Brassard resigned as Rio chef de mission because of conflict with COC

MONTREAL -- Former freestyle skier Jean-Luc Brassard resigned as chef de mission for Canada's 2016 Olympic team because he felt he no longer had the full support of the Canadian Olympic Committee.

A COC statement on Monday cited "personal and professional" reasons for his resignation.

The Olympic champion had questioned the committee's slow handling of the sexual harassment allegations that led to the resignation of former COC president Marcel Aubut in October.

He said his concerns about the case caused friction with some committee members, including what he called a personality conflict with a leading executive, whom he did not name.

"These are not bad people, but we had insurmountable differences," said Brassard.

He submitted his resignation last week but the announcement was made Monday to avoid disturbing swimmers during their Olympic trials on the weekend.

"Jean-Luc is a very strong leader in the sport community and I know that with the new leadership of the COC are taking those allegations very seriously," Carla Qualtrough, Canada's sports minister, told reporters. "I personally have a ton of confidence in Tricia Smith, their new president, both in terms of her personal integrity and the way she leads and governs organizations ...

"I know that what they're doing to make sure their work environment is harassment-free, which of course as the Government of Canada we have zero tolerance for sexual harassment in the workplace. I've a ton of confidence in Tricia."

Former Olympic cyclist Curt Harnett became the new chef de mission with ex-Olympians Isabelle Charest and Carol Huynh as assistants.

Brassard said Tricia Smith, who replaced Aubut at the head of the COC, is the right person to manage the situation.

"Tricia Smith, in this whole story, is the only one who tried to change things," he said. "The people in those jobs now are great.

"Happily, most of the key positions are held by women. Tricia Smith put a lot of energy into getting the COC back on track. If I had a personality conflict with certain people, that was my business, but it became unmanageable for me. I couldn't see working with that person up to the Games."

Brassard felt he could not continue as chef de mission of this summer's Rio Games without their full confidence and opted to resign because he felt he was no longer able to lead the team. He said his morale was low and he felt physically weakened by the situation.

"I have to admit that what happened at the COC over the last winter left me exhausted," he said. "At the time, I was sitting at the back of the peloton being dragged by the leaders when I should have been leading myself.

"It was better to leave it to stronger forces than me to correctly lead the team."

"Nobody forced me to resign. It was my decision," he added. "I made that decision for the best of the athletes. Having been an athlete, I know what's expected from a chef de mission and obviously, I was not that guy any more."