Olympian Kathryn Slattery slams Hockey Australia management as culture crisis threatens to consume Hockeyroos

Former Olympian Kathryn Slattery has issued a scathing appraisal of Hockeyroos senior management, identifying three officials who she says have played key roles in the crisis that has consumed the team and spilled into the public arena. Slattery, who represented her country nearly 100 times, has revealed she stepped away from the game she loved in 2018 because the toxic culture was affecting her mental health. “I feel like we’ve been waiting for something to happen and I’m glad it’s coming out now,” Slattery said. “There have been a number of issues for a long time and Hockey Australia knew this was happening. In that time the program has lost a number of good players, coaches and staff and I’m really proud of the girls for coming out and making a stand.” It was reported last week that Hockeyroos players met with under-fire coach Paul Gaudoin and high performance director Toni Cumpston as the situation reached crisis point. Hockey Australia CEO Matt Favier has publicly backed Gaudoin and Cumpston despite the threat of player strikes. The situation centres on the shock axing of star goalkeeper Rachael Lynch and former co-captain Georgina Morgan from the 2021 squad ahead of the Olympic Games, with the pair appealing their non-selection. Some current Hockeyroos players fear they will be axed if they speak out. “It’s a very unstable environment at the moment with the players and it’s not conducive to high-performance,” Slattery said. “There is a lot of resistance from Hockey Australia but management and higher up need to make some very large changes or they need to change. “Hockey Australia’s CEO, the high performance director and head coach — a lot of issues are driven from those three.” Speaking with the Advertiser yesterday, Slattery said she was left “deeply hurt” when she took an indefinite break from international hockey in 2018. The South Stirling-raised striker never returned to the Hockeyroos set-up after stepping away. “I didn’t have any issues in the first couple of years in the program,” she said. “My last two years in the system things changed, I was involved in a letter sent to the HA CEO and the board and it was hit with a lot of resistance. “Leading into the World Cup I felt like I was targeted by selection and others as well. It was like you had to put your head down and not say anything or risk not being picked. “It was no longer good for my mental health and that’s why I left.” “I didn’t retire, I stepped away and I was not contacted by anyone let alone the head coach. “It was hurtful and disrespectful.” Slattery said Morgan and Lynch deserved their place in the national team but had been made scapegoats because they spoke out. “Current players can’t say anything which is the problem,” she said. “That’s why I’m speaking out. It’s the players that win you the medals and it’s the players that are the key issue here. “I just want a better environment for the current and future players, if you create a better environment that is conducive to high performance you’ll get better results as a team.” Hockey Australia’s independent inquiry into claims of bullying within its national women’s program is set to begin tomorrow.