Olympic rowing champ says banning rioter from sport unfair

Canadian rower Adam Kreek, a member of the men's Olympic rowing champion eight at the 2008 Beijing Games, thinks the public is going too far in its condemnation of junior water polo player Nathan Kotylak, who was photographed trying to set a police car on fire during the Vancouver riot.

Here's a public statement Kreek sent to the media:

Nathan Kotylak should not be banned from future international or Olympic competition. He is the unfortunate scapegoat of a frustrated public. What he did was detestable, but not enough to drown the life lessons he will learn, striving to compete on the world stage. If he is the best water polo player for the Canadian team, we should work with his strengths, not his weaknesses.

Should we ban Nathan from playing music? Expressing himself though poetry? Taking hikes in the woods? No! These activities, along with sport, are activities that strengthen and embolden the human spirit. They are the glue that holds our country – and our world – together.

Sport is a valuable building block of our society that channels the youthful and aggressive tendencies from kids like Nathan. Sport taught Nathan that there are rules that we must follow. He got it. He understands his fault. Why else would he repent on national television? How many people are out there who robbed, destroyed and pillaged, and have not repented? Don’t get me wrong, Nathan should still face consequences that are meaningful and relevant to his offence - volunteer work, fines, community building activities – but he should not be banned from his chosen sport.

If we ban Nathan from participating in Olympic sport, then we should ban all the rioters from doing the same. How does the exclusion of society members from a values-building activity like sport help us? The only reason I believe Nathan should be banned from his sport is if his aggressions are enough for the courts to send him to jail or convict him of an offence that would ban him from international travel. Period.

I was in Vancouver for the game and the aftermath. I chose to go for a canoe ride instead of attending the riot. Everyone who was there and did nothing to stop it is just as guilty as Nathan Kotylak.

Banning Nathan from sports competition is misplaced anger. Unproductive. Unintelligent. This goes down the road of taking sport away from the people that need it the most. Let's build more sports programs, not jails.

 

Comments

[Lianne]

No one is suggesting he not be allowed to ever play water polo again, as your analogy to poetry and hiking suggest.

We just don't want him to represent our country.

Apparently sport did not channel Nathan's destructive tendencies at all. He had a huge choice point that night - be a criminal or be a hero. I would like to think of our Olympic athletes as our heros. Nathan chose differently.

[Ted]

Adam,

While I certainly admire the passion with which you argue the value of sport, apparently you learned some things from sport that make your moral compass a whole lot stronger and truer than Nathan Kotylak's seems to be. You say that sport taught him there were rules to follow - well, apparently not, or if it did, the lessons really weren't strong enough to keep him from gladly abandoning them. Why else would he repent on national television? Well, why else does anyone do it - to try to save some face and to try to scrape together what they can from it. There's nothing noble about reading a scripted letter of apology after the fact - what would have been noble is standing up to the rioters.

You seem to have an abiding love for sport that makes you believe that sport keeps one good and noble - well look around any major sport franchise or Olympic drugging/funding scandal and perhaps that might give you a moment's pause. Also, I don't play sport and I haven't ever torched a cop car or incited others.

I don't agree that programs of any kind that require public funds should be used to put a criminal on the world stage. Or publicly fund his poetry aspirations, or whatever. He made the decision to break the law, and good athlete or not, he should lose because of that. Being good at something doesn't mean you should get absolved or automatically supported on the taxpayers' money. You argue the best should go and compete on the world stage, and I agree. I just think that means athletes whose moral compass is not so easily compromised as Nathan Kotylak's.

[E. W.]

Too bad.

His actions may not be criminal in my peoples' eyes. But because of Nathan Kotylak actions that night he should no longer an ambassador for Canada. And if he was allowed on the team, that's what he would be.

It's his integrity, or lack thereof, that I have a problem with.

[clive Rayman]

nathan he was wrong...totally wrong! Old enough to know better. You do the crime ...you pay the time . Do not think for a second that because he is an athlete or that you are an Olympian that if a crime is commited the consequences should any different that from the average person. To hell with if it is his chosen sport. He comes from a good family...no excuse. As a tax payer and contributer to sport I do not want him representing Canada in the Olympics. The problem today in society is that one can do something totally illegal and then be ezxcused because they got caught in the moment. How absolutely lame. I for one will not be giving money or supporting any athlethes that are going to the next Olympics should Nathan be reperesenting Canada. Enough isn enough and it is time for sociewty to put it's foot down. No more excuses!

