Lifetime ban on ex-lions track coach upheld upon review

Athletics Canada’s lifetime ban against former Ottawa Lions track and field coach Andy Mcinnis has been upheld following a review of the original 2019 decision.

Independent commissioner Hugh Fraser made the ruling on Monday.

In his decision, Fraser ordered that Mcinnis be expelled from Athletics Canada and any involvement with track and field clubs across Canada.

Fraser also ordered that Mcinnis be removed from the Athletics Canada Hall of Fame. Mcinnis was inducted into the hall in 2017.

Mcinnis had been suspended by the Lions in March 2019 following allegations of sexual harassment.

That, in turn, resulted in an investigation by Athletics Canada. After those findings were detailed in a report by Ontario ombudsman André Marin, Athletics Canada issued a lifetime ban in May 2019.

Mcinnis, however, won an appeal in December and a review of the original decision was ordered.

Before making his ruling, Fraser reviewed a total of 12 allegations against the former coach.

In two cases, Mcinnis was found to have broken Athletics Canada’s Code of Conduct of Ethics by publishing inappropriate photographs and/or comments on social media.

In a third case, he was found to have been in minor violation of the code of ethics by commenting about the weights and/or bodies of female athletes.

In the remaining nine allegations, there was either insufficient evidence or no violation.

Fraser’s decision took into account the fact Mcinnis had shown remorse, but the independent commissioner also said that Mcinnis had previously been sanctioned for complaints against him in 2016.

“Mr. Mcinnis had a duty to treat the people who had placed their trust in him with respect and fairness,” Fraser wrote in his ruling. “He had an obligation to protect their dignity. The individuals affected by his conduct are young and vulnerable.

“While a suspension from Athletics Canada for a designated period of time with conditions for return might have been a sanction worthy of concern had Mr. Mcinnis been facing allegations of this nature for the first time, the fact that he is a repeat offender dealing with accusations that are remarkably similar to those he faced less than two years earlier greatly diminishes the viability of such a sanction.”