Rowing coach strays adrift
Alleging that he couldn’t even see his own pay cheque, a former Ryerson athlete plans to take his coach to court.
Alec Bain, a third-year journalism student, is lining up a small claims lawsuit against rowing coach Dominic Kahn for loss of employment, wrongful dismissal and breach of contract. Bain took a job at Bayside rowing club under Kahn this past summer where he believes he was overworked and uncompensated for his time.
He was subsequently let go by Kahn after six weeks on the job.
“I was fired for asking for my pay cheque,” Bain told the Eyeopener. Bain claims Kahn owes him $2,850 of lost money.
Bain said he was presented with a T4 slip that subtracted $1,000 from his total earnings. The slip did not have his signature on it.
Bain alleges he wrote a contract for his summer employment that Kahn refused to sign. A tax lawyer has been contacted to carry out an investigation of losses from Bain’s finances.
Kahn declined to comment on his employment of rowers at Bayside, citing confidentiality reasons.
There have been other former rowers at Ryerson who share a similar concern about Kahn’s approach to the sport and handling of athletes.
“He makes a really good first impression. But the more you get to know him, the more you see that it’s an act,” said William Oxeley, who now rows at Hanlan rowing club. His choice to join another rowing club stemmed from the way in which Kahn had conducted himself in front of athletes. “I couldn’t take this person anymore,” Oxeley said. “At that point, it seemed like, if we were going to row for Ryerson, we had to row (at Bayside).”
Kahn said rowers have the freedom to choose which club to practice at. He has difficulty understanding why any of his rowers would be upset with him. Kahn looks to the rowing team’s first OUA gold medal this season to prove that he nurtures all of his athletes equally and fairly.
“Favouritism doesn’t exist on our team. We have standards to be met. From there, we only have an x number of spots up for grabs. It’s really tough. It’s a tough job for the coach. We’re always pushing and I have to be the bad guy.
“As a professional coach and someone who cares, sometimes I have to push you. You may not like it. You try everything, and that ranges from patting athletes on the back to pushing harder than they think. You have to balance that, and most of the time it works. That’s what I do.”
Other former rowers interpreted Kahn’s coaching as “overly aggressive” and established a counterproductive environment for newcomers.
After joining the squad in the fall of last year, student Tim Goff slowly removed himself from training under Kahn and began to work independently.
“It got to the point where I went to practice hoping I wouldn’t be coached,” said Goff, who no longer rows.
Wes Spencer, who has rowed since grade 9, attests to the displeasure expressed by former rowers. He wasn’t employed by Kahn last summer, but from previous experience working with the rowing coach, he felt he should spread the word about Kahn’s behaviour.
“It was like a recurring theme on the rowing team, me telling people about what’s going to happen with Dominic and his policies and that they should just avoid him in the first place,” said Spencer.
Spencer said he asked athletic director Ivan Joseph and athletics manager Beth Ali in the summer to have Kahn fired.
Joseph said Kahn’s commitment to Bayside and Ryerson is muddied and couldn’t address Spencer’s appeal straightly. Bayside is not affiliated with Ryerson, which complicates Joseph’s authority over what Kahn does.
Policies have been instituted, but Joseph declined to reveal what changed. Champion Matt Buie dispelled a lot of the negative criticism about Kahn.
“He’s the best coach that I ever had in any sport. The fact that he’s managed to take rowers that have never touched a boat before in their life to OUA champions in two years is absolutely amazing,” said Buie.
Comments
Anonymous, 4 months ago said:
i think its pathetic that the paper devotes a front page to minor skirmishes and then only writes tiny articles on the same team winning gold medals. This isn't jounalism. This isn't balance. This is immature and emabarrassing content.
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Anonymous, 4 months ago said:
Dominic Kahn has been a reputation in the Canadian rowing circle for conducting business in this manner. Always get paid up front as he always has an excuse why he can't pay you for work or services completed
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Anonymous, 4 months ago said:
After a successful year for Rowing with two GOLD medal, The eyeopener puts this crap on the front page. The eyeopener should restructure its message by building up school spirit by posting front page articles about Ryerson's success not some guys summer job.
I also see the one sided opinion in this article, sure the editor is trying to cover hiss ass by putting Matt Buie's opinion in at the end, but what about other CURRENT rowers on the team or other past memebers, such as Philippe Roy, Allison Loosley, who has had success with the Ryerson Rowing Team.
Hey but it is a story, just not front page material.
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Anonymous, 4 months ago said:
Kahn is bad news. He is persona non grata at several ontario rowing clubs. Athletes beware
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Anonymous, 4 months ago said:
He always has an excuse? This is reason for failure of payment? What does a lawsuit on extortion have to do with OUA medals?
