LTA proposes Corrie for top ITF role despite safeguarding inquiry
The Lawn Tennis Association has courted controversy by putting forward its former president – Martin Corrie – for an influential role within international tennis, even though there is still a safeguarding investigation hanging over him.
Corrie temporarily recused himself from his role at the LTA 14 months ago, after a complaint was brought about a historical sexualassault allegation which took place within his jurisdiction.
The alleged incident involved a coach employed in 2004 by the Hertfordshire County LTA, which Corrie was then helping to run. Questions were asked over whether Herts had done enough to look into the case at the time.
“The investigation is an independent process and we cannot prejudge the outcome,” a spokeswoman for the LTA said yesterday.
The LTA thus submitted two candidates for the International Tennis Federation board elections in September – Corrie and his presidential stand-in David Rawlinson – on the theory that Rawlinson could take over if any failings are uncovered by before that time.
This seemed a surprising decision, especially as Corrie has been opposed to the LTA’S stated policy on the biggest ITF issue of the past 16 months: the rebrand of the Davis Cup’s top tier from a primarily home-and-away competition into a week-long finals in late November.
The LTA announced in August that it would not be backing the rebrand, suggesting that the business model lacked clarity and that fans’ the investigation engagement could be threatened. But Corrie was simultaneously lobbying other nations to vote in favour at the ITF’S annual meeting in Orlando, Florida.
“The LTA position might have been different from Martin’s, but it was a single issue and we select our candidates on the depth of their expertise,” the spokeswoman said. “Scott [Lloyd, the LTA chief executive] doesn’t believe in boards where everyone agrees, because that’s not healthy.”