[Jack]

I find it curious that you would suggest that sport channels youthful and aggressive tendencies from kids like Nathan. How did sport channel Nathan's aggressive tendencies from him? Sport may be a "values-building activity", but clearly not so for everyone. Nathan repented on national television because he was busted through social media. His family's names and contact information were posted before he came forward because people identified him and posted his image on the internet. What he's doing is managing the fallout. Your letter is bizarre. You agree that he should be banned if "his aggressions are enough for the courts to send him to jail". Maybe they will be. Then what? You also suggest that "If we ban Nathan from participating in Olympic sport, then we should ban all the rioters from doing the same." Who cares? He was probably the only rioter that was Olympics-bound anyway. That young man had the good fortune of physical skills and talent that gave him privileged entry to a small group of esteemed athletes. Instead of acting like a true sportsman, he chose to show himself to be nothing more than a sports hooligan who ignored what your letter ignores: that sport remains a great metaphor for life's more difficult lessons.

[Ross Peterson]

Wow Adam, you have some nerve. Being an Olympian (or representing Canada on any world stage for that matter) is both an honour and a privilege. People like you have no problem whatsoever suckling on the public teat for support, and there's very little chance that we, as taxpayers, will ever see a dime of it back. (How much does the professional water polo or rowing circuit pay? Yeah, I didn't think so.) If your career choice is to become an athletic welfare case, at the VERY least, you should show a little respect to the people who support you. You really should be ashamed of yourself for standing behind this lump...

[Johnny]

I don't ever want him representing Canada in any way.

[Pablo in TO]

Adam,

I agree with you that Nathan should not be banned from participating in sport, but he should not expect the Canadian people to support him through sponsorship after his unsupportable actions.

Although the bystanders should be ashamed of themselves for being present and not attempting to stop the violence, it was Nathan's CHOICE to participate. You chose to get into a canoe, he chose (from what we have seen) to attempt to ignite the fuel in a police car. Not only is that a criminal offense, but he could have caused serious injury or death.

Would you be so lenient if someone had been burned or had died due to Nathan's actions? Fortunately for Nathan, and for all of us, that was not the case.

A tearful apology on TV does not restitution nor redemption make. Nathan was lucky that no one was hurt or killed by his actions, but he needs to face the consequences of his actions and learn from them.

Hopefully he will, and demonstrate that he is worthy to become an Olympian such as yourself.

[FB]

Imagine Nathan Kotylak representing Canada.... If Nathan were to compete, it sends a message that he is not responsible for his actions. Who is? We have enough of this going on as it is. Do we not see this as a problem in our society? If Nathan would have thought of the outcomes before his actions, do you think he would have made bad choices? Unfortunately, someone has to be made the example. Send our children of the future the right message!

[Beth]

This young man should be procecuted to the fullest. He knew what he was doing. I would not want him to represent Canada in anyway at all.
Let him learn from this and anyother young man who may be paying attention.
He was dispicable.

[Kyle]

I agree that Nathan should have to serve whatever punishment the court sees fit to assign him for his actions. As for any further consequences I would have to ask what the governing body for both the sport and the Olympics has on their books for such an occurrence. Are you automatically banned from representing if you have a criminal record? (I believe the answer is no). If not then after serving his sentence he should be eligible to try out for whatever sport/position/team/event he wishes to. Hopefully he will have learned from his mistake and therefore be a better role model who can show you can make mistakes and still be a person of worth/value. Teach others that if they truly repent for their pasts their futures will be brighter. We cannot overcompensate in punishment as it will teach no one in the end,not the offender or any who could learn from his situation. In conclusion if Nathan does his time and the governing bodies believe he could best represent the country then he should be allowed to do such.