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Anonymous, 4 months ago said:
All this is fair comment... given we don't know if Bain is telling the truth, but... and this is a huge BUT... allowing these posts where words like extortion and fraud on your posts is not only defamation AND libel... they're also not very fair if you say in your editorial that this person is a good coach and person and you hold yourself to journalistic standards and ethics. If this is the case, then you should take down and not allow others that are unfairly damaging. What if Kahn DID pay Bain for his time? What if Bain is lying? Then you've been made a Patsy and harmed a good person.
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Anonymous, 4 months ago said:
athletes who freak out about kahn's intensity simply don't understand high performance and the commitment, dedication, and toughness it takes to win at this level. this isn't high school kids, so suck it up.
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Anonymous, 4 months ago said:
Once again we circle around to high performance and coaching the issue is not his coaching ability, the issue is business ethics and standards, and that surpasses any university level program, suck it up.
Furthermore, the idea that a source would go to such lengths to form such an elaborate case is ludicrous. Bain seems to have support from several others on and off the current Ryerson rowing team. Plato preached that it was our duty to question authority and therefore information such as this, however, what evidence do you have that Bain is in fact lying? Beyond your accusation you have nothing more than what you are claiming, that it is empty, mindless slander. Prior to making such remarks one must have a case to present.
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Anonymous, 4 months ago said:
exactly, the concern is not the coaching itself. The question is his business ethics, or lack thereof. A figurehead for Ryerson university, his duty is to be infaliable, honest and to have only his athletes interests in mind. Bain's argument was never "Dom is so tough I can't take it". Asking the opinion of the team captains is virtually pointless, asking people appointed to their positions, who try to model their leadership abilites after Dom, are clearly going to give an biast opinion. Others on the team may give a more clear headed testimony. A matter such as this is very much front page material. The fact that a coach can be accused of such specific acts, and that has been backed up by several people, is a concern that the school needs to adress directly and not just the paper. The moral standing of this school are to be held in the highest degree and any authoritative figure that would compromise the good name and high morals of Ryerson University, is person who should not represent any school, team, or person, and definitely not a university. These are the bare necessities for any figure at Ryerson, be prof, TA, maintenace worker or coach. Ryerson isn't a huge university, so we have to trust each other to be honest and good role models for students and fuculty at every level. And that is what keeps school spirit golden.
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Anonymous, 4 months ago said:
"...Asking the opinion of the team captains is virtually pointless..." really? that says it all. so i guess you are only interested in hearing one side of things ... 'nuff said.
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Eyeopener Admin, 4 months ago said:
This story has provoked a heated reaction and a large number of comments. Please be aware that the Eyeopener cannot publish material that could be considered libelous or slanderous. One such comment was accidentally published and then removed.
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Anonymous, 4 months ago said:
While Kahn's personality may be grating to some, I believe truly that his interests are solely in advancing athletes and rowing in Toronto. This situation is a private matter between two adults. Why it's front page news on a university paper is beyond me. Dom has made some significant moves in promoting rowing in Toronto- especially with Ryerson- and he is being recognized for it. Coaches at other Ontario universities even nominated him for a coach of the year award this past October. Financial skirmishes aside, there is no need for nasty comments regarding his personality and reputation. That's just plain rude.
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Anonymous, 4 months ago said:
So it is agreed that they would have a predictable reaction? Exclusion of one's opinion is not within journalistic standards and therefore not necessarily a fair comment. However, I believe the point made in that remark was that they are captains on the Ryerson Rowing team, an organization supposedly completely independent from Bayside Rowing Club, and therefore that title is irrelevant. It could also be reasoned that they would be swayed to support their coach as a coach (hence some of the comments above) which I will repeat as said above, is not the issue. Those interviewed should have been largely based off of those who witnessed the Bayside Rowing Club employment period. This is where I believe the Eyeopener lost its train of thought. It went from a legal issue which happened to involve a student and coach, to a bashing of the reputation of the team. Unnecessary and misleading, and certainly not accurate.
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Anonymous, 4 months ago said:
LOL THE EYE
LOL
please dont' take anything from this 'newspaper' seriously.
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Anonymous, 4 months ago said:
So based off of the article, all the comments here have come to the conclusion that: this article is written with a one sided opinion, we don’t know if Bain is telling the truth, we don’t know if Kahn did pay Bain for his time, and both parties seem to have several others on and off the rowing team supporting them… sounds like Bain has a good case**sarcasm.
As for ‘circling around to high performance and coaching’, and stating in one comment that this is not the issue… try reading the article again. The majority of the article talks about coaching, practices and club choice. The opinions of former athletes that didn’t make the cut this year are obviously going to be upset and give a bias negative opinion. The fact is, the team has proven to be successful under Kahn’s leadership.
