BILLY WALSH HAS hit out at the Irish Athletic Boxing Association [IABA] and shown his support for Bernard Dunne in the wake of his exit as high performance director.
Walsh, another former high performance director himself, has called on Sport Ireland and the Government to “stand up and make people accountable for their actions — or inactions”.
Speaking on Claire Byrne Live from Istanbul, Turkey, the Team USA head coach began:
“I think it’s crazy to be at this stage. Three (high) performance directors later, two Oireachtas Committee meetings — which ended up just being talk shops — and nothing has happened.
“Nobody has stood up and actually taken these people to task. It’s a disgrace. There’s people’s psychological welfare being affected by this.
“In sport, they talk about the athletes’ psychological safety, but what about the performance directors and the coaches? Nobody’s talking about their psychological safety.”
“To leave was such a difficult piece for me,” Walsh continued. “I spent lots of nights crying on my own. I was in Doha when I made the decision that I was going to resign.
“Psychologically I was in a bad place and I know Bernard has been in a bad place for several months now, because this has been going on since February 2021 and it hasn’t been resolved. That’s the killing thing about it: nobody has stood up and supported me or supported Bernard. I think Sport Ireland has a lot to answer for.
“If you look at what’s been invested in this programme since 2003, there’s probably been around €12 million invested in the high performance programme, and here we are, three performance directors later and two Oireachtas meetings and still nothing is resolved.
“And it hasn’t got any better.”
Walsh shared insight on the “roadblocks” and “battles” himself, Dunne and Gary Keegan all encountered in the role through the years, adding: “We all faced similar problems — not being allowed to do your job, not having any autonomy to do your job.”
The Wexford native also touched on how Dunne is coping through the fallout, and how he believes too much damage has been done to rule out a potential return to the post, despite the hopes of the IABA and Kellie Harrington, among others.
“I think he’s in a better place now that he’s made the decision,” Walsh noted. “The turmoil to leave your dream job was very daunting for me and I know Bernard has had similar problems dealing with it. But now he’s made the decision he’s in a better place. He thinks he’s made the right decision.
“Again, it will shine a light on it. But I think Sport Ireland, or the Irish government, who has invested €12 million in this programme over the last 20 years, need to stand up and make people accountable for their actions — or inactions.
“This programme is boxing central. It’s about the athletes. It should be about the athletes.
“At this stage I don’t think he’s [Dunne] going to come back. What has gone on, has gone on for too long.”
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