Toxic culture denied by Bowls Canterbury following allegations against former world champion

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John Kirk-Anderson / Stuff

Gary Lawson faces allegations of abusive and threatening behavior following an investigation into Stuff.

A senior Canterbury bowling official denies the existence of a toxic culture in the sport following an investigation by Stuff revealing allegations of abuse and threatening behavior by former world champion Gary Lawson.

The investigation uncovered allegations of homophobic slurs, sexist remarks, verbal abuse and threatening behavior by Lawson for more than 25 years, the most recent of which was in May.

A well-known figure on the world bowling scene as the 14-time New Zealand champion, world champion and former Commonwealth Games representative, Lawson has been accused of calling a bowler a madman and of describing the women like sluts, sluts and c … s.

At a Bowls Canterbury Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Christchurch on Sunday, many spoke about the allegations after they were published, with two attendees telling Stuff they weren’t surprised.

READ MORE: * Allegations of homophobia and sexism in the elite bowling world * Blackjacks Gary Lawson are already making an impact ahead of Asia-Pacific Championships * Gary Lawson is set for Blackjacks return after decade absence of international boules

The men, who did not want to be named, alleged that Lawson, a member of Bowls Canterbury, had always been violent, even when he was younger.

However, the new president of Bowls Canterbury, Na Katae, said he had played rugby and pétanque against Lawson for several years and never had a problem with his behavior.

ALDEN WILLIAMS / Tips

Bowls Canterbury held its AGM on Sunday, after which some attendees said they were not surprised by the allegations.

Its hearsay, to be honest. I mean, I’m not saying it happened or didn’t happen …

Katae said in her experience that the Canterbury bowling environment was not toxic but rather one of the most positive.

Without an official complaint, Bowls Canterbury was unable to investigate the allegations, he said.

Once a complaint was filed, a number of remedies were available under the organization’s constitution, depending on the seriousness of what had happened, he said.

We cannot prejudge ourselves.

Derek Flynn / Stuff

Former world champion Lawson is running for a place at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games in 2022 amid allegations of abusive and threatening behavior.

General manager Lorraine McLeod said she had had no communication with Lawson following the Stuff investigation, but said Bowls Canterbury certainly did not tolerate bad sportsmanship or any form of abuse.

I believe the overall culture in sport is good.

After the AGM, outgoing President Brian Barker said he received a lot of feedback about the story.

Barker, who was once a Canterbury bowls coach, alleged Lawson had been abusive for years, saying it was sad.

He was part of the team and he was damn brilliant, but if things didn’t turn out like that, well … it’s sad.

While Barker felt sorry for Lawson, he said he still had text messages on his phone from two years ago in which he said the bowler threatened the Canterbury Bowls board about ‘an incident.

He questioned the amount of funding Lawson would receive as part of the larger Bowls New Zealand High Performance Blackjacks team of 46, vying for a berth at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games in 2022.

ALDEN WILLIAMS / Tips

Delegates from Bowls Canterbury leave the AGM on Sunday morning after serious allegations of abusive and threatening behavior by Lawson emerged.

You think of Tiger Woods when he got in trouble and lost TAG Heuer’s sponsorship.

Former Canterbury board member Tony Fielding resigned in part because of the way Lawson’s childish and abusive behavior had been handled.

Fielding had previously complained to Bowls New Zealand about Lawsons’ alleged behavior, which he told Stuff he witnessed firsthand in a recent match, claiming some of the antics and mind games used were ashamed and showed a total disrespect for the beautiful game of bowls.

THING

World champion Gary Lawson faces allegations of homophobia, sexism, verbal abuse and threatening behavior.

While Lawson had undoubtedly performed excellently on the green for many years, it had led to a general perception, in the face of many Lawsons transgressions, that it was only Gary, being Gary, had he declared.

Bowls New Zealand received $ 200,000 in funding from High Performance Sport New Zealand during the year 2021-2022 to run its high performance program, but a spokesperson for Sport NZ said the organization did had not provided financial support specifically to Lawson in relation to our cases.

Stuff has reached out to Bowls New Zealand and Lawson for comment.

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