GB’s tough vetting of Hager
Great Britain Hockey and funding body UK Sport are comfortable with the appointment of controversial Black Sticks coach Mark Hager after a comprehensive vetting process.
Hager was last week named to coach the Great Britain and England women’s teams.
This came after he was subjected to a Hockey New Zealand inquiry into the culture of the team under his guidance, fuelled by a misdirected email he sent out criticising the attitude of some players.
Some Black Sticks players said they were afraid to speak up under Hager’s command while others praised him.
has run an extensive piece on his appointment process under the headline of ‘‘Great Britain hired ‘bully’ coach Mark Hager for women’s hockey team’’ and said he got the job ‘‘despite allegations that he presided over a toxic culture while in charge of New Zealand’’.
Questions about Hager’s appointment were raised with GB Hockey by UK Sport, which is providing £17.1m (NZ$32.4m) to the women’s and men’s teams in the lead-up to next year’s Tokyo Olympics where Hager is charged with defending a gold medal. But the funding body said it was comfortable with the ‘‘thorough’’ process to recruit Hager despite the controversial end to his successful time with New Zealand.
Ed Barney, the performance director of Great Britain and England Hockey, said it was ‘‘fully aware’’ of the Hockey New Zealand review and claimed that the Kiwis had wanted to keep Hager in the job for Tokyo 2020.
There were suggestions in New Zealand media that Hager would be sacked as a result of the review but he left to join the British before the findings were revealed.
‘‘We have undertaken an extended due diligence process to understand the review’s context,’’ Barney told
‘‘We spoke to a number of people close to their programme, and following Mark’s resignation we had detailed conversations with Hockey New Zealand, which further reassured our confidence in Mark and his appointment.
‘‘Our recruitment process was exceptionally clear on what we are looking for in a head coach, and Mark’s profile fits very well with the current needs of the programme. As an organisation we review our performance and team culture after every major tournament.
‘‘We are very confident that Mark will make a significant contribution and allow both players and staff to fulfil their potential as we look ahead to the new FIH Pro League and Tokyo.’’
A UK Sport staff member sat on one of the panels during the recruitment process, concerned after a series of scandals over athlete welfare since the 2016 Rio Games, involving 11 Olympic and Paralympic sports.
‘‘We did raise questions with GB Hockey prior to the final appointment being made; however, we feel confident all due diligence was thoroughly covered and that the right candidate has been appointed,’’ UK Sport said.
Australian Hager took charge of the Black Sticks in 2009 when they were outside the world top 10. He guided them to two Olympic fourths, two World League finals, a Champions Trophy bronze, and a medal of every colour at the Commonwealth Games.