Cycling Australia sacks Matt White -HR Implications

[Eugene]

Lance Armstrong is obviously one of the biggest sportspeople in the world, so the doping charges that have been brought up against him have had massive effects, and they are now being rippled accross the globe.

Matt White had a part-time role as the elite men's road national coordinator until the 16th of October, when he was sacked because of his past affiliation with the accused doping scandal. He was sacked because of his breach of the Cycling Australia Anti-Doping and Code of Conduct. Here is an interesting story of the matter and potential HR implications, quote taken from Cycling Australia sacks Matt White, criticises UCI | adelaidenow

Meanwhile, coaches, trainers and support staff could be asked if they've ever taken drugs before they land a job with Australia's top cyclists.

CA warned today it hadn't ruled out grilling potential employees over doping during interviews and president Klaus Mueller said the organisation would redouble its efforts to protect the integrity of the sport.

Mueller also admitted White had never been asked about doping.

"We did not ask that question,'' he said. "We assumed, as we do with other employees, that unless we have evidence to the contrary, there is a simple assumption of innocence. That's an assumption most employers make when engaging with employees."

He said CA would wait on advice from the Australian Sports Commission regarding an appropriate line of questioning for employees in the future.

"If in fact that is an appropriate question to ask and we don't breach employment laws in doing so then I would have thought it's a proper question to ask. And we will ask those questions in the future."

Any thoughts?

[Moz]

In an "industry" such as professional sport where human performance is a key factor I think it's a very important question and a very reasonable one to ask. I don't see how it would breach any employment laws.

It would probably also be wise to spell out what "doping" means/includes. In fact it might be the sort of question you have on an application form, or at least formally record that the question was asked and what the answer was.

[Greg Schmidt]

In a sport such as cycling, doping is a hot topic and very relevant to employment. Even so, I think it would be quite risky to dismiss or take some other adverse action against an employee if misconduct in some form could not be proven.

Fortunately, it seems that Cycling Australia has a Code of Conduct (available on their website) apparently in effect since January 2004. Among other things, the Code requires Cycling Australia staff (and members and associates) to

• Uphold the standing and reputation of cycling within Australia;
• Observe and comply with the Anti Doping Rules set out in the CA Doping Policy;
• [Not] use or [encourage the use of] banned substances.

Gotcha, Matt White!