefer that over certain management styles within both private and public companies.
"One rider may do a session, try their hardest, and then need an arm around their shoulder and their coach saying quietly "you can do better than that, I believe in you". "
That may be true, but then what happens when they go up against their competitor who snarls "I'm going to eat you for breakfast, wimp..."? There's an element of training mental resilience too.
Did you grow up in Rocky III?
I wonder how many paralympians have managed to drag out a few extra watts by being called a gimp or wobbly.
You're conflating two issues - tough coaching doesn't have to include insults or racial or sexual slurs.
This isn't school sports day we're talking about here, this is the absolute pinnacle level of dog-eat-dog competitiveness.
I think this really depends on the mind set of the individual rather than the wider perception of the disability that individual might have, dont you?
There's definitely some truth in this: ultimately, elite sport is a competition, there are no medals for turning up and being nice.
But different people react to different styles of coaching, management and development. One rider may do a session, try their hardest, and then need an arm around their shoulder and their coach saying quietly "you can do better than that, I believe in you". Another rider might do a session, try their hardest, but respond better to their coach shouting at them in front of the rest of the team "that wasn't good enough, I expect better from you next week or you're dropped." Of course, the first rider might see the second approach as bullying; and OK, it probably is, but an elite athlete may recognise that being bullied into improving is what they need.
People have the right to be treated with respect but likewise, as elite athletes they have a duty to find their best performance, and coaches have a duty to help them find it by whatever means.
Well said. It's not the village egg and spoon race.
He's right. Everyone's a winner....except when they're not. At least if you were convinced you were pushed hard enough then you can't have any regrets.
Yep, I'm sure the Badger didn't cry himself to sleep at night wishing his team boss had said something nice to him that day.