So what have all the comments accomplished? Nothing. Bain’s story is still being circulated regardless of it’s questionable content. Bain’s accusations, as far as we’re concerned, are tarnishing the reputation of a successful coach and team representing his own University. If I were Bain I would be embarrassed.
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Anonymous, 4 months ago said:
Bayside rowing has been around for 16 years. I'm sure they've seen it all! Shouldn't the front page be about the contribution they have made rather than a disgruntled employee... that's what this article is about... nice try, but "Rough Waters" should be about the sacrifices those rowers make each morning at 6:00 a.m., along with the teambuilding and volunteer work they do off water to become champions!!!
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Anonymous, 4 months ago said:
Read the Editorial in this issue... funny way of trying to balance things...almost appologizing for putting this article in their issue in the first place... and very professional saying, "sometimes we fuck up". Are they trying to say in advance that they did and was it necessay to use the "f" word to make a point?
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Anonymous, 3 months ago said:
I think the editorial proves they put thought behind the situation before throwing it on the cover. The article asked Khan about the payment and he refused to comment. That says a lot. The reporter wanted to give him a chance to speak, but he declined. I don't know how much more fair he could've been.
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Anonymous, 3 months ago said:
I believe he said he couldn't comment because of confidentiality and privacy - the privacy act is important. I think it says a lot that he didn't comment.
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Anonymous, 3 months ago said:
Privacy should be granted to other situations/other student employees but I can't see why he couldn't comment specifically about the issue at hand. That's what makes it so fishy.
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Anonymous, 3 months ago said:
Bain, you have sunk so low! What a cheep blow... and to the "Eye Opener", you have opened our eyes to how empty your paper is! As an athlete at Bayside, I can say that Bain did not conduct himself as an athlete and an employee should... Bain was more interested in goofing off and was nothing but a slacker, trying to get some easy money. Dom has made some amazing gains, bringing rowing to children free of charge. He does this by getting corporate teams to learn to row, and then takes the money they pay to get schools bussed in, fed and time on the water. He is not greedy. He gives all he has into the sport of rowing. This article is an insult and a mis-interpretation. It should NEVER have been written. Period.
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Anonymous, 3 months ago said:
This article breaches some very rudimentary journalistic standards. Basic fact gathering. I will be very wary of anything published by this paper from this point forward.
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Anonymous, 3 months ago said:
This comment was meant for editors at Eyeopener, but I thought I would share it here as Amit Shilton alludes in his editorial that this paper might have "fucked up" in writing certain articles. I thought it might be worthwhile to summarize what has been said and highlight all the "fuck-ups" this coverage has. This is because Eyeopener owes it to the community to either apologize for how they have covered this story or recant it all together. At this point, that is the least they can do.
Fuck up#1: In an attempt to cover some legal issue on campus, this article turns the rest of the article into mostly a rant against a coach. There is no focus and nothing meaningful is explored. Not useful.
Fuck up#2: The legal issue never gets addressed as there is no solid, substantiated proof to the claims from either side. Who does a news story without proof of any kind? Everything here is a hearsay based on he said this, he did that.
Fuck up#3: Bayside has been serving the youth of the community for the past 16 years, providing kids from Toronto schools an opportunity to row who otherwise might not have that opportunity. Eypeopener needs to keep that in mind while it writes a vilifying article about a club and its coach, in the process diminishing its valuable contribution to the community.
Fuck up#4: The relationship between Bayside and Rowing team at Ryerson highlights out an important issue - that of the university and its associations within the larger community, which in my experience, is not restricted to rowing. Ryerson is socially and geographically located so that its very much immersed into its immediate community. That warrants an important discussion on how best mechanisms can be set up to draw boundaries, if they need to be set.
However, this articles frames this issue as if Bayside coach and club are somehow taking unfair advantage of Ryerson rowing students and their rights. Once again it gleans over insinuating there is something fishy going on without delving into the issue. This leads to misrepresentation and unfair assessment.
Fuck up#5: Based on the previous fuck-up, the following one ensues. You are not only a student newspaper; your readership extends into the community. So it puts an even greater onus on Eyeopener to ensure that it reports somewhat objectively (I say 'somewhat' because I assume nobody is ever totally objective). The paper should be sensitive to its role in the university AND the community and give a fair chance to everyone. You should have spoken to more people to get a holistic view of opinions and facts on the matter.
Based on this assessment, you owe the community some sort of clarification and / or apology.
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Anonymous, 3 months ago said:
^^ some great writing by dominic kahn
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