[Carlos Rodas]

Equestrian rider Eric Lamaze wasn't exactly a model citizen either. His cocaine abuse is of public record and yet we are proud of his gold medal in Beijing. Eric was also deemed unfit to represent Canada in Sydney and he was banned for some time. I believe in second chances. However, we see that with Eric, a ban also provided him with some valuable lessons. He fought for his second chance. He fought his way back and earned his place at the Olympics. Nathan Kotylak has not done that. If he is indeed worthy of representing Canada, he should be banned and let him earn and prove his way back.

[Peter]

I agree with Lianne in that Nathan made a terrible decision that does not necessarily reflect on his abilities as an athlete, but certainly reflects on his ability to represent us in the world's eye. It is really quite sad what he did and what it is costing him, but it is a hard lesson to learn and learn he did. Apologies are all fine and dandy, but they are a "two way street". They have to be accepted and the receiver has to decide what to do.

This was not a silly prank by an excited young man, but a deliberate move into vandalism. Would it be as forgivable if he had tried to set fire to an Olympic arena because his water polo team lost?

[Anthony]

Adam might be a talented rower and athlete, and is as far as I can tell a great representative of Canada, but his attempts at weighing the appropriate reaction to young Nathans transgressions fall quite short of the mark.

A few glaring errors that Adam failed to consider. Young Mr. Kotylak didn't simpley get into an after school dust up or throw a mere rock or two, he engaged in a FULL fledged riot. He was photographed putting a rag into a gas tank of a police car in an attempt to destroy (I don't know if he succeeded or not) a roughly $40 000 piece of taxpayer property! The monetary damage aside and exploding gas tank on a car or even flaming one put everyone in the vicinity in significant danger. What Mr. Kotylak did was very serious, very dangerous, and very destructive. It was nothing less than a disgusting and embarrassing act of violence.

Mr Kreek speaks of the rules and life lessons that sport can teach and I agree with that point. However where Mr Kreek and I will disagree is whether or not Nathan Kotylak has learned those lessons in his own life. If sport has been such a positive and informative building block in Nathan's life, please explain why he engaged in a riot!!! Why didn't Nathan follow your example of engaging in something constructive after the game, or are you trying to say that if you Mr. Kreek were 17 again, that you would have been in there like a dirty shirt just like Nathan, throwing rocks and torching cop cars! It would appear that sport alone has not taught Nathan very much, and more intervention is required.

So I suggest that we engage in an exercise in logic, what do you think is the more likely scenario? 1/ That Nathan Kotylak woke up the next morning, and all on his own thought about what he did, and decided that his behaviour was unworthy of an international level athlete representing Canada, as well as being disrespectful to his parents and the way he was raised, and then went rushing to the nearest TV camera to make amends and repent for what he had done?

Or is this scenario more likely 2/ That the next morning he woke up still feeling the rush of adrenaline and testosterone from the night before, didn't think much of what he had done until his picture started getting plastered all over the internet and mainstream media, and only once he realized that his criminal actions that he didn't think he was going to get caught for, all of a sudden were threatening his chance to go to the Olympics and play national level water polo, did he rush in order to save his ass not only from attending London in 2012, but also to save the numerous athletic scholarships in the USA that he is likely being offered.

Mr. Kreek would have us believe option number 1 is the likely scenario, but I am gonna go with number 2. Had his picture not been broadcast, it is quite likely that Nathan would be bragging about his actions today rather than apologizing for them. Nathan Kotylak should not be representing Canada, he should be charged with criminal offences and face the consequences of his actions. I'm not saying Nathan is beyond redemption, but in order to receive that, he has to pay the piper first. Once he has answered for that, learned from his mistakes, and learned that his actions do have consequences, he might very well make a fine representative of Canada on the world stage. But if you throw away the consequences of committing crimes, you throw away the lessons learned with them, not just to Nathan but to everyone else.

Mr. Kreek says that Nathan is being unfairly targeted, hardly! I am sure Nathan Kotylak enjoyed the benefits of being a high level athlete, well now he has to accept the disadvantages of being on the national stage when you screw up. I suppose Mr. Kreek would prefer special treatment for Nathan since his is an athlete like himself. Let's arrest and charge everyone in the Vancouver riots except those that are Olympians, they get a pass, because they are Olympians and we wouldn't want to get in their way. What a horrible precedent to set, those who have more to loose by behaving badly, should watch themselves more closely.

What a wonderfully self serving argument Mr. Kreek,

[Al]

Scapegoat definition: A person made to bear the blame for others

Nathan Kotylak bears none others but his own blames. How is he a scapegoat? He did the crime so he has to do the time. Should we treat him differently because he's a promising athlete?

I personally don't believe Nathan really "got it". He turned himself in simply because he could no longer deny what he did. His father "...added he wishes his older son had been there that night to look out for his 17-year-old and described the photo as "misleading."

Tried to deny his action: failed. Tried to blame his brother: failed. Now he plays "poor me" and wants special treatment?

Seriously?! Do they really think we are stupid?

[paying the freight]

who is paying for him to maybe go to the Olympics?
Me the tax payer
I say you screwed up no pay the price
If you other friends on the team say you should play then I say not on my dime go find your own funding.
Nathan's actions means he is no longer should get my funding

[Phil]

Very good article, Adam people that have never played sport will not realize where your coming from. This young kid should be given a second chance.

[petrache]

The young fellow should be lucky if he does not do jail time. Vandalism and destruction of property for "fun" - not for some political protest - is both illegal and dumb. He used the sporting event as a pretext and the drunk mob as a cover. Athletes have already a huge sense of entitlement. Forget about the polo team - he should serve time!

[Tom]

Yes here we go again ...... our sports "heroes" are above the law. There are no consequences for their actions. If you are fortunate enough to have as a career (or potential career) sport, then our society must expect you to act in a way to earn our respect. Too many athletes in the last few years have been caught in either illegal or scandalous activities but so many times it is swept under the rug or a token slap on the wrist is administered. Why? MONEY!!! As a society we must say "enough is enough". You want to be adored for your athletic skills? Then the price you pay is that you are held to a higher standard not being allowed to act like the spoiled children that many of you are.

[Shandilla]

Missing the point! If he were to be sent to jail for a week, two weeks or a month, he would re-enter society with dreams relatively intact. If he is banned from his sport, lifelong dreams and aspirations are destroyed. Where is justice in that? Especially compared to others who had no similar aspirations. He will have learned that with greater achievement and opportunity comes greater responsibility. The more you have, the more you have to lose! When Nathan has so much to teach and to learn, why drown it all with one error in judgement. He should not be sacrificed on the altar of human frailty by sanctimonious peers.

[Msamra]

Representing Canada abroad is a privilege, not a right.

This guy gave away that shot when he vandalized public property. He should be forced to pay back the cost of the damage to the cruisers.

And using Adam's argument, we could go into the prisons and find the best athletes to 'represent' us. This young criminal does not represent what is right and good about Canada.

He did the crime, now he should man up and take his punishment.

[Kevin Smith]

What if he had been caught doping instead of lighting a police car on fire? Would you still be defending his right to represent Canada? Of course not. Stop circling the wagons around this kid. He needs to be punished so that all the other kids who would have followed in his footsteps will get a real life wake up call to the consequences of participating in this type of criminal activity. And as for the father's comment that the picture was taken out of context, well there's a video clearly showing him trying to set the car on fire. Enough is enough.

[Shawn Forde]

I agree with What Ted has said. I have grown up playing sports, but I don't think sport itself produces good people.

I also find it ironic that you are championing the value of sport, but the riot itself grew out of a sporting event. I think it would be too simplistic to pass the event off as a sports riot, but it would also be irresponsible to neglect the influence that hockey and sport had on the events in Vancouver.

Laura Robinson from Women in Sport has an interesting post about it: http://womeninsportinternational.blogspot.com/2011/06/its-something-about-hockey-commentary.html

[Brian Carney]

He will pay the price for his crime, whatever that price is determined to be by law. Anything more is just petty, near-sighted vindictiveness. I welcome his repentance and am willing to forgive his foolish, deplorable act. Move on Nathan - learn, grow, move on (we will after these 15 minutes of infamy are long forgotten)

[xcskiermom]

I agree with the comments. From the pictures, it appears he was trying to set a police car on fire - after a sports event at that. Is there any way we can later have this same individual represent all of Canada on a national team? Is this someone we want our youngsters to look up to? The answer is